Breakdown of Trzeba upominać się o lepsze warunki.
trzeba
one must, it is necessary (+ infinitive)
lepszy
better
warunek
condition
upominać się o
to demand (what is owed)
Questions & Answers about Trzeba upominać się o lepsze warunki.
Why do we use the preposition o followed by the Accusative case here?
The verb upominać się means to demand or claim something as your right. In Polish, verbs that express asking, fighting, or striving for an objective are often followed by o (for). When o is used this way, it always forces the following noun phrase, like lepsze warunki, to take the Accusative case.
Is lepsze warunki in the Accusative case? It looks just like the Nominative.
Yes, it is in the Accusative case! The phrase lepsze warunki (better conditions) is a non-masculine-personal plural noun phrase. For these types of nouns and their adjectives, the Accusative plural form is exactly the same as the Nominative plural form.
Why do we use the imperfective verb upominać się instead of a perfective verb?
The impersonal word trzeba (one must or it is necessary) is followed by an infinitive. Here, the imperfective upominać się is used because the sentence expresses a general, ongoing rule or attitude: one should always demand better conditions. If it were a single, specific event, you would use the perfective form upomnieć się.
Does the meaning change if I leave out the word się?
Yes, it changes completely! The verb upominać without się means to reprimand or tell someone off. By adding the reflexive pronoun się, it becomes upominać się, which means to demand, claim, or stand up for something you deserve.
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