Breakdown of Ponieważ wczoraj zaspałem, spóźniłem się do pracy.
praca
work
do
to
wczoraj
yesterday
spóźnić się
to be late
Questions & Answers about Ponieważ wczoraj zaspałem, spóźniłem się do pracy.
Can I start this sentence with Bo instead of Ponieważ?
In written and careful spoken Polish, no. While both mean "because" or "since", ponieważ is the standard choice for starting a sentence. Starting a sentence with bo is considered poor style or very colloquial, so bo is usually kept for the middle of a sentence.
Why does spóźniłem need the word się?
The Polish verb for "to be late" is spóźnić się, which is a reflexive verb. You always need the reflexive pronoun się with it, as if you were literally saying "I delayed myself".
How would this sentence change if the speaker were female?
Why do we use the Genitive case in do pracy?
The preposition do (to) always forces the noun that follows it into the Genitive case. The base word for work is praca, and its Genitive form is pracy.