Ona ma jeszcze zadzwonić do klientki, zanim wyjdzie z biura.

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Breakdown of Ona ma jeszcze zadzwonić do klientki, zanim wyjdzie z biura.

• do: to
• biuro: the office
• wyjść: to leave

Questions & Answers about Ona ma jeszcze zadzwonić do klientki, zanim wyjdzie z biura.

Why is ma used here? Does ma zadzwonić mean has to call?

Yes, ma + infinitive often means is supposed to, is to, or has to in the sense of a plan, duty, or expectation.

So Ona ma jeszcze zadzwonić do klientki means something like:

• She still has to call the client
• She is still supposed to call the client
• She still needs to call the client

It is similar to musi zadzwonić, but musi sounds stronger and more like strict necessity. Ma zadzwonić can sound more like an item on her schedule or a task she is expected to do.

Why is it zadzwonić, not dzwonić?

This is about aspect.

• dzwonić = imperfective
• zadzwonić = perfective

Here, zadzwonić is used because the sentence is about one complete phone call that needs to happen before she leaves.

So:

• ma zadzwonić = she is supposed to make that call / complete that call
• ma dzwonić would suggest something more ongoing, repeated, or less focused on completion

In this sentence, the important idea is that she must finish the act of calling before leaving, so the perfective verb zadzwonić is the natural choice.

Why do we say do klientki? Why not a direct object like in English?