"Bojíme se, abychom o ten strom nepřišli."
Translation:We are afraid of losing that tree.
3 Comments
Would someone please explain why the verb in this sentence is negative? A literal translation, even if it's weird, might help me understand what's going on with this one. Thanks!
It is probably a special kind of phrase. Literally: "so that we wouldn't lose the tree." Bát se and equivalents (mít strach, ...) just uses this with abychom.
Compare with: "Bojíme se, že přijdeme o ten strom.", which has the same or almost the same meaning.
Normally, abychom is used to express a purpose, but with these verbs it serves a different purpose.
Děláme to, abychom o ten strom nepřišli. We do that, so that we don't lose the tree.
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Maybe that could be compared to the (archaic, I believe) use of “lest” after the English “to be afraid.” (“…to be afraid lest we should sin.”)
