Breakdown of Morderca zastrzelił dwóch ludzi.
ludzie
people
dwa
two
zastrzelić
to shoot dead (perfective)
morderca
murderer (m)
Questions & Answers about Morderca zastrzelił dwóch ludzi.
Why does the verb zastrzelił have the prefix za- here, instead of just being strzelił?
The prefix za- in Polish often indicates that an action was carried out to its absolute, sometimes fatal, conclusion. While strzelił just means he fired a shot, zastrzelił specifically means he shot them dead. Another similar example is bić (to beat) versus zabić (to kill).
Morderca ends in -a, which usually marks a feminine noun. Why is the verb zastrzelił in the masculine form?
Morderca is a masculine noun describing a male person, despite its -a ending. It declines like a feminine noun in the singular (for example, the accusative object would be mordercę), but it always takes masculine adjectives and verbs. This is why we see the masculine past tense ending -ł in zastrzelił.
Why is the direct object dwóch ludzi instead of dwaj ludzie?
The verb zastrzelić requires the accusative case for its direct object. For masculine personal nouns (groups including at least one man), the accusative plural form is identical to the genitive plural. Therefore, the nominative dwaj ludzie changes to the genitive-like dwóch ludzi in the accusative.
Could I say dwoje ludzi instead of dwóch ludzi here?
Yes, but it would change the meaning slightly. Dwóch ludzi strongly implies two men. If you wanted to specify a mixed-gender pair, such as a man and a woman, you would use the collective numeral and say dwoje ludzi.
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