Question: The Preposition ''o''

Sentence Discussions Polish
#1

Can anyone help with this question, please?

The preposition ‘‘o’’ can have multiple meanings, however, when referring to ‘‘about’’, it can take either the locative case, or the accusative case.

E.g. mówić o czymś (locative) = speak about something, however, martwić się o coś (accustative) = worry about something.

Can anyone explain how to differentiate when ‘‘o’’ (in the sense of ‘‘about’’) should be followed by the locative, or the accusative case?

I read the blog below :

This confirms that some verbs followed by ‘‘o’’ (as in ‘‘about’’) require the accusative case.

Is there a way to know which verbs these are? Or are they just exceptional and require memorisation, rather than following a pattern?

Thanks in advance.

#2

Sadly, I don’t think there’s an easy way to differentiate between those. You would need to memorize the verb together with the preposition and the appropriate case.

It might be helpful to memorize the whole thing (rather than the verb itself), as in “martwić się o kogoś” (accusative) and “rozmawiać o kimś” (locative). This is provided, of course, that you are at a stage where you can quickly recognize that “kogoś” is the accusative form, and “kimś” is the locative form.

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