Breakdown of Organizm potrzebuje witamin i energii.
i
and
potrzebować
to need
energia
energy
witamina
vitamin
Questions & Answers about Organizm potrzebuje witamin i energii.
How could we rewrite this sentence to use the impersonal się construction from this lesson?
You would drop the subject (organizm) and use the 3rd-person singular verb with się: Potrzebuje się witamin i energii. This translates to 'Vitamins and energy are needed' or 'One needs vitamins and energy.' The objects remain in the Genitive case.
Why are the words witamin and energii in the Genitive case instead of the Accusative?
The verb potrzebować (to need) is one of the common Polish verbs that always requires its direct object to be in the Genitive case. Therefore, you must use the Genitive forms even in a positive sentence.
Wait, isn't witamin a masculine noun because it ends in a consonant?
It looks like one here, but it is actually the Genitive plural form of the feminine noun witamina (vitamin). To make the Genitive plural of most feminine nouns ending in -a, you just drop the -a completely.
Why does energii end with a double -ii?
The base word is energia, which is a feminine noun. Words of foreign origin ending in -ia take an -ii or -ji ending in the Genitive, Dative, and Locative singular cases. Because it ends in -gia, the Genitive ending becomes -ii, resulting in energii.