Breakdown of Trzeba dzisiaj pracować bez niego.
pracować
to work
dzisiaj
today
trzeba
one must, it is necessary (+ infinitive)
niego
him, it (after a preposition)
Questions & Answers about Trzeba dzisiaj pracować bez niego.
Why does the word for "him" start with an "n" here (niego)?
When a third-person pronoun like on (he) or ono (it) directly follows a preposition like bez, it gets an "n" added to the beginning. The normal Genitive form is jego or go, but after a preposition, it becomes niego. This makes it easier to pronounce!
Does the preposition bez (without) always take the Genitive case?
Yes! Bez always requires the noun or pronoun that follows it to be in the Genitive case. You can think of the Genitive as the "case of lacking or missing something," which fits perfectly with the meaning of "without."
Why doesn't this sentence have a normal subject like "I" or "we"?
It uses the word trzeba, which is an impersonal way to say "one must" or "it is necessary." You don't use a subject pronoun with trzeba; you just follow it directly with an infinitive verb, which is pracować (to work) in this sentence.
Is it okay to change the word order and put dzisiaj at the end of the sentence?
Yes, Polish word order is quite flexible. Saying Trzeba pracować bez niego dzisiaj is perfectly correct. Placing dzisiaj (today) right after trzeba just puts a little more emphasis on the timeframe.