Breakdown of Nie powiedzieliśmy nikomu, jak włamać się do systemu.
nie
no / not
jak
how
do
to
powiedzieć
to say (perfective)
nikt
nobody
system
the system
włamać się
to break into
Questions & Answers about Nie powiedzieliśmy nikomu, jak włamać się do systemu.
Why do we use the infinitive włamać się directly after jak?
Just like the impersonal nie sposób + infinitive construction you are currently learning, jak + infinitive works as an impersonal block. It translates directly to the English "how to [verb]". Because it describes a general method rather than a specific person's action, the verb stays in its unconjugated dictionary form.
Why is nikomu used here instead of another form of "nobody"?
The verb powiedzieć (to tell) requires the Dative case for the person receiving the information (answering "to whom?"). The Dative form of nikt (nobody) is nikomu. Also, remember that Polish strictly requires double negation, so the negative pronoun nikomu must be paired with the negated verb nie powiedzieliśmy.
Why do we need the preposition do after włamać się?
The verb włamać się (to break in) strictly requires the preposition do followed by the Genitive case to express what is being broken into. Even though the verb's prefix w- already carries the idea of "into", you still need do to legally connect the verb to the target noun (systemu).
Could the reflexive pronoun się be placed at the very end of the sentence?
While Polish word order is flexible, putting się at the absolute end of this sentence (jak włamać do systemu się) would sound very clunky and unnatural. The pronoun się likes to be close to its verb but generally avoids being the very last word of a clause if there's a better place for it. Right after włamać is the most natural spot here.
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