Breakdown of W razie awarii wszystko zależy od tego, czy wagonik hamuje.
to
this
wszystko
everything
awaria
the breakdown
czy
whether / if (indirect question)
zależeć od
to depend on
w razie
in case of (+ Genitive)
wagonik
cart
hamować
to brake
Questions & Answers about W razie awarii wszystko zależy od tego, czy wagonik hamuje.
Why do we say od tego, czy instead of just od czy for "on whether"?
Polish prepositions like od cannot attach directly to a conjunction like czy. We have to use the pronoun to (this/that) as a structural bridge. Because the verb zależeć (to depend) requires the preposition od followed by the genitive case, to declines into the genitive tego.
What case follows the phrase w razie?
The phrase w razie (in case of) always requires the genitive case. This is why the nominative noun awaria (breakdown) changes to the genitive awarii here.
Why does the genitive word awarii end with a double -ii?
Nouns of foreign origin ending in -ia (like awaria, linia, or kategoria) take a double -ii ending in the genitive, dative, and locative singular cases. This distinguishes them from native Polish words ending in -nia or -sia, which usually just take a single -i.
Why use the diminutive form wagonik instead of the base word wagon?
While a wagon usually refers to a large, heavy railway train car, adding the diminutive suffix -ik creates wagonik. This perfectly describes smaller cabins or carts, like those on a cable car, ski lift, or roller coaster, which fits the likely context of this breakdown.
Learn W razie awarii wszystko zależy od tego, czy wagonik hamuje and more in Polish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free