Chcę powiesić drugi obraz nad komodą, ale najpierw muszę znaleźć dobry hak.

I want to hang a second painting above the dresser, but first I have to find a good hook.

Breakdown of Chcę powiesić drugi obraz nad komodą, ale najpierw muszę znaleźć dobry hak.

• ja: I
• ale: but
• musieć: to have to
• znaleźć: to find

Questions & Answers about Chcę powiesić drugi obraz nad komodą, ale najpierw muszę znaleźć dobry hak.

Why is there no ja in front of chcę or muszę?

Polish usually leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed. The verb endings already show who is doing the action:

• chcę = I want
• muszę = I must / I have to

So Ja chcę... is possible, but it sounds more emphatic, like I want..., not someone else.

Why do we say chcę powiesić instead of using a different form after chcę?

After chcieć (to want) and musieć (to have to / must), Polish normally uses the infinitive:

• chcę powiesić = I want to hang
• muszę znaleźć = I have to find

This works much like English want to do and have to do.

Why is it powiesić and not wieszać?

This is about aspect, which is very important in Polish.

• powiesić = perfective: to hang something up successfully, as a completed action
• wieszać = imperfective: to be hanging, to hang in general, to hang repeatedly

Here the speaker means one completed result: they want to get the picture up on the wall. So powiesić is the natural choice.

What does drugi mean here? Is it strictly , or can it also mean ?