Word
Upadek to takie straszne ryzyko!
Meaning
A fall is such a terrible risk!
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Upadek to takie straszne ryzyko!
to
is (linking copula)
taki
such, this kind of
straszny
terrible (scary, frightening)
ryzyko
risk
Questions & Answers about Upadek to takie straszne ryzyko!
Why do we use takie instead of tak in this sentence?
We use forms of the adjective taki (meaning "such a") when we are modifying a noun phrase. Here, it modifies the neuter noun phrase straszne ryzyko. Because ryzyko is neuter, we use the neuter form takie. If we wanted to say "so terrible" without the noun (modifying just the adjective), we would use the adverb tak: tak straszne!
Why does this sentence use to instead of jest to mean "is"?
In Polish, when you are saying "Noun A is Noun B", you have two options. A very common and natural choice is using the word to to connect them, which allows you to keep both nouns in the basic nominative case. Here, upadek (Noun A) and ryzyko (Noun B) are both in the nominative.
How would this sentence change if I wanted to use jest instead of to?
If you use a form of być (like jest) to connect two nouns, the second noun phrase must change to the instrumental case. The sentence would become: Upadek jest takim strasznym ryzykiem! Both ways are correct and mean the same thing, but using to is often simpler since you don't have to change the case.
Does upadek only mean a physical fall to the ground?