Breakdown of W każdym zakątku tego miasta ma ukrywać się jakiś bezcenny skarb.
ten
this (m)
się
oneself
w
in / on (a day)
miasto
city
jakiś
some, a certain
ukrywać
to hide
każdy
every, each; everyone
mieć
to be supposed to
skarb
treasure (skarbie: darling)
zakątek
the corner (m)
bezcenny
priceless
Questions & Answers about W każdym zakątku tego miasta ma ukrywać się jakiś bezcenny skarb.
How does ma work here? Doesn't mieć mean "to have"?
While mieć usually means "to have," here it's used with the infinitive ukrywać się to express a rumor, hearsay, or an unverified claim. In English, this translates to "is supposed to" or "is said to." So ma ukrywać się means "is supposed to be hiding" rather than "has to hide."
Why use the imperfective ukrywać się instead of the perfective ukryć się?
The imperfective ukrywać się emphasizes an ongoing state: the treasure is supposedly currently sitting hidden there. If you used the perfective ukryć się, it would sound like a one-time future action, meaning the treasure "is supposed to go into hiding" rather than already being hidden.
Why does zakątek change to zakątku here?
The preposition w (in) requires the locative case when describing a location. For many masculine inanimate nouns like zakątek, the locative ending is -u. Notice also that the fleeting -e- in the final syllable drops out, turning zakątek into zakątku.
What does jakiś add to the sentence? Could we just say bezcenny skarb?
You could leave it out, but adding jakiś (some / a certain) emphasizes the mystery and indefiniteness of the rumor. It highlights that people are whispering about "some" treasure, but no one knows exactly what or where it is.
Learn W każdym zakątku tego miasta ma ukrywać się jakiś bezcenny skarb 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