# Wiem czego chcesz versus wiem co chcę.



## The Hyena

Cześć wszystkim,

Why are these different?

1. Wiem* czego* chcesz, 
2. Wiem *co* chcę

The first seems to be Genitive, the second Accusative.

Thanks

H


----------



## zaffy

I guess they are interchangeable in either example.

1. Wiem* czego/co* chcesz.
2. Wiem *co/czego* chcę.


_Nie wiem *co/czego* on chce ode mnie.   _To my ears, "czego" sounds more casual and perhaps rude in that example.


----------



## The Hyena

zaffy said:


> I guess they are interchangeable in either example.
> 
> 1. Wiem* czego/co* chcesz.
> 2. Wiem *co/czego* chcę.
> 
> 
> _Nie wiem *co/czego* on chce ode mnie.   _To my ears, "czego" sounds more casual and perhaps rude in that example.


Thanks Zaffy, great.

H


----------



## jasio

In short: it may be tricky.  



zaffy said:


> _Nie wiem *co/czego* on chce ode mnie.   _To my ears, "czego" sounds more casual and perhaps rude in that example.


It seems that your personal opinion is disparate from mine and from the linguistic consensus.



The Hyena said:


> The first seems to be Genitive, the second Accusative.


According to Co chcesz? Czego chcesz? - Poradnia językowa PWN, "chcieć" requires Genitive, but since both forms are in fact used, the quoted opinion assumes that with this particular verb Genitive of "co" can have two forms, perhaps contrary to a popular belief. ;-)

Also, they point out that in some types of phrases, a subordinate clause can be omitted - but still the grammatical case of "co" matches the omitted verb rather than "chcieć". For example in:


> Dziecko myśli, o czym chce.


the instrumental case matches the omitted verb "myśleć" rather than "chcieć".


----------



## The Hyena

jasio said:


> In short: it may be tricky.
> 
> 
> It seems that your personal opinion is disparate from mine and from the linguistic consensus.
> 
> 
> According to Co chcesz? Czego chcesz? - Poradnia językowa PWN, "chcieć" requires Genitive, but since both forms are in fact used, the quoted opinion assumes that with this particular verb Genitive of "co" can have two forms, perhaps contrary to a popular belief. ;-)
> 
> Also, they point out that in some types of phrases, a subordinate clause can be omitted - but still the grammatical case of "co" matches the omitted verb rather than "chcieć". For example in:
> 
> the instrumental case matches the omitted verb "myśleć" rather than "chcieć".


Tricky indeed! 

Thanks Jasio,

H


----------



## rotan

zaffy said:


> To my ears, "czego" sounds more casual and perhaps rude in that example.


Same here
"Czego chcesz?" sounds ruder to me than "Co chcesz?"


----------



## jasio

rotan said:


> Same here
> "Czego chcesz?" sounds ruder to me than "Co chcesz?"



Rude speech is impolite, but not necessarily grammatically incorrect, is it? ;-)

To my ear both of them sound rude-ish or hostile. So do "czego?" and "co?" - even more, perhaps. And indeed, the versions with "czego" sound somewhat more rude than with "co". But primarily, it's brevity of such short phrases (plus an intonation and a typical usage) which makes them impolite, rather than an intrinsic difference between "czego" and "co". If you want to be polite, you simply do not phrase your questions this way, that's all. *)

Besides, to my ear, "wiem, czego on chce" does not sound by any means impolite, it's purely informative. While "wiem, co on chce" in turn sounds a bit peculiar - perhaps a shorter version of "wiem, co on chce zrobić/osiągnąć/etc.".


EDIT: *) at least if you're an adult. The speech of kids and teenagers is loaded with phrases, which adults consider offensive, rude, impolite, etc., but it's a feature of their language (or an attempt to cover weaknesses) rather than real hostility.


----------



## rotan

I know it all works in general, I was referring to that particular example


----------

