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  What it means

  Literally, “to lay an accent.” Figuratively, “kłaść akcent na coś” means to place emphasis on something — to stress its importance in speech, writing, or action. It is used when someone deliberately draws attention to a particular point or priority: “W tej lekcji kładziemy akcent na wymowę” (In this lesson we are placing emphasis on pronunciation).

  Vocabulary

  • kłaść — to lay, to place, to put (imperfective verb; perfective: położyć)
  • akcent — accent, stress, emphasis (masculine noun, accusative: akcent)
  • na coś — on something (preposition 'na' + accusative, indicating the object of emphasis)
  • położyć akcent — to place emphasis (perfective form, for a single completed act)

  Grammar note

  'Kłaść' is imperfective and describes habitual or ongoing emphasis; 'położyć' is perfective and describes a single, completed act of emphasis. 'Na coś' uses the preposition 'na' with the accusative case: 'kłaść akcent na gramatykę' (to place emphasis on grammar), 'kłaść akcent na jakość' (to stress quality). The accusative here answers 'emphasis on what?'

  Cultural context

  Neutral to slightly formal register. Common in educational, journalistic, and professional contexts. This phrase can also refer literally to linguistic phonetic stress: 'kłaść akcent na pierwszą sylabę' (to place stress on the first syllable). Closely parallels English 'to place emphasis on,' 'to stress,' or 'to highlight.'

  Intermediate

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