Breakdown of Mój szef jest punktualny, więc zawsze wychodzi za kwadrans czwarta.
być
to be
zawsze
always
mój
my
szef
boss (m)
czwarty
fourth
więc
so, therefore
za
behind; in (time)
wychodzić
to go out / to leave (on foot) (imperfective)
kwadrans
quarter of an hour
punktualny
punctual
Questions & Answers about Mój szef jest punktualny, więc zawsze wychodzi za kwadrans czwarta.
How does the phrase za kwadrans czwarta work to mean "at a quarter to four"?
To say "to" a certain hour, Polish uses the word za followed by the remaining minutes in the Accusative case. Here, kwadrans (a quarter/15 minutes) is that Accusative word—it looks just like its basic dictionary form because it is an inanimate masculine noun. Then, you simply state the upcoming hour in the Nominative case (the basic subject form): czwarta. Literally, you are saying "in a quarter [it will be] four."
Doesn't telling the time usually require the preposition o (at), like in o czwartej? Why is it missing here?
Great observation! When you state a full hour (like o czwartej) or use "past" (po), you generally need the preposition o (at). However, when you tell time using za (to), you drop the o. The phrase za kwadrans czwarta works completely on its own to mean "at a quarter to four."
Why do we use the word czwarta (fourth) instead of the normal number cztery (four)?
In Polish, hours are always expressed as "ordinal" numbers (first, second, third, fourth) because they describe the feminine noun godzina (hour). Even though the word godzina is skipped in this sentence, czwarta still takes its feminine adjective form to match it.
What is the difference between wychodzi and basic motion verbs like chodzi or idzie?
While chodzi means "walks" or "goes" on a regular basis, adding the prefix wy- changes the meaning entirely. Wychodzić (the dictionary form of wychodzi) specifically means "to go out" or "to leave" an enclosed space. In this context, it perfectly describes leaving the workplace to go home.
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