Questions & Answers about Odkąd dorosłem, mam inne podejście do życia.
How does odkąd affect the verb tenses in this sentence?
Odkąd means "since" (from the time that). Because the action of growing up is a completed, one-time event, the odkąd clause uses the perfective past tense (dorosłem). The main clause uses the present tense (mam) because having a different approach is a state that continues into the present.
What is the infinitive of dorosłem, and how would a woman say this?
The infinitive is dorosnąć (to grow up). Because Polish past-tense verbs must agree with the gender of the speaker, a man says dorosłem, but a woman would say dorosłam.
Why didn't inne podejście change its ending after the verb mam?
The verb mieć (to have) requires the accusative case for its direct object. However, podejście is a neuter noun, and in Polish, the accusative case for neuter nouns and their adjectives is exactly the same as the nominative (dictionary) form. Therefore, it stays inne podejście.
Why is it życia instead of życie?
The word życie (life) changes to życia because it follows the preposition do (to), which always requires the genitive case. The phrase podejście do (approach to) works just like it does in English.