Breakdown of Szefowa kazała mi oddzwonić później, bo właśnie rozmawiała z klientką.
ona
she
bo
because
mi
me
z
with
Questions & Answers about Szefowa kazała mi oddzwonić później, bo właśnie rozmawiała z klientką.
Why is it szefowa and not szef?
Szefowa means female boss / woman boss, while szef means male boss.
Because the sentence uses feminine past-tense forms later on — kazała and rozmawiała — we know the boss is a woman.
So:
- szef = male boss
- szefowa = female boss
In everyday Polish, szefowa is very common and natural.
What does kazała mi oddzwonić mean literally?
Literally, it means something like:
the female boss ordered/told me to call back
Breakdown:
- kazała = she told / she ordered / she made someone do
- mi = to me
- oddzwonić = to call back
So the structure is:
kazać + someone (dative) + infinitive
Examples:
- Kazała mi czekać. = She told me to wait.
- Kazał nam wyjść. = He told us to leave.
Depending on context, kazać can sound anywhere from told to ordered. In this sentence, told me to call back later is probably the most natural English translation.
Why is it mi and not mnie?