Breakdown of Pozwalam wam rozmawiać, ale odmawiam wam swobody.
ale
but
wy
you (plural)
rozmawiać
to talk
pozwalać
to allow
odmawiać
to refuse (imperf)
swoboda
the freedom
Questions & Answers about Pozwalam wam rozmawiać, ale odmawiam wam swobody.
Why does odmawiam take the genitive swobody instead of the accusative for the direct object ("freedom")?
In Polish, verbs of denying or refusing, like odmawiać, take a double-object structure: the Dative case is used for the person being denied (wam) and the Genitive case for the thing being denied (swobody). This is a set rule for this verb category.
Both halves of the sentence use wam. Are they both in the dative case?
Yes. Both pozwalać (to allow) and odmawiać (to deny) require the dative case for the person receiving the permission or the refusal. Wam is the dative form of wy (you, plural).
The first half uses an infinitive (rozmawiać). Could we also use a noun there, like "I allow you conversation"?
Yes, but the grammar changes. Pozwalać connects directly to an infinitive (like rozmawiać), but if you use a noun to say what is allowed, you must use the preposition na followed by the accusative case. For example, "I allow you conversation" would be pozwalam wam na rozmowę.
Why use swobody here instead of wolności (freedom)?
Both words translate to "freedom", but swoboda specifically implies leeway, unrestrictedness, or freedom of behavior. Wolność is a much heavier word used for fundamental liberty, like political freedom or not being in prison. Here, the speaker is just denying them unrestricted leeway.
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