Breakdown of Słychać burzę, więc musimy ją tu przeczekać.
tu
here
musieć
to have to
ją
her
więc
so, therefore
słychać
can be heard
burza
storm
przeczekać
to wait out
Questions & Answers about Słychać burzę, więc musimy ją tu przeczekać.
What does the prefix prze- add to the verb czekać here?
The prefix prze- adds the meaning of doing something continuously through a period of time or until an event finishes. While czekać simply means to wait, przeczekać means to wait something out. Verbs with this prefix often take a direct object in the accusative case that represents the event or time period you are enduring, which in this sentence is the storm.
Why do we use the accusative case for the storm (burzę) after the word słychać?
The word słychać translates roughly as can be heard, which feels passive to English speakers. However, in Polish, it acts as an active impersonal verb that requires a direct object in the accusative case. Because you are hearing the storm, the feminine noun burza changes to its accusative form, burzę.
Could we just say Słyszymy burzę instead of Słychać burzę?
Yes, but the nuance shifts slightly. Słyszymy burzę means specifically we hear the storm, focusing on us as the listeners. Słychać burzę is impersonal and means the storm can be heard or there is an audible storm. Polish strongly prefers this impersonal form when generally describing sounds in the environment.
What is the pronoun ją doing in the second half of the sentence?
It is the accusative form of the feminine pronoun ona (she/it). It refers back to burza (the storm). Since the perfective verb przeczekać needs a direct object to specify exactly what it is that you are waiting out, we use the accusative pronoun ją.
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