Breakdown of Wydaje jej się, że to złudzenie, ale ten potwór jest prawdziwy.
być
to be
ten
this (m)
ale
but
to
is (linking copula)
jej
to her
że
that
prawdziwy
true
wydawać się
to seem
złudzenie
illusion
potwór
monster
Questions & Answers about Wydaje jej się, że to złudzenie, ale ten potwór jest prawdziwy.
Why do we use jej instead of ona here?
The verb wydawać się (to seem) is used impersonally here. When you want to express that something seems a certain way to someone, the person having the impression takes the Dative case. Therefore, the basic pronoun ona (she) changes to its Dative form jej (to her). The literal translation is 'It seems to her'.
Why is się separated from the verb wydaje?
Small pronoun words like jej and się prefer not to be at the very beginning or end of a clause. They often group together after the first stressed word, which in this case is wydaje. You will frequently see the Dative pronoun followed immediately by się in these types of expressions.
Why isn't złudzenie in the Instrumental case if it's describing what something is?
Because it follows the word to. When you use the pronoun to as a quick way to say 'is' or 'this is' (as in to złudzenie), the noun that follows always stays in the basic Nominative case. If you built a standard sentence with the verb jest (like Ono jest złudzeniem), then you would need the Instrumental case.
What gender is potwór and does it affect the words around it?
Potwór (monster) is a masculine animate noun, meaning it behaves grammatically like an animal. In Polish, mythological creatures and monsters belong to the masculine animate category. Because it is masculine, it pairs with the standard masculine adjective prawdziwy (real) and the masculine pronoun ten (this) in the Nominative case.
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