Breakdown of Dyrektor szczycił się nowym projektem, ale wziął łapówkę.
nowy
new
ale
but
projekt
project
dyrektor
director
wziąć
to take (perf.)
szczycić się
to pride oneself on
łapówka
bribe
Questions & Answers about Dyrektor szczycił się nowym projektem, ale wziął łapówkę.
Why is nowym projektem in the Instrumental case instead of the Accusative?
The verb szczycić się (to pride oneself on) requires the Instrumental case for the thing you are proud of. It belongs to a group of verbs expressing strong emotional attitudes, showing off, or managing things that take the Instrumental directly, without any prepositions.
How is szczycić się different from just saying być dumnym?
While być dumnym means "to be proud" (and requires z + Genitive), szczycić się means "to pride oneself on" or "to boast about." It carries a more active, showing-off nuance. This makes the ironic contrast in this sentence much sharper: he was actively boasting about the project while secretly taking a bribe.
Why is the perfective verb wziął used here instead of the imperfective brał?
wziął shows that taking the bribe was a single, completed, and definitive action. If the sentence used the imperfective brał, it would imply a continuous or repeated action—meaning he was in the habit of taking bribes over time while working on the project.
The word łapówka looks a lot like łapa. Is that a coincidence?
Not at all! łapówka (a bribe) comes directly from the word łapa, which is the word for an animal's paw or a colloquial, slightly crude word for a human hand. A bribe is essentially something quietly slipped into someone's "paw."
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