Breakdown of W końcu władza poskąpiła obywatelom tych przywilejów.
ten
this (m)
obywatel
the citizen
w końcu
finally, at last; after all
władza
power, authority (władze: the authorities)
przywilej
the privilege
poskąpić
to begrudge
Questions & Answers about W końcu władza poskąpiła obywatelom tych przywilejów.
Why are the objects obywatelom and tych przywilejów in two different cases here?
This showcases the double-object structure of denying. The verb poskąpić (to begrudge or withhold) takes the Dative case for the person being denied (obywatelom) and the Genitive case for the thing being withheld (tych przywilejów). Verbs that deal with lack, denying, or partial amounts almost always force the withheld object into the Genitive.
Why is the verb poskąpiła in the singular feminine form when the English translation says "the authorities"?
In Polish, władza is a singular, feminine noun. While English uses the plural "the authorities" to refer to the government or people in charge, Polish treats it as a singular collective entity. That is why the verb takes the singular feminine past tense ending -ła.
What is the root of the verb poskąpić, and how does it help explain its meaning?
The verb is built from the adjective skąpy, which means "stingy" or "miserly." To poskąpić komuś czegoś literally means to act stingily toward someone by refusing to give them something.
The word przywilej ends in -j. Why does its Genitive plural end in -ów instead of -i?
Nouns ending in a soft consonant like -j often take -i in the Genitive plural (like pokój becoming pokoi). However, przywilej is one of several exceptions that take the standard hard masculine -ów ending instead. You will also see this exception with words like zwyczaj (zwyczajów) and napój (napojów).
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