Doing Something to Your Fill
The prefix na- combined with the reflexive pronoun się expresses doing an action to the point of satisfaction or excess. It creates a perfective verb meaning "to do something to one's fill," "to overdo it," or simply "to do something a lot."
When using these verbs with a direct object—like the food you overeat or the beverage you drink—the object takes the Genitive case.
| The guests at the banquet ate their fill of local delicacies. | Goście na bankiecie najedli się lokalnych przysmaków. |
| Would you [formal plural] like to have a drink of good wine? | Czy Państwo chcą się napić dobrego wina? |
Consuming Media and Information
This pattern is common when talking about taking in media, gossip, or information. Whether you are reading, watching, or listening, adding na- ... się shows you've had your absolute fill of it.
As with food and drink, the things you consume (like telewizji or bzdur) take the Genitive case.
| My acquaintance watched a lot of television yesterday. | Mój znajomy naoglądał się wczoraj telewizji. |
| I read a lot of nonsense on the internet about this scandal. | Naczytałem się w internecie bzdur o tym skandalu. |
| I heard a lot of gossip at this banquet on the left side. | Nasłuchałam się plotek na tym bankiecie po lewej stronie. |
Working, Talking, and Laughing
You can also apply this structure to behaviors and social interactions like working (pracować), talking (gadać), or laughing (śmiać się).
| Nobody has ever overworked themselves in this company. | Nikt nigdy nie napracował się w tej firmie. |
| They finally talked to their hearts' content about their problems. | Oni wreszcie się nagadali o swoich problemach. |
| We laughed a lot yesterday evening. | My bardzo się naśmialiśmy wczoraj wieczorem. |