Atak zaczyna się teraz.

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Breakdown of Atak zaczyna się teraz.

• zaczynać się: to start
• atak: the attack

Questions & Answers about Atak zaczyna się teraz.

Why is it atak, not some other form?

Atak is in the nominative singular form because it is the subject of the sentence.

• atak = attack
• In Atak zaczyna się teraz, the thing that is beginning is the attack, so Polish uses the basic dictionary form here.

Because atak is a masculine inanimate noun, its nominative singular form is atak.

Why does Polish use zaczyna się instead of just zaczyna?

Because zaczyna się means begins / is beginning in the sense that something starts by itself or comes into its beginning.

Compare:

• zaczynać coś = to start something
• zaczynać się = to begin / to start

So:

• Dowódca zaczyna atak = The commander starts the attack
• Atak zaczyna się = The attack begins

In your sentence, atak is not starting something else. It is the thing that is beginning, so się is needed.

What exactly is się doing here?