Breakdown of Te skutki uboczne sprawiają, że pacjent ma nudności.
mieć
to have
ten
this (m)
że
that
pacjent
the patient (m)
skutek
consequence (result, effect)
uboczny
side / secondary (incidental)
sprawiać
to cause / to make (impf)
nudności
the nausea
Questions & Answers about Te skutki uboczne sprawiają, że pacjent ma nudności.
Why do we use że and a conjugated verb here instead of an infinitive like in English?
In English, we say 'cause the patient to have' or 'make the patient have' using an object and an infinitive. Polish doesn't use that structure with sprawiać. Instead, you must use że (that) followed by a full subordinate clause with its own subject and conjugated verb, literally translating to 'cause that the patient has'.
Is sprawiają imperfective or perfective here, and why?
Sprawiają is the imperfective form (sprawiać). It is used here because it describes a general, ongoing, or recurring fact: these side effects regularly cause nausea. If you were talking about a single, completed event (e.g., 'the pill made him sick yesterday'), you would use the perfective form sprawić.
Can I use robią instead of sprawiają to mean 'make'?
No, and this is a common trap! Robić means 'to make' in the sense of physically creating or performing something (like making a cake). When you mean 'make' in the sense of causing a result, an emotion, or a state, you must use sprawiać or sprawić.
What gender is skutki uboczne and why does it use Te?
The singular noun skutek (effect) is masculine inanimate. In the plural, masculine inanimate nouns take the non-virile (non-masculine-personal) forms. Therefore, the plural demonstrative pronoun is te rather than the virile ci, giving us te skutki uboczne.
Why is nudności plural? Can a patient have 'nudność' in the singular?
No, nudności (nausea) is what linguists call a 'pluralia tantum' noun. This means it only exists in the plural form in standard Polish, much like the words 'scissors' or 'goggles' in English. You must always use the plural form when talking about feeling nauseous.
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