Breakdown of Wychowawca policzył uczestników przed wycieczką.
wycieczka
trip
przed
before (in time)
wychowawca
the counselor
uczestnik
the participant
Questions & Answers about Wychowawca policzył uczestników przed wycieczką.
Why does the direct object uczestników end in -ów, which is usually a Genitive plural ending?
The verb policzyć (to count) requires the Accusative case for its direct object. For masculine personal nouns like uczestnik (participant), the Accusative plural form is identical to the Genitive plural form.
How would we modify this sentence to say he counted a mixed-gender group of five participants using a collective numeral?
You would say Wychowawca policzył pięcioro uczestników przed wycieczką. The collective numeral pięcioro requires the noun that follows it to be in the Genitive plural. Conveniently, uczestników looks exactly the same, but its grammatical role shifts from Accusative to Genitive!
The preposition przed means before in this sentence. What case does it trigger for the word wycieczka?
It triggers the Instrumental case. When przed is used to describe a point in time (before the trip) or a static physical location (in front of), it always takes the Instrumental case. For the feminine noun wycieczka, this means changing the final -a to -ą.
What is the difference between a wychowawca and a regular nauczyciel?