Breakdown of Ogólnie rzecz biorąc, ich relacja opiera się na zaufaniu.
ich
their (invariable possessive)
zaufanie
trust
relacja
relationship
opierać się na
to be based on
Questions & Answers about Ogólnie rzecz biorąc, ich relacja opiera się na zaufaniu.
How does the phrase ogólnie rzecz biorąc literally translate, and what role does biorąc play?
Biorąc is a participle meaning taking (from the verb brać). Literally, the phrase translates to generally taking the thing. You will see this used as a fixed framing phrase to introduce a broad generalization, functionally identical to generally speaking in English.
Could I swap ogólnie rzecz biorąc with a summarizing connector like w sumie or podsumowując?
You could, but it changes the nuance. Ogólnie rzecz biorąc tells the listener you are making a broad, general observation from the start. Summarizing connectors like w sumie (all in all) or podsumowując (to sum up) are normally used to conclude a thought after you have already listed specific details.
Why does zaufanie change to zaufaniu in this sentence?
It is in the locative case because it follows the preposition na. The reflexive verb phrase opierać się na (to be based on) always requires the locative case for the foundational concept. Since zaufanie (trust) is a neuter noun ending in -e, its locative ending takes the -u suffix.
Is it possible to drop the word rzecz and just say ogólnie biorąc?