Breakdown of Musiałem obejść tę dużą kałużę.
ten
this (m)
duży
big
musieć
to have to
obejść
to walk around
kałuża
puddle
Questions & Answers about Musiałem obejść tę dużą kałużę.
How does the verb obejść get the meaning of "walk around"?
It is formed by adding the prefix obe- (a variation of ob-, which means "around" or "bypassing") to a form of the base verb iść (to walk/go on foot). This creates a new perfective verb meaning to physically walk around an obstacle to avoid it.
Why does the prefix have an 'e' at the end (obe-) instead of just being ob-?
The prefix ob- often gains an extra -e- when attached to a root starting with a tricky consonant cluster, like -jść in obejść. It is simply there to make the word easier to pronounce. You will see this same pattern in other verbs, like obejrzeć (to watch/inspect).
What case is used for "tę dużą kałużę" and why?
It is in the Accusative case. Even though in English we say "walk around a puddle" (which sounds like it might need a preposition), verbs of motion with the ob- or obe- prefix take a direct object in Polish. You are directly "bypassing" the puddle, so the feminine noun kałuża and its modifiers take their Accusative endings.
I often hear native speakers say "tą" instead of "tę" in the Accusative. Why is it "tę dużą kałużę" here?
You spotted a very common exception! The strictly correct Accusative form of the pronoun ta is tę. However, because feminine adjectives in the Accusative end in -ą (like dużą), many native speakers in casual conversation will say tą dużą kałużę to make it rhyme. While common in speech, tę is what you should use in writing and careful speech.
Could a woman say this exact sentence?
No, because of the verb musiałem. This is the first-person masculine past tense of musieć (to have to). A female speaker would need to change the verb ending to match her gender and say musiałam obejść tę dużą kałużę.
Learn Musiałem obejść tę dużą kałużę and more in Polish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free