Breakdown of Kiedy byłam u lekarza, taksówka odjechała od budynku.
być
to be
lekarz
doctor
budynek
building
kiedy
when
od
from
taksówka
taxi
u
at, at the place of
odjechać
to drive away
Questions & Answers about Kiedy byłam u lekarza, taksówka odjechała od budynku.
Why do we use odjechała instead of just pojechała?
Odjechała specifically means drove away or departed. The prefix od- adds the meaning of moving away from a starting point. If you used pojechała, it would just mean the taxi went or left, without emphasizing the separation from the building. It is perfective because it describes a single completed action.
Is it normal to repeat od in odjechała od?
Yes, this is a very common pattern in Polish! When a motion verb has a direction prefix like od- (away from), it is frequently followed by the matching preposition, in this case od (from). This combination highlights the separation.
Why is budynek in the form budynku here?
The preposition od requires the Genitive case. For inanimate masculine nouns like budynek (building), the Genitive ending is usually -u. Also, notice how the -e- near the end drops out so budynek becomes budynku, which is a common vowel drop in Polish nouns.
Why does the sentence use u lekarza instead of a preposition like w or na?
When you are talking about being at a person's place, such as a professional workspace or a friend's house, Polish uses the preposition u followed by the Genitive case. So u lekarza is the standard way to say at the doctor's.
How do we know the gender of the speaker?
The verb byłam ends in -am, which indicates that the speaker is female. A male speaker would say byłem.
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