Questions & Answers about Chcę napić się herbaty po pracy.
Why is it napić się and not just pić?
Napić się means to drink some / to have a drink, usually with the idea of completing the action or satisfying a need. It is the perfective partner of pić.
- pić = to drink, to be drinking, to drink in general
- napić się = to drink some, to have a drink, to drink up / enough
So:
- Chcę pić. = I am thirsty / I want to drink.
- Chcę napić się herbaty. = I want to have some tea.
In this sentence, napić się sounds more natural because the speaker means having some tea, not just the general activity of drinking.
What does się do here?
In napić się, się is part of the verb expression. You should learn napić się as a whole unit.
It does not literally mean oneself here in the way English learners might expect. Instead, it is simply required by this verb form.
So:
- napić się = to have a drink / to drink some
- not just napić
Many Polish verbs include się, and often the best approach is to memorize them together with it.
Why is it herbaty and not herbata or herbatę?