English Translation
I have to find it.
Wouldn’t “Muszę to znaleźć” be “I have to find him”? And wouldn’t “Muszę to znaleźć” be “I have to find it”?
Well yes, but actually no. On the surface you’re right, and the principal translations are as follows:
Muszę to znaleźć = I have to find it.
Muszę go znaleźć = I have to find him.
Therefore, the given translation might be inaccurate.
But there’s a catch. In English most things like stone, tape or flint are neutral, so one would just say I have to find it (stone / tape / flint), whereas in Polish every one of them has a gender, so it’s more common to use
- Muszę go znaleźć (kamień).
- Muszę ją znaleźć (taśma).
- Muszę je znaleźć (krzesiwo).
The pronoun to commonly replace coś, especially in abstract concepts like Coś cię dręczy i nie pozwala ci zasnąć. Musisz to znaleźć w sobie. If the object’s gender is already known from the context, a gendered pronoun is most often preferred, although it’s not incorrect to use to, even for abstract notions like Każdy szuka miłości, wobec tego musisz ją znaleźć i ty.
And for people one can only use go (men) – him, ją (women) – her or je (nonbinary, children) – them / it.