Breakdown of Nie wiem, dlaczego czworo ludzi na nas patrzy.
nie
no / not
wiedzieć
to know
my
we
na
on, at / to (motion toward) / for (a meal) / for (waiting for)
Questions & Answers about Nie wiem, dlaczego czworo ludzi na nas patrzy.
Why do we use the collective numeral czworo here instead of cztery or czterech?
We use collective numerals like czworo when talking about mixed-gender groups, children, young animals, or nouns that only have a plural form. Here, czworo ludzi implies that the group of four people includes both men and women.
Why is the word for people ludzi instead of the basic plural ludzie?
Collective numerals always force the noun that follows them into the genitive case. Because we used czworo, the nominative ludzie must change to the genitive plural ludzi.
Since four people are looking, why is the verb patrzy in the singular form rather than the plural patrzą?
This is a special rule for collective numerals: when they are the subject of a sentence, the verb must be in the third-person singular. If this sentence were in the past tense, the verb would also take the neuter form, becoming patrzyło.
What case is nas in the phrase na nas, and why?
The pronoun nas is in the accusative case. The verb patrzeć (to look) pairs with the preposition na, and when na implies directing an action at a target, it requires the accusative case.