Breakdown of Nie mogę tego wytrzymać przez jedną sekundę.
to
this
nie
no / not
jeden
one
móc
to be able to
przez
for (a period of time)
wytrzymać
to endure
sekunda
second
Questions & Answers about Nie mogę tego wytrzymać przez jedną sekundę.
Why does "for one second" translate to przez jedną sekundę?
The preposition przez is used to express how long an action lasts (duration). It always requires the Accusative case. Since sekunda is a feminine noun, it changes its ending to -ę, and the number jedna changes to jedną.
Why is the word for "this" tego instead of to?
In a positive sentence, "to endure this" would use the Accusative case: wytrzymać to. However, whenever you negate a verb that normally takes the Accusative (Nie mogę...), the direct object flips to the Genitive case. The Genitive form of to is tego. This is a very important and common Polish rule called the Genitive of Negation.
How is wytrzymać related to the basic verb trzymać (to hold)?
Trzymać means "to hold" or "to keep." Adding the prefix wy- often implies pushing an action to its absolute limit or outward. Together, it creates a new word meaning "to endure," "to bear," or "to withstand" something.
Why use the infinitive wytrzymać here instead of conjugating it?
We use the infinitive because it directly follows mogę (I can). Just like in English ("I can endure"), modal verbs like móc (to be able to), musieć (to have to), and chcieć (to want) are followed by the basic dictionary form of the action verb.
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