Breakdown of Po śmierci ojca wróciła do Polski.
ojciec
father
do
to
Polska
Poland
po
after; for (to fetch)
wrócić
to return, to come back (perfective)
śmierć
death
Questions & Answers about Po śmierci ojca wróciła do Polski.
Why does the word for death change to śmierci after po?
The preposition po meaning "after" requires the Locative case. Śmierć (death) is a feminine noun that ends in a soft consonant, so its Locative ending is -i, making it śmierci.
Why is the father ojca and what happened to the "e" in ojciec?
It is in the Genitive case to show possession (the death "of" the father). The word ojciec has what is called a "fleeting e". When you add grammatical endings to it, the e drops out, so it becomes ojca instead of ojcieca.
There is no word for "she" in this sentence. How do we know who returned?
Polish often leaves out subject pronouns like ona (she) because the verb already gives you the information. The past tense ending -ła in wróciła specifically tells us that a single female performed the action.
Why does Polska change to Polski at the end of the sentence?
The preposition do (meaning "to" a destination) always forces the noun that follows it into the Genitive case. For feminine nouns ending in -a like Polska, the Genitive ending is -i, which makes it do Polski.
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