Breakdown of Co do popiołu, to wielkie zagrożenie.
to
this
wielki
great (large, grand)
co do
as for / regarding
zagrożenie
threat / danger (hazard, risk)
popiół
ash
Questions & Answers about Co do popiołu, to wielkie zagrożenie.
How does co do work here, and what case does it require?
The compound preposition co do translates to 'as for' or 'regarding' and is used to frame the topic of your sentence. It always requires the Genitive case, which is why it is followed here by popiołu.
What happens to the spelling of popiół (ash) when it becomes popiołu?
Notice the vowel shift: the ó in the base word popiół changes to a regular o when the Genitive ending -u is added. This ó to o shift is a very common pattern in Polish masculine nouns once they take an ending.
Why is the word to used right after the comma?
When you introduce a topic with a phrase like co do... (as for...), it is very natural in Polish to use to to anchor the main clause. It acts as a pivot, similar to saying 'As for the ash, well, that is a big danger.'
Is there a missing verb in the second half of this sentence?
Yes, the verb jest (is) is implied. The full phrase would be to jest wielkie zagrożenie. In Polish, when to is used as a pronoun to mean 'this is' or 'it is' right before a noun phrase, the word jest is very frequently dropped.
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