Questions & Answers about Muszę przykryć dziecko kocykiem, bo śpi.
Why is it muszę?
Muszę means I must / I have to. It is the 1st person singular form of the verb musieć (to have to / must).
- ja muszę = I must
- Polish usually drops the pronoun ja, because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.
So Muszę przykryć... literally means I must cover...
Why is the pronoun ja missing?
Polish often leaves out subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb form.
- muszę already tells you the subject is I
- adding ja is possible, but it usually adds emphasis
So:
- Muszę przykryć dziecko kocykiem. = normal, neutral
- Ja muszę przykryć dziecko kocykiem. = I have to cover the child, with extra emphasis
Why is it przykryć and not przykrywać?
This is a question of aspect.
- przykryć is perfective
- przykrywać is imperfective
Here, the speaker means one complete action: to cover the child up. That is why przykryć is natural after muszę in this context.
- Muszę przykryć dziecko. = I need to cover the child up now, as a completed action
- Muszę przykrywać dziecko. = I have to be covering the child / keep covering the child, which sounds less natural here