Breakdown of Zbyt duża dawka sprawia, że pacjent cierpi na bezsenność.
duży
big
na
on, at / to (motion toward) / for (a meal) / for (waiting for)
że
that
pacjent
the patient (m)
zbyt
too / excessively
cierpieć
to suffer
sprawiać
to cause / to make (impf)
dawka
the dose
bezsenność
the insomnia
Questions & Answers about Zbyt duża dawka sprawia, że pacjent cierpi na bezsenność.
Why doesn't Polish use an infinitive here, like sprawia pacjenta cierpieć?
Polish doesn't use the English "make someone do something" infinitive structure. Instead, the verb sprawiać (to cause/make) requires the conjunction że followed by a subordinate clause with a conjugated verb. You are literally saying "causes that the patient suffers."
Why is the imperfective verb sprawia used here instead of the perfective sprawi?
The imperfective sprawiać is used because this is a general, recurring medical fact (too large a dose always or regularly causes this). If you were predicting the outcome of one specific future event, you would use the perfective sprawi, as in To sprawi, że pacjent nie zaśnie (That will cause the patient to not fall asleep).
Does the verb cierpieć always take the preposition na?
When meaning "to suffer from an illness or medical condition," yes, you use cierpieć na plus the accusative case. However, if you mean suffering from a situation or emotional pain, you use cierpieć z powodu plus the genitive case.
What case is bezsenność here, and why doesn't it have a typical feminine ending?
It is in the accusative case, driven by the preposition na. Bezsenność is a feminine noun, as are almost all abstract nouns ending in -ść. A quirky rule for these -ść nouns is that their accusative form is exactly the same as their nominative form, so it doesn't take an -ę ending.
Could I say za duża instead of zbyt duża?
Yes, za and zbyt are interchangeable when they mean "too" (as in excessive). Zbyt sounds slightly more formal or professional, which perfectly fits the clinical tone of a sentence about patients and doses.
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