Breakdown of Skoro jesteś chory, powinieneś przeleżeć cały tydzień w łóżku.
być
to be
w
in / on (a day)
łóżko
bed
chory
sick
tydzień
week
cały
whole, entire
powinien
should, ought to
skoro
seeing that, since (a reason taken as given)
przeleżeć
to spend lying down
Questions & Answers about Skoro jesteś chory, powinieneś przeleżeć cały tydzień w łóżku.
What does the prefix prze- add to the verb leżeć here?
The prefix prze- adds the meaning of "spending a certain amount of time doing an action." While leżeć simply means "to lie," przeleżeć means "to spend time lying down." It is used specifically to show that an action lasted through an entire, defined period.
Why is the time expression cały tydzień in the Accusative case?
When you use a duration verb with the prze- prefix (like przeleżeć, przespać, or przekrzyczeć), the time period actually becomes the direct object of the verb. Since direct objects typically take the Accusative case, cały tydzień is Accusative here.
Could I use ponieważ instead of skoro at the beginning of this sentence?
You could, but skoro is a much better fit. While ponieważ simply means "because," skoro translates more closely to "since" or "seeing as." It is used to state a known fact or premise (you are sick) that logically leads to a conclusion or piece of advice (you should stay in bed).
I know powinien means "should." Why does it have the -eś ending in this sentence?
Powinien is a unique word in Polish that acts somewhat like an adjective but takes personal verb endings. Because the speaker is addressing a male (which we also know from the masculine adjective chory), they must attach the second-person singular masculine ending -eś to make powinieneś. If addressing a female, it would be skoro jesteś chora, powinnaś...
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