Breakdown of Dzieci grają w berka, skaczą i uciekają.
i
and
dziecko
child
grać
to play
w
at (playing a game)
berek
the tag
skakać
to jump
uciekać
to run away (to flee, escape)
Questions & Answers about Dzieci grają w berka, skaczą i uciekają.
Why do we say grają w berka instead of grają w berek?
The phrase grać w (to play a game or sport) is always followed by the Accusative case. The word for the game of tag is berek. Even though it is an abstract game, masculine nouns for games and sports are treated as animate in Polish. Therefore, its Accusative form takes the -a ending, making it berka.
The verb skaczą (they jump) looks a bit unusual. What is its dictionary form?
The infinitive is skakać. Verbs ending in -kać often change the k to cz when conjugated in the present tense. Since dzieci (children) is plural, we use the "they" form, giving us skaczą.
Why is the verb uciekają used here instead of a regular word for running, like biegają?
While biegać means to run around generally, uciekać specifically means "to run away" or "to escape." In the context of playing tag, the children aren't just running for exercise; they are actively fleeing from the person who is "it."
How would I apply this lesson's topic to say the children are running away "around a tree"?
You would add the word dookoła (around) followed by the Genitive case of the object they are circling. The word for tree is drzewo, and its Genitive form is drzewa. So you would say: uciekają dookoła drzewa.
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