Breakdown of Szukając własnej tożsamości, nastolatki wybierają różne subkultury.
szukać
to look for
wybierać
to choose
różny
various
własny
own
nastolatek
teenager
tożsamość
the identity
subkultura
subculture
Questions & Answers about Szukając własnej tożsamości, nastolatki wybierają różne subkultury.
How does szukając function here, and does it just mean "while seeking"?
Szukając is a contemporary adverbial participle (ending in -ąc). While it literally translates to "seeking" or "while seeking," in this context it carries a strong causal or explanatory meaning. It explains the reason why the teenagers are choosing subcultures: they do it because they are seeking their own identity.
Why is własna tożsamość in the genitive case (własnej tożsamości) here?
The participle szukając comes from the verb szukać (to look for). Even when a verb is transformed into a participle, it still dictates the grammatical case of its object. Since szukać always requires the genitive case, własna tożsamość must become własnej tożsamości.
Does the word nastolatki refer only to teenage girls in this sentence?
Not necessarily. While nastolatki is the plural of the feminine noun nastolatka (teenage girl), it is widely used in modern Polish as a general, non-masculine-personal plural for teenagers of any gender. If you wanted to strictly emphasize a mixed-gender or male-only group, you could use the masculine personal form nastolatkowie, but nastolatki is very natural and common when discussing the general demographic.
Is the comma after tożsamości mandatory?
Yes. According to Polish punctuation rules, an adverbial participle phrase like szukając własnej tożsamości must always be separated from the main clause with a comma. This rule applies regardless of whether the phrase appears at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the sentence.
Learn Szukając własnej tożsamości, nastolatki wybierają różne subkultury 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