Breakdown of Panie dyrektorze, ta instytucja jest rządzona albo przez sztukę, albo przez pieniądze.
być
to be
pan
sir / Mr.
ten
this (m)
dyrektor
director
pieniądze
money
sztuka
art
albo
or (everyday)
przez
by (agent of a passive verb)
instytucja
institution
rządzić
to rule
Questions & Answers about Panie dyrektorze, ta instytucja jest rządzona albo przez sztukę, albo przez pieniądze.
Why is instytucja in the Nominative case if the verb rządzić requires the Instrumental case?
The active verb rządzić (to rule) requires its object to be in the Instrumental case (e.g., rządzić instytucją). However, this sentence is in the passive voice. When an Instrumental-governing verb is made passive, its object becomes the subject of the sentence and takes the Nominative case, which is why we see ta instytucja jest rządzona.
If the active verb takes the Instrumental, why are the agents expressed with przez?
In the Polish passive voice, the agent (the doer of the action) is almost always expressed using the preposition przez followed by the Accusative case. This rule applies even if the active verb governs the Instrumental. Therefore, we say przez sztukę and przez pieniądze rather than using bare Instrumental forms.
Why does the sentence use Panie dyrektorze instead of Pan dyrektor?
This is a direct address, which requires the Vocative case. Pan becomes Panie, and dyrektor takes the softening -ze ending to become dyrektorze. In formal or professional settings, failing to use the Vocative for titles sounds unnatural to native speakers.
Is it necessary to repeat the word przez after the second albo?
The paired conjunction albo... albo... translates to either... or... In formal or careful Polish, when you have a prepositional phrase in both parts of this structure, you should repeat the preposition. Saying albo przez sztukę, albo przez pieniądze is standard and sounds much better than dropping the second przez.
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