Breakdown of Mama zabrania dziecku jeść dużo cukru.
dziecko
child
jeść
to eat
dużo
a lot / much
cukier
sugar
mama
mum
zabraniać
to forbid
Questions & Answers about Mama zabrania dziecku jeść dużo cukru.
Why is the child translated as dziecku instead of dziecko?
The verb zabraniać (to forbid) is one of the special verbs that require the person receiving the action to be in the Dative case. Because we are saying who is being forbidden, the neuter noun dziecko changes to its Dative form, dziecku.
Why does the word for sugar change to cukru?
In Polish, words expressing quantity like dużo (a lot) force the noun that follows them into the Genitive case. Since Mom is forbidding a lot of sugar, the basic noun cukier drops the letter e and takes the Genitive ending to become cukru.
How do you build a sentence saying you forbid someone to do something?
You use the conjugated form of zabraniać, followed by the person in the Dative case (dziecku), and then the action they cannot do in its basic dictionary form, the infinitive (jeść).
Does zabrania mean she is forbidding it just for today?
Usually no. Zabraniać is an imperfective verb, which means it describes a general, ongoing rule or habit. If she were forbidding it just this once, we would use the perfective verb zabronić.
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