Dziś spóźniam się, ponieważ autobus odjechał za wcześnie.

Today I am late because the bus left too early.

Breakdown of Dziś spóźniam się, ponieważ autobus odjechał za wcześnie.

• dziś: today
• wcześnie: early
• odjechać: to leave
• autobus: the bus
• spóźniać się: to be late
• ponieważ: because
• za: too

Questions & Answers about Dziś spóźniam się, ponieważ autobus odjechał za wcześnie.

Why is the verb in the present tense spóźniam się instead of the future tense spóźnię się?

Spóźnić się is a perfective verb, so its “present” form actually refers to the future (it means “I will end up late”). To express an ongoing state right now—“I am late”—you need the imperfective spóźniać się, whose present tense is spóźniam się.

What does the się in spóźniam się do?

The particle się makes spóźniać reflexive and intransitive, giving it the meaning “to be late.” Without się, spóźniać would be transitive (“to make someone late”) and would need a direct object.

What’s the difference between dziś and dzisiaj?

Both mean “today.” Dziś is simply a shorter, more colloquial form of dzisiaj, but you can use them interchangeably. Placing dziś at the beginning of the sentence highlights the time element—“Today, I’m late…”

Why is there a comma before ponieważ?

In Polish, subordinate clauses introduced by ponieważ (“because”) are always separated from the main clause by a comma. That’s why it’s Dziś spóźniam się, ponieważ… not without a comma.

What’s the difference between ponieważ and bo?

Both mean “because,” but ponieważ is more formal or neutral (common in writing), while bo is colloquial (common in speech). You could say bo autobus odjechał za wcześnie in casual conversation, but ponieważ is better in a standard sentence.

Why is the past tense of odjechać written as odjechał?

Odjechać is a perfective verb (“to depart”). In the past tense it takes a gendered ending. Autobus is masculine, so you say odjechał (“it left”). A feminine subject would be odjechała.

What does the prefix od- add to the base verb jechać?

Jechać means “to go/drive (by vehicle).” The prefix od- gives the sense “away” or “off,” so odjechać means “to depart” or “to go away by vehicle.” It also makes the verb perfective (a completed one-time action).

How does za work in za wcześnie?

With adjectives or adverbs, za means “too” (an excessive degree). Here wcześnie is an adverb (“early”), so za wcześnie means “too early.” You form it the same way with adjectives (e.g. za drogie = “too expensive”) or other adverbs (e.g. za wolno = “too slowly”).