Breakdown of Nauczyciel zauważył każdy szczegół w mojej prezentacji i powiedział, że to dobra praca.
Questions & Answers about Nauczyciel zauważył każdy szczegół w mojej prezentacji i powiedział, że to dobra praca.
Zauważył is the past tense of the perfective verb zauważyć (to notice, to spot) and presents the action as a single, completed event.
- zauważył = he noticed (once, completely, result-focused)
- zauważał = he was noticing / he used to notice (repeated or ongoing action in the past)
In this sentence, the teacher noticed all the details at a specific occasion (your presentation), so the completed, one-time action is expressed with zauważył (perfective).
Two things are going on here: gender/number and case.
Gender and number:
- szczegół (detail) is masculine singular.
- The pronoun każdy (every, each) must agree with it in gender and number.
- So we get:
- masculine singular: każdy szczegół
- feminine singular: każda książka
- neuter singular: każde pytanie
Case:
- The verb zauważyć takes a direct object in the accusative.
- For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative is the same as the nominative:
- nominative: szczegół
- accusative: szczegół
- każdy also has the same form in nominative and accusative for masculine inanimate:
- nominative: każdy szczegół
- accusative: każdy szczegół
So każdy szczegół is correct as the direct object of zauważył.
Każdą szczegół would be wrong because każdą is feminine accusative, but szczegół is masculine.
Both can often translate as every detail / all the details, but there is a nuance:
- każdy szczegół – focuses on each single detail individually.
- wszystkie szczegóły – focuses on the whole set of details collectively.
In this sentence:
- zauważył każdy szczegół suggests the teacher noticed each little thing, one by one (emphasis on thoroughness).
- zauważył wszystkie szczegóły would emphasize that no details were missed, but slightly more as a whole group.
Both are grammatically fine; każdy szczegół just feels more “he caught every single thing”.
Because after w (in), the noun takes the locative case, and the possessive moja must agree in case, gender, and number.
- Base form:
- moja prezentacja – my presentation (nominative, feminine singular)
- After w (in):
- w mojej prezentacji – in my presentation (locative, feminine singular)
Declension pattern (feminine, -a ending):
- Nominative: moja prezentacja (subject form)
- Locative: w mojej prezentacji (after w, o, etc.)
So w moja prezentacja is ungrammatical; both words must be in the locative: w mojej prezentacji.
Mojej prezentacji is in the locative case.
We know because:
- The preposition w (in) normally takes the locative when it means physical or abstract location.
- The endings:
- prezentacji – typical locative singular ending for many feminine nouns in -cja / -cja → -cji / -cji.
- mojej – locative form of the possessive moja (feminine singular).
So w mojej prezentacji literally means in my presentation, with both words in the locative.
The subject of powiedział is still nauczyciel.
In Polish, once the subject is clear, it does not have to be repeated:
- Nauczyciel zauważył każdy szczegół w mojej prezentacji i powiedział, że to dobra praca.
The sentence is understood as:
- Nauczyciel noticed every detail … and (the teacher) said that it was good work.
Polish often drops the subject pronoun and even the noun once it’s known from context, especially when two verbs describe actions of the same person connected by i (and).
Powiedział is the past tense, masculine singular form of powiedzieć (to say).
Past tense in Polish agrees with the subject in gender and number:
- masculine singular: powiedział (he said)
- feminine singular: powiedziała (she said)
- neuter singular: powiedziało (it said – rarely used)
- masculine personal plural: powiedzieli (they said – group with at least one male)
- non-masculine-personal plural: powiedziały (they said – all women or things/animals)
Since nauczyciel is grammatically masculine, the correct form is powiedział.
If it were nauczycielka (female teacher), the sentence would be:
- Nauczycielka zauważyła każdy szczegół … i powiedziała, że to dobra praca.
Both are grammatically correct:
- że to dobra praca
- że to jest dobra praca
In Polish, the verb jest (is) is often omitted in the present tense in sentences of the pattern:
- to + noun/adjective (in nominative)
Omitting jest sounds natural and quite common:
- To dobra praca. = This is good work.
- To dobry pomysł. = This is a good idea.
Including jest can sound a bit more explicit or emphatic, but is also correct. In your sentence, powiedział, że to dobra praca feels slightly smoother and more colloquial than powiedział, że to jest dobra praca, but both work.
Because praca (work) is feminine, and adjectives must agree in gender, number, and case.
- praca – feminine singular noun (nominative here)
- The adjective dobry (good) changes forms:
- masculine: dobry film
- feminine: dobra książka
- neuter: dobre pytanie
Since praca is feminine, we must use the feminine form dobra:
- dobra praca – good work
So dobry praca is incorrect; it mismatches gender.
After to, we usually use the nominative case, not the instrumental, in this kind of sentence.
- To dobra praca. – This is good work. (nominative)
- To dobry film. – This is a good film.
So:
- to (this/that) + dobra praca (nominative) is the standard pattern.
Polish also has copular sentences with the instrumental, but those usually use a pronoun and jest:
- Ona jest dobrą nauczycielką. – She is a good teacher. (instrumental: dobrą nauczycielką)
In your sentence, to dobra praca is a to + noun structure, which takes the nominative, not the instrumental.
Yes, you can, and it slightly shifts the focus:
w mojej prezentacji – literally in my presentation
Emphasizes the content or structure of the presentation (the details inside it).w czasie mojej prezentacji – during my presentation
Emphasizes the time when something happened (while you were presenting).
So:
- Nauczyciel zauważył każdy szczegół w mojej prezentacji – he noticed every detail of the presentation itself.
- Nauczyciel zauważył każdy szczegół w czasie mojej prezentacji – he noticed every detail during the presentation (could be details of your behavior, slides, speech, etc.).
Both are correct; the original focuses on details contained in the presentation.
Yes, Polish word order is relatively flexible, and that sentence is grammatically correct.
However, the emphasis shifts slightly:
Original:
- Nauczyciel zauważył każdy szczegół w mojej prezentacji i powiedział, że to dobra praca.
- First emphasizes how observant he was (noticed every detail), then gives his positive verdict.
Reordered:
- Nauczyciel powiedział, że to dobra praca i zauważył każdy szczegół w mojej prezentacji.
- Sounds like he first said it was good work, then (also) noticed every detail. The sequence and what you highlight changes.
Both are understandable; the original sounds more natural because noticing the details logically comes before giving the evaluation.
The Polish praca can mean both:
- work in general (the effort, the task you did):
- In your sentence, to dobra praca = this is good work / this is a good piece of work.
- job / employment:
- Mam dobrą pracę. = I have a good job.
The exact meaning is decided by context:
- In the context of a presentation you prepared, dobra praca is naturally understood as good work / a good performance / a good piece of work, not a good job (employment).