Breakdown of Ludzie przyzwyczaili się do tego, że moda szybko się zmienia.
to
this
się
oneself
ludzie
people
szybko
quickly
że
that
do
to
przyzwyczaić się
to get used to
zmieniać
to change
moda
the fashion
Questions & Answers about Ludzie przyzwyczaili się do tego, że moda szybko się zmienia.
Why do we say do tego, że instead of just do że or że?
In Polish, prepositions like do (to) cannot directly attach to a subordinate clause starting with że (that). Instead, you use the pronoun to as a bridge. Since the verb przyzwyczaić się do (to get used to) requires the genitive case, to changes to its genitive form, tego. Literally, the sentence says: People got used to this, that fashion changes quickly.
Could I just drop do tego and say przyzwyczaili się, że...?
No, you cannot. The verb przyzwyczaić się strictly requires the preposition do to express what you are getting used to. Because you cannot drop the preposition, you are forced to use the bridge pronoun tego to connect it to the że clause.
Why do we have się twice in this sentence?
They belong to two completely separate reflexive verbs in two different parts of the sentence. The first się is part of przyzwyczaili się (got used to). The second się belongs to zmienia się (changes).
Why does Polish use że... zmienia (that... changes) instead of an '-ing' form like 'changing'?
Polish doesn't use its equivalent of an '-ing' noun-verb (gerund) to express this kind of ongoing action in a dependent clause. Instead of saying 'got used to fashion changing', Polish requires a full descriptive clause with że (that) and a conjugated verb: 'got used to the fact that fashion changes'.
Why does przyzwyczaili end in -li and not -ły?
The subject ludzie (people) is a masculine personal plural noun. In the past tense, plural subjects that include at least one man take the -li ending. If the subject were non-masculine personal, like kobiety (women) or zwierzęta (animals), you would use the -ły ending, as in kobiety przyzwyczaiły się.
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