Breakdown of Boję się samotności, dlatego cieszę się z jego powrotu.
jego
his, its
z
from (+ Genitive)
bać się
to be afraid
dlatego
therefore
samotność
loneliness
cieszyć się
to be happy
powrót
return
Questions & Answers about Boję się samotności, dlatego cieszę się z jego powrotu.
Why is it samotności and not samotność?
The verb bać się (to be afraid) always requires the object to be in the Genitive case. The dictionary form is samotność (loneliness), which is a feminine noun ending in a consonant. In the Genitive case, these specific feminine nouns take an -i at the end, becoming samotności.
Why do we use the preposition z before jego powrotu?
In English you say you are happy 'about' something, but Polish requires a different structure. The verb cieszyć się must be paired with the preposition z followed by the Genitive case. Literally, it translates closer to being happy 'from' his return.
What happened to the ó in the word powrót when it became powrotu?
Because the phrase uses z + Genitive, the masculine noun powrót (return) gets the Genitive ending -u. When you add an extra syllable to the end of a Polish word, the ó in the root often changes back to a regular o, giving us powrotu.
Why does the word się appear twice in this sentence?
Both bać się (to be afraid) and cieszyć się (to be happy) are reflexive verbs. The się is a permanent, essential part of the dictionary form for both, so each verb in the sentence needs its own się to be grammatically complete.
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