Breakdown of Ten lek trzeba brać rano i wieczorem.
i
and
ten
this (m)
rano
in the morning
wieczorem
in the evening
brać
to take (imperf.)
trzeba
one must, it is necessary (+ infinitive)
lek
medicine, drug (short form of lekarstwo)
Questions & Answers about Ten lek trzeba brać rano i wieczorem.
Why is Ten lek at the beginning if it is the object of the sentence?
In Polish, word order is flexible. Putting Ten lek (this medicine) first emphasizes it, which is why the English translation uses the passive voice (This medicine has to be taken). Even though it is at the front, Ten lek is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb brać (to take). For inanimate masculine nouns like lek, the accusative looks exactly like the nominative dictionary form.
How does the word trzeba work in this sentence?
The word trzeba means 'one must' or 'it is necessary to'. It is an impersonal expression, meaning it does not conjugate for 'I', 'you', or 'he/she'. You simply follow it directly with an infinitive verb, which here is brać (to take). This creates the meaning that taking the medicine is required, without specifying exactly who is doing the taking.
Why do we use the imperfective verb brać instead of the perfective wziąć?
We use the imperfective brać because taking this medicine is a repeated, ongoing action. You have to take it every morning and every evening. If a doctor were telling you to swallow a single pill just once right now, they would use the perfective equivalent, wziąć.
Why do we say rano for 'in the morning' but add an '-em' to make wieczorem for 'in the evening'?
Time expressions in Polish can be a bit tricky! Rano acts as a fixed adverb meaning 'in the morning', so it does not change its ending. However, wieczorem is actually the instrumental case of the noun wieczór (evening). Polish often uses the instrumental case for parts of the day to express when something happens, like nocą (at night) or dniem (by day), but rano is a common exception to that pattern.
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