Breakdown of Co za tupet, żeby do nas nie oddzwonić!
nie
no / not
my
we
do
to
żeby
so that, in order to
oddzwonić
to call back
co za
what a
tupet
nerve
Questions & Answers about Co za tupet, żeby do nas nie oddzwonić!
What case follows co za in exclamations like Co za tupet?
The phrase co za (what a...) is almost always followed by the nominative case. Here, tupet is in its basic dictionary form (nominative). You do not need to change the case of the noun that follows it to create this kind of exclamation.
Why is żeby used here before the infinitive nie oddzwonić?
In English, we just say "What nerve not to call back." In Polish, when you comment on someone's behavior with a noun phrase like co za tupet (or an adjective like głupi / stupid), you usually connect it to the action using żeby followed by an infinitive. It functions a bit like saying "What nerve, that one would not call us back!"
Does tupet exactly mean "nerve" or "audacity"?
Yes, tupet means a brazen lack of respect or arrogant confidence. It is a very common and natural translation for "nerve," "cheek," or "audacity" in this kind of context.
Why does the sentence use do nas instead of just a dative pronoun like nam?
The verb oddzwonić (to call back), just like dzwonić (to call), requires the preposition do plus the genitive case. So, you must say oddzwonić do nas rather than using a dative pronoun like nam, which would be used for verbs involving giving or showing something to someone.
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