Word
Mój brat spóźnił się na pociąg do Krakowa.
Meaning
My brother was late for the train to Krakow.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Mój brat spóźnił się na pociąg do Krakowa.
brat
brother
mój
my
na
on, at / to (motion toward) / for (a meal) / for (waiting for)
pociąg
train
Questions & Answers about Mój brat spóźnił się na pociąg do Krakowa.
Why do we use na here instead of a literal translation for "for"?
In Polish, the phrase for "to be late for" is spóźnić się na followed by the Accusative case. You cannot translate the English word "for" directly here; you just have to memorize that being late for a vehicle or an event always takes na.
If na takes the Accusative case, why doesn't the word pociąg change its ending?
Pociąg is indeed in the Accusative case here. However, because it is a masculine inanimate noun (a non-living object), its Accusative form looks exactly the same as its basic dictionary form.
Why does Kraków become Krakowa in this sentence?
The preposition do (meaning "to" a destination) always forces the noun into the Genitive case. When Kraków changes to the Genitive, the ó shifts to a regular o and it takes the masculine ending -a, becoming do Krakowa.
Is spóźnił się a perfective or imperfective verb?
It is perfective. It describes a one-time, completed event with a clear result: he was late this specific time, and consequently missed the train. If you wanted to say he "is always late" or "was running late," you would use the imperfective form, spóźniać się.