Breakdown of Ten polityk boi się zmiany.
ten
this (m)
polityk
politician
bać się
to be afraid
zmiana
change (modification)
Questions & Answers about Ten polityk boi się zmiany.
Why is the word for "change" written as zmiany instead of the dictionary form zmiana?
The verb bać się (to be afraid of) requires the noun that follows it to be in the Genitive case. Since zmiana is a feminine noun ending in -a, its Genitive form changes the last letter to -y, making it zmiany.
Wait, doesn't zmiany also mean "changes" in the plural?
Yes, it does! For most feminine nouns, the Genitive singular (of a change) and the Nominative plural (changes) are exactly the same: zmiany. Because boi się forces the Genitive case, this sentence could technically translate to "is afraid of change" or "is afraid of changes." Usually, context makes it clear, but here either interpretation works perfectly.
Why do we need the word się after boi?
In Polish, the verb for "to be afraid" is bać się. It belongs to a group of verbs that are always reflexive, meaning they must be paired with się (oneself) to make sense. Without się, the word boi is incomplete and incorrect.
If we wanted to say "These politicians are afraid of change", how would the sentence look?
The subject would change to the plural masculine-personal form: ci politycy (these politicians). The verb would also change to the "they" form: boją się. The object zmiany stays exactly the same, because they are still afraid of the same thing. The full sentence would be: Ci politycy boją się zmiany.
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