Breakdown of Zła komunikacja sprawia, że zawodzimy zaufanych partnerów.
zły
bad
że
that
sprawiać
to cause / to make (impf)
partner
partner (m)
zawodzić
to let down
komunikacja
communication
zaufany
trusted
Questions & Answers about Zła komunikacja sprawia, że zawodzimy zaufanych partnerów.
How could we express 'trusted partners' using polegać na (to rely on), which we are learning in this lesson?
You could use a relative clause: partnerów, na których polegamy (partners on whom we rely). Remember that polegać takes the preposition na followed by the Locative case, which gives us the form na których.
I want to say 'makes us let down'. Why doesn't the sentence use a translation of 'make', like robić?
English uses 'make + object + verb' (makes us let down), but Polish doesn't use robić for this. Instead, you must use sprawiać, że (to cause that) followed by a conjugated clause. This is why 'makes us let down' becomes sprawia, że zawodzimy (causes that we let down).
Can zawodzić be used for things other than letting people down?
Yes! It is a very versatile word that broadly means 'to fail' or 'to malfunction.' You use it when letting down a friend, but also when a machine breaks down (silnik zawodzi - the engine fails) or when a faculty doesn't cooperate (pamięć mnie zawodzi - my memory is failing me).
Why does zaufanych partnerów look like it's in the Genitive case if it's the direct object?
It is the direct object of the verb zawodzimy, which requires the Accusative case. However, for plural 'masculine personal' nouns (groups that include at least one man), the Accusative form is identical to the Genitive form. That is why it takes the typical Genitive endings -ych and -ów.
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