Breakdown of Mam dość tej pracy.
ten
this (m)
praca
work
mieć dość
to be fed up with, to have had enough of (+ Genitive)
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Questions & Answers about Mam dość tej pracy.
Why is the phrase "tej pracy" in the genitive case here?
The word dość means "enough" and acts as a quantity word. In Polish, words that express an amount, like dość, dużo (a lot), or mało (a little), require the noun that follows them to be in the genitive case. That is why the basic feminine noun ta praca changes to tej pracy.
Does mam dość literally mean "I have enough" in a neutral way, like having enough money?
It translates literally to "I have enough," but it almost always carries a negative emotion, meaning "I am fed up" or "I am sick of" something. If you want to say you have a sufficient amount of something neutral or good, you would use a word like wystarczająco.
Can I drop tej and just say Mam dość pracy?
Yes, you can. However, it changes the meaning slightly. Mam dość pracy means "I am fed up with work" in general, whereas adding tej makes it specific to "this" particular job or the specific task you are doing right now.
Is pracy plural here? It ends in "y" like many plural nouns.
No, it is singular. While the "-y" ending is common for plurals, it is also the standard ending for feminine nouns in the genitive singular case (for nouns ending in certain consonants like "c"). So, pracy here means "of the job," not "jobs."