Po obiedzie musimy posprzątać kuchnię.

the kitchen

Breakdown of Po obiedzie musimy posprzątać kuchnię.

• obiad: the dinner (main meal)
• musieć: must
• my: we

Questions & Answers about Po obiedzie musimy posprzątać kuchnię.

Why is it obiedzie and not something like obiadzie or obiad after po?

Because po (meaning “after” in time expressions) governs the Locative case. The noun obiad (dinner/lunch) in the Locative singular is obiedzie. The consonant softens: d + -zie. Examples:

• po obiedzie = after lunch
• Compare: ogród → w ogrodzie (in the garden), świat → o świecie (about the world)

Why is it kuchnię and not kuchnia?

Kuchnię is the Accusative singular of the feminine noun kuchnia (kitchen). It’s the direct object of the verb (what we have to clean). Mini-pattern:

• Nominative: kuchnia
• Accusative: kuchnię

What’s the difference between posprzątać and sprzątać?

Aspect:

• posprzątać = perfective (to clean up, get it cleaned — a completed result)
• sprzątać = imperfective (to clean, be cleaning — an ongoing or habitual action) In this sentence, musimy posprzątać implies “we have to get the kitchen cleaned (to completion).”
  If you said musimy sprzątać, it would sound like “we have to (regularly) clean” or “we must be cleaning (as a process).”