Breakdown of Zaczął pracować w zeszłym roku.
pracować
to work
w
in / on (a day)
rok
year
zacząć
to start
zeszły
last, previous (zeszły tydzień)
Questions & Answers about Zaczął pracować w zeszłym roku.
Why does this sentence use the perfective verb zaczął alongside the imperfective verb pracować?
Verbs about starting, continuing, or finishing an action must always be followed by an imperfective infinitive. The act of starting was a single, completed event, so we use the perfective zaczął. However, the actual working was an ongoing process, so it requires the imperfective pracować.
Could I use the imperfective zaczynał instead of zaczął here?
You usually wouldn't in this context. Zaczynał implies he was in the process of starting, or that he started multiple times. Because starting a job is viewed as a single, completed event on a timeline, the perfective zaczął is the natural choice.
Why do we need the preposition w here when English just says 'last year'?
In Polish, to express that something happened 'last year' or 'next year', you must use the preposition w (in) plus the Locative case. While English drops the preposition, Polish literally says 'in the past year'.
What case is zeszłym roku and why does rok end in -u?
It is in the Locative case, triggered by the preposition w for a specific point in time. The noun rok (year) is slightly irregular: instead of the typical -e ending for masculine inanimate nouns, it takes an -u ending to become roku. The adjective zeszły (last or past) changes to zeszłym to match.
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