"Potrzebujemy jego kota."
Translation:We need his cat.
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The sentence is awkward. The only scenario where it could make sense is:
You've just realized that you have mice at home. Your know your neighbor
has a cat... So, you give your wife an idea: "We need his cat" -
Potrzebujemy jego kota (genitive)/ (Potrzebny nam jego kot (nominative)
Actually, if the sentence was ever used outside of Duolingo, it would be in passive voice (the second option). Otherwise, the verb "potrzebować" is
used with quite small number of nouns associated with basic biological or spiritual needs (not "wants"). In that sense genitive (Dopełniacz) fulfills all
the most essential human needs:
We need bread/water/money/air/love/peace/time/God (to live) - Potrzebujemy chleba/wody/pieniędzy/powietrza/czasu/Boga (by żyć)
We need ("want") other things and... people to make our lives easier, but...
they are not essential, so the verb "potrzebować" is used in passive form:
We need his cat/his car/his help/him/you - Potrzebny nam jego kot/ jego samochód/jego pomoc/(On) Jest nam potrzebny/(Ty) Jesteś nam potrzebny
Because as a general rule of thumb the allocation of words to meanings is fairly arbitrary. It works the other way around as well though ... For example: "o" in Polish = "about" in English, making the English word a whopping five times as long as the Polish, shock horror!!! :O ;)
I know you probably weren't looking for an answer. You're not alone though. I get frustrated with long words too... Polish word grammar is frustratingly specific =D