Breakdown of Czy szef jest tolerancyjny wobec nowych pracowników, czy bardzo krytyczny?
być
to be
nowy
new
bardzo
very
szef
boss (m)
pracownik
employee
czy
or (in alternative questions)
tolerancyjny
tolerant
wobec
towards
krytyczny
critical
Questions & Answers about Czy szef jest tolerancyjny wobec nowych pracowników, czy bardzo krytyczny?
Why do we use wobec here, and what case follows it?
Wobec means "towards" or "in relation to," and it always requires the Genitive case. That is why the phrase following it takes the Genitive plural form: nowych pracowników (new employees).
Could I use dla instead of wobec to say "tolerant towards"?
Not naturally. While dla is used for simple benefit or harm (e.g., dobry dla - good for/to), wobec is the go-to preposition for expressing a specific attitude or behavioral stance towards someone. Adjectives describing how you treat people, like tolerancyjny (tolerant), wymagający (demanding), or lojalny (loyal), pair with wobec.
Why does the word czy appear twice in this sentence?
They are doing two completely different jobs! The first Czy acts as a question particle to turn the statement into a question (translating as "Is..."). The second czy acts as the conjunction "or" to offer an alternative. This "Czy X, czy Y?" pattern is the standard way to ask "Is it X, or Y?" in Polish.
Why are the adjectives tolerancyjny and krytyczny in the Nominative case? Doesn't the verb być (to be) trigger the Instrumental?
The verb być (here as jest) only triggers the Instrumental case when it links the subject to a noun (e.g., Szef jest trudnym człowiekiem - The boss is a difficult person). When być links a subject to a standalone adjective, the adjective stays in the Nominative case to match the subject (szef).
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