Breakdown of Musi się upewnić, czy wyłączyła żelazko.
musieć
to have to
wyłączyć
to turn off
upewnić się
to make sure
czy
whether / if (indirect question)
żelazko
iron
Questions & Answers about Musi się upewnić, czy wyłączyła żelazko.
Why does this sentence use czy? The English translation doesn't say "whether" or "if".
In English, we often say "make sure (that)". In Polish, the verb upewnić się (to make sure) is usually followed by czy (whether/if) when you are checking an unknown fact. She is checking whether she turned it off or not.
How do we know the person who "has to make sure" is female?
The verb musi (has to) doesn't show gender. However, the second part of the sentence uses wyłączyła, which is the feminine past tense of "turned off". Since the subject is the same for both actions, we know it's a "she" doing the checking.
Why is the word się used after upewnić?
The verb upewnić by itself means "to assure" someone else. By adding the reflexive pronoun się, it literally becomes "to assure oneself", which is how Polish expresses "to make sure".
Why doesn't the word żelazko (iron) change its ending here?
It actually is in the accusative case here, because it's the direct object of the verb wyłączyła. However, żelazko is a neuter noun, and neuter nouns look exactly the same in the accusative as they do in their basic dictionary form (nominative).
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