Breakdown of Dzięki temu naukowcowi stworzyliśmy lekarstwo przeciwko rakowi.
ten
this (m)
lekarstwo
medicine
naukowiec
scientist
przeciwko
against
stworzyć
to create
dzięki
thanks to (+ Dative)
rak
cancer
Questions & Answers about Dzięki temu naukowcowi stworzyliśmy lekarstwo przeciwko rakowi.
Why do we say temu naukowcowi instead of ten naukowiec?
The preposition dzięki (thanks to) requires the following noun to be in the Dative case. The basic masculine phrase ten naukowiec (this scientist) changes to temu naukowcowi to match this rule.
Why does the word rak (cancer) have the -owi ending here?
Just like dzięki, the preposition przeciwko (against) also forces the noun into the Dative case. The masculine noun rak takes the standard Dative ending -owi to become rakowi.
I learned that lekarstwo na means medicine for something. Is lekarstwo przeciwko different?
They mean the same thing, but they use different grammar! Everyday Polish usually uses na + Accusative (like lekarstwo na raka). Using przeciwko + Dative (przeciwko rakowi) is equally correct but sounds a bit more formal or scientific, emphasizing the fight against the disease.
Why use the verb stworzyliśmy instead of tworzyliśmy?
Stworzyć is the perfective version of the verb tworzyć (to create). Because the medicine was successfully and completely created, we use the perfective past tense stworzyliśmy. If you used tworzyliśmy, it would just mean you were in the process of creating it, without saying if you finished.
Wait, doesn't rak also mean crab?
Yes! Just like the English word cancer comes from the Latin word for crab, Polish uses the exact same word, rak, for both the animal (crab or crayfish) and the medical disease.
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