Po kilku latach pracy została architektką, choć wcześniej była pielęgniarką.

After a few years of work she became an architect, although earlier she was a nurse.

Breakdown of Po kilku latach pracy została architektką, choć wcześniej była pielęgniarką.

• być: to be
• ona: she
• wcześniej: earlier
• po: after

Questions & Answers about Po kilku latach pracy została architektką, choć wcześniej była pielęgniarką.

Why is there no word for she in this sentence?

Polish often drops subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb form.

Here, both została and była are feminine singular past tense forms, so a Polish speaker immediately understands that the subject is she.

So Polish says:

• została = she became
• była = she was

Adding ona would usually be unnecessary unless you want extra emphasis.

How do I know the subject is feminine?

In the past tense, Polish verbs show gender in the singular.

• została = feminine singular
• była = feminine singular

If the subject were masculine, you would get:

• został
• był

So the sentence clearly refers to a woman.

What does została mean here?

Here została is the past tense of zostać, and it means became.

So:

• została architektką = she became an architect

Be careful: zostać can also mean to stay, to remain, or to be left, depending on context. But with a profession or role, it very often means to become.

Why are architektką and in that form ending in ?