Word
Szef da mu awans za tydzień.
Meaning
The boss will give him a promotion in a week.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Szef da mu awans za tydzień.
I thought za meant behind. Why does za tydzień mean in a week?
You are right that za often means behind for locations, but when talking about the future, za plus a unit of time in the Accusative case means in a certain amount of time. So, za tydzień means in a week from now.
Why is the future tense just da? Shouldn't it use a future helper word like będzie?
The verb dać (to give) is a perfective verb, which describes a completed action. Perfective verbs do not use the helper word będzie. Their present-tense conjugation forms, like da, automatically act as the future tense!
Why do we use mu for him here instead of go?
Mu is the Dative case of the pronoun on (he). We use the Dative case for the indirect object, which is the person receiving something. Since the boss is giving the promotion to him, we must use mu. The word go is the Accusative case, which is used for direct objects.
Is awans in the Nominative or Accusative case here?
It is in the Accusative case because it is the direct object, meaning it is the thing being given. However, because awans is a masculine inanimate noun (a non-living thing), its Accusative form looks exactly the same as its dictionary Nominative form.