Questions & Answers about Krojenie pomidorów jest łatwe.
How do we know to use krojenie instead of the infinitive kroić (to cut) here?
You can actually use either, but the grammar changes! Krojenie is a verbal noun meaning "the cutting" or "cutting". Because it is formed from the imperfective verb kroić, it focuses on the ongoing process of the action. Using verbal nouns ending in -nie or -cie is a very natural way to talk about activities in Polish.
Why is it pomidorów (genitive) instead of pomidory (accusative) if they are the objects being cut?
Because krojenie acts as a noun, it cannot take a direct object in the accusative case like a verb can. Instead, the object being acted upon takes the genitive case, which translates literally to "the cutting of tomatoes". If you used the infinitive verb instead, you would use the accusative: kroić pomidory.
Why does this sentence use the adjective łatwe instead of the adverb łatwo?
Because it is describing the noun krojenie. All verbal nouns ending in -nie or -cie are neuter, so we must use the neuter singular adjective łatwe. If the sentence used an infinitive verb as the subject instead, you would need the adverb: Kroić pomidory jest łatwo.
I sometimes mix up genitive plural endings. Why does pomidor take -ów?
Pomidor is a masculine inanimate noun ending in a hard consonant (r). For the vast majority of masculine nouns ending in hard consonants, the genitive plural suffix is simply -ów.
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