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  What it means

  Literally “to reach to an effect/result,” this idiom means to come to pass, to take place, to materialize, or to be carried out successfully. It is used to say that a plan, event, or agreement actually happened — or, in the negative, that it fell through. Example: “Spotkanie nie doszło do skutku” — “The meeting did not take place / fell through.”

  Vocabulary

  • dojść — to reach, to arrive at (perfective; imperfective: dochodzić)
  • do — to, up to (preposition governing genitive)
  • skutek — effect, result (genitive: skutku)

  Grammar note

  The preposition do governs the genitive case, giving skutku (genitive singular of skutek). Dojść is perfective, marking the completion of a process — the event either fully happened or did not. The imperfective equivalent dochodzić do skutku implies an ongoing attempt to materialize. The subject is typically an event, plan, or agreement.

  Cultural context

  This is a formal-to-neutral idiom very common in Polish journalism, official communication, and business language. It is the standard way to say an event 'took place' or 'fell through' in formal contexts. The English equivalents include 'to come to pass,' 'to materialize,' 'to take place,' or 'to fall through' (in negation).

  Intermediate

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