Breakdown of Ponieważ pracownicy planują strajk, autobus może być opóźniony.
być
to be
pracownik
employee
móc
to be able to
planować
to plan
autobus
bus
ponieważ
because (formal)
opóźniony
delayed
strajk
the strike
Questions & Answers about Ponieważ pracownicy planują strajk, autobus może być opóźniony.
Does Polish allow starting a sentence with ponieważ?
Yes! While starting a sentence with 'because' is sometimes frowned upon in English, starting with ponieważ is perfectly standard and common in Polish. When placed at the beginning like this, it usually translates best as 'since' or 'as'. Notice that a comma is always required to separate the cause from the main result.
Why didn't strajk change its ending? Shouldn't it be in the accusative case?
It actually is in the accusative case! The verb planują (they are planning) takes a direct object in the accusative. However, strajk is a masculine inanimate noun, and for these nouns, the accusative form looks exactly the same as the basic dictionary form (nominative).
Może usually means 'can' or 'is able to'. Why is it translated as 'might' here?
Why does the word opóźniony (delayed) end in -y?
Opóźniony is acting as an adjective here, describing the bus. Since autobus is a masculine noun in the nominative case (it is the subject of the second clause), the word describing it must match, taking the standard masculine nominative ending -y.
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