Breakdown of Dlaczego stresujesz się przed spotkaniem z szefem?
z
with
szef
boss (m)
dlaczego
why
spotkanie
meeting (n)
przed
before (in time)
stresować się
to stress out
Questions & Answers about Dlaczego stresujesz się przed spotkaniem z szefem?
Why does spotkanie change to spotkaniem here?
The preposition przed (before) requires the Instrumental case when talking about time. Since spotkanie (meeting) is a neuter noun, it takes the Instrumental ending -em to become spotkaniem.
Doesn't przed usually mean 'in front of'?
Yes, przed often means "in front of" when talking about physical space (like przed domem - in front of the house). However, when talking about time, it translates to "before" an event. The great news is that it takes the Instrumental case in both situations!
Why is szefem also in the Instrumental case? Is that because of przed too?
No, szefem is in the Instrumental case because of the preposition z (with). The preposition z always forces the following noun into the Instrumental. So, szef (boss) gets the masculine Instrumental ending -em. This sentence just happens to have two Instrumental triggers (przed and z) right next to each other!
Why do we need the word się after stresujesz?
In Polish, the base verb stresować means to cause stress to someone else. To say that you are experiencing the stress yourself (like "stressing out" or "getting stressed"), you have to make the verb reflexive by adding się. Literally, it means "Why do you stress yourself?"
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