Breakdown of Przecież trzeba było zapłacić za stoisko na targu.
być
to be
na
on, at / to (motion toward) / for (a meal) / for (waiting for)
zapłacić
to pay (perfective)
trzeba
one must, it is necessary (+ infinitive)
za
for (in exchange for)
przecież
after all / obviously
stoisko
stand
targ
market
Questions & Answers about Przecież trzeba było zapłacić za stoisko na targu.
Why do we use było here instead of conjugating the verb to match a subject?
Trzeba is an impersonal modal word meaning it is necessary. Because it has no specific subject, when we put it in the past tense, we always pair it with the neutral, third-person singular form of the verb to be, which is było. Together, trzeba było means it was necessary or we had to.
What exact feeling does the word przecież add to this sentence?
Przecież is a particle used to emphasize that something is obvious or to gently contradict the person you are talking to. Here, it translates best as after all or but obviously, implying the listener should have already known that paying for the market stand was required.
Why is it za stoisko? What case is stoisko in here?
The verb zapłacić (to pay) followed by the preposition za (for) requires the accusative case. Because stoisko (stand or stall) is a neuter noun, its accusative form looks exactly the same as its basic nominative dictionary form.
Why does targ become targu in na targu instead of taking the typical masculine locative ending?
We use the locative case after na when talking about a static location. Masculine inanimate nouns ending in a hard consonant usually take an -ie ending, but because targ ends in the velar consonant g, adding -ie would be phonetically awkward. Instead, nouns ending in k, g, or ch simply take the -u ending in the locative.
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