Breakdown of To, co zrobił, zaskoczyło wszystkich.
to
this
co
what
wszyscy
everyone / all (the)
zrobić
to do / to make (someone something)
zaskoczyć
to surprise
Questions & Answers about To, co zrobił, zaskoczyło wszystkich.
Why does this sentence use to, co instead of just co for "what"?
In Polish, when "what" means "that which" or "the thing that", you usually need the pair to, co. The word to acts as a placeholder in the main sentence (literally "That surprised everyone"), and co introduces the relative clause ("which he did").
Why is the verb zaskoczyło in the neuter form ending in -o, even though a man did the action (zrobił)?
Why is wszystkich used instead of wszyscy for "everyone"?
The verb zaskoczyć (to surprise) requires a direct object in the accusative case. Wszyscy is the nominative (subject) form, while wszystkich is the accusative form used when a group of people is the object receiving the action.
Why are there two commas in such a short sentence?
Polish punctuation rules are much stricter than English ones. You must always isolate a relative clause with commas. The first comma opens the clause before co, and the second comma closes it after zrobił so the main sentence can continue.
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