Breakdown of Po pierwsze, nie mam czasu. Po drugie, jestem zmęczony.
być
to be
mieć
to have
nie
no / not
czas
time
zmęczony
tired
po pierwsze
firstly (po pierwsze..., po drugie...)
Questions & Answers about Po pierwsze, nie mam czasu. Po drugie, jestem zmęczony.
Why do we use the word po here, and what form are pierwsze and drugie in?
In Polish, to say "firstly" or "secondly", you use the preposition po followed by the neuter form of the ordinal number (pierwsze, drugie). You can continue this pattern to make lists, like po trzecie for "thirdly", and so on.
Why does the sentence use czasu instead of the basic dictionary form czas?
This is because of the "genitive of negation" rule. Normally, you say mam czas (I have time) where the noun doesn't change its spelling. But whenever a direct object is used with a negative verb like nie mam (I don't have), the noun must switch to the genitive case. For the masculine noun czas, that form is czasu.
How would this sentence change if a woman were speaking?
Why are there no words for "I" (ja) before mam and jestem?
In Polish, the verb endings already tell you who is doing the action. Mam means "I have" and jestem means "I am". You only add the pronoun ja if you want to add strong emphasis or contrast, otherwise it sounds unnatural.
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