Breakdown of Ten człowiek został skazany na więzienie.
ten
this (m)
na
on, at / to (motion toward) / for (a meal) / for (waiting for)
człowiek
person, human
zostać
to be (passive auxiliary)
skazać
to sentence
więzienie
prison
Questions & Answers about Ten człowiek został skazany na więzienie.
Why do we use został here instead of był for "was"?
This sentence uses the dynamic passive voice, which relies on the auxiliary verb zostać for completed actions or events that cause a change of state. Został skazany emphasizes the actual event of him receiving the sentence. If you used był skazany, it would just describe a static state in the past (he was a sentenced man).
What is the base verb for skazany, and why does its aspect matter here?
The base verb is skazać (to sentence), which is perfective. This matters because the dynamic passive voice with zostać is built exclusively using the passive participles of perfective verbs, highlighting a finished action and its result.
Why does the passive participle skazany end in -y?
In the passive voice, the participle acts like an adjective and must agree with the subject in gender, number, and case. Since the subject ten człowiek is a masculine singular noun in the nominative case, the participle takes the standard masculine singular adjective ending -y.
The preposition na often means "on" and takes the locative case. Why is it followed by the accusative case here?
The verb skazać (to sentence) specifically pairs with the preposition na plus the accusative case to express the punishment someone receives. Because więzienie (prison) is a neuter noun, its accusative form is identical to its basic dictionary form.
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