Breakdown of Mój dziadek był chory i teraz boi się tej choroby.
być
to be
i
and
ten
this (m)
teraz
now
mój
my
dziadek
the grandfather
chory
sick
bać się
to be afraid
choroba
illness
Questions & Answers about Mój dziadek był chory i teraz boi się tej choroby.
Why is it tej choroby and not the Accusative tę chorobę?
The verb bać się (to be afraid) always requires its object to be in the Genitive case, rather than the usual Accusative. This is why the feminine noun choroba becomes choroby.
Where does the word tej come from?
tej is the Genitive form of ta (this) for feminine nouns. Because the verb forces the noun into the Genitive case, the pointing word describing it must also change to match.
Why is there a się after boi? Does he scare himself?
No, he doesn't scare himself. The verb bać się always includes the reflexive pronoun się. In English we say "to be afraid", but in Polish the verb is inherently reflexive, even though the action isn't done to oneself.
chory and choroby look very similar. Are they the same word?
They share the same root, but they are different types of words. chory is an adjective meaning "sick", used here in the Nominative case to describe dziadek (grandfather). choroba is the noun meaning "illness", which changes to choroby here because of the Genitive case.
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