Breakdown of Obiad spalił się całkowicie.
się
oneself
obiad
dinner / lunch (midday meal)
całkowicie
completely
spalić
to burn
Questions & Answers about Obiad spalił się całkowicie.
Why do we need się here? Can I just say Obiad spalił całkowicie?
No, you need się. The verb spalić without się is transitive, meaning it requires a direct object (for example: I burned the wood). If you say Obiad spalił, a Polish speaker will wait to hear what the dinner burned! Adding się makes it intransitive, showing that the dinner underwent a spontaneous change of state: it burned by itself.
What is the difference between spalił się and palił się?
palił się is imperfective, meaning the dinner was actively burning or on fire as an ongoing process. spalił się (with the s- prefix) is perfective. It means the action is fully completed, so the dinner is already ruined and burned to a crisp.
Could I put się before the verb and say Obiad się spalił całkowicie?
Yes, absolutely. The word się is quite flexible in Polish. As long as you do not put it as the very first word of the sentence, placing it before or after the verb in a sentence like this is perfectly fine. Both word orders are natural.
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