Breakdown of Mam przeziębienie i muszę zostać w domu.
i
and
dom
house
mieć
to have
w
in / on (a day)
musieć
to have to
zostać
to stay
przeziębienie
a cold (illness)
Questions & Answers about Mam przeziębienie i muszę zostać w domu.
Why doesn't the word przeziębienie change its ending after Mam?
The verb mieć (to have) requires the accusative case. However, przeziębienie is a neuter noun, and neuter nouns have the exact same form in the accusative case as they do in their basic dictionary form (the nominative case).
Why do we use the perfective verb zostać here instead of the imperfective zostawać?
You use the perfective zostać because you are focusing on the result of one specific action: staying home for this particular illness. You would only use the imperfective zostawać if you were talking about a repeated habit, like staying home every winter.
Why is the phrase for at home w domu instead of w domie?
When describing a physical location, the preposition w requires the locative case. The masculine noun dom (house or home) is an irregular exception here. Instead of taking the typical -ie ending, it takes -u, creating the fixed phrase w domu.
Could I also say Jestem przeziębiony instead of Mam przeziębienie?
Yes, both phrases are perfectly natural. Jestem przeziębiony (for a man) or Jestem przeziębiona (for a woman) means that you are sick with a cold. The phrase Mam przeziębienie is very useful because it stays exactly the same regardless of your gender.
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