Breakdown of Najwyraźniej trudno oszacować ten tłum, ale to około pięciuset osób.
ten
this (m)
ale
but
to
is (linking copula)
osoba
person
tłum
crowd
pięćset
five hundred
około
about, around (+ Genitive)
trudno
hard (difficult)
najwyraźniej
evidently
oszacować
to estimate (perfective)
Questions & Answers about Najwyraźniej trudno oszacować ten tłum, ale to około pięciuset osób.
Why does the sentence use pięciuset osób instead of just pięćset osób?
The word około (about/approximately) always requires the genitive case. Because of this, the numeral pięćset (five hundred) changes to its genitive form pięciuset, and the noun osoby (people) changes to the genitive plural osób.
How would this sentence change if I used the particle z to mean 'about' instead of około?
If you used z for approximation, you would say z pięćset osób. Unlike około, using z to mean 'around' or 'roughly' requires the accusative case. For numbers like five hundred, the accusative looks identical to the nominative, so the phrase doesn't change its endings.
Why is it trudno oszacować rather than jest trudne oszacować?
In Polish, when you want to say 'it is [adjective] to do something', you generally use an impersonal construction. You skip the verb 'to be' and use the adverb form of the word. Therefore, you use the adverb trudno directly followed by the infinitive oszacować (to estimate).
Is the word najwyraźniej related to the word wyraźnie (clearly)?
Yes, it is the superlative form of wyraźnie, literally meaning 'most clearly'. However, when used at the beginning of a sentence like this, najwyraźniej takes on the specific idiomatic meaning of 'evidently' or 'apparently'.
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