Breakdown of Spojrzała na morze.
na
on, at / to (motion toward) / for (a meal) / for (waiting for)
morze
sea
spojrzeć
to glance, to take a look (perfective)
Questions & Answers about Spojrzała na morze.
Why is the verb spojrzała used here instead of patrzyła?
Both relate to looking, but they have different focuses. Patrzyła is an ongoing action meaning "she was looking" or "she watched". Spojrzała is a completed, quick action, best translated as "she glanced" or "she took a look".
Why isn't the word for "she" (ona) included in the sentence?
In Polish, you don't always need to use subject pronouns. The ending -ła in spojrzała already tells us that the subject is feminine and the action happened in the past tense. Adding ona is only done for extra emphasis.
Why do we use the preposition na here, and what case follows it?
When you look at or glance at something in Polish, you use the preposition na followed by the Accusative case for the target of your look. Because morze (sea) is a neuter noun, its Accusative form looks exactly the same as its standard dictionary form.
What is the dictionary form of spojrzała?
The dictionary form (infinitive) is spojrzeć (to glance). For many verbs ending in -eć, the vowel e changes to a in the past tense when followed by the letter ł. That is why spojrzeć becomes spojrzała (she glanced).
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