Breakdown of Mój szef przeliczył się z tym projektem.
ten
this (m)
mój
my
z
with
szef
boss (m)
projekt
project
przeliczyć się
to miscalculate
Questions & Answers about Mój szef przeliczył się z tym projektem.
How does the prefix prze- create the meaning of an error in przeliczył się?
The base verb liczyć means to count or to calculate. The prefix prze- has several meanings, but one of its main functions is to indicate a mistake, doing something excessively, or missing the mark. Here, it shifts the meaning from simply counting to making a mental error or miscalculating.
Why do we need the reflexive pronoun się here? Couldn't we just say przeliczył ten projekt?
Without się, the perfective verb przeliczyć means to recount physically (like recounting money to check the total) or to convert (like currency). Adding się turns it into an idiom meaning to miscalculate, be wrong, or overestimate one's chances. It implies the boss essentially fooled himself through a bad calculation.
Why is the project in the instrumental case (z tym projektem) instead of being a direct object?
Because przeliczył się uses the reflexive pronoun się, it is intransitive and cannot take a direct object in the accusative case. To specify what the boss was wrong about, Polish uses the preposition z (with) followed by the instrumental case. The fixed grammatical structure is przeliczyć się z czymś.
What is the imperfective equivalent of przeliczył się, and when would I use it?
The imperfective form is przeliczać się. You would use it for an ongoing or repeated action, for example if the boss habitually miscalculates on his projects. However, because realizing you made a specific error is usually viewed as a single, completed event, the perfective form przeliczył się is much more common in everyday Polish.
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