Breakdown of Kiedy skończymy zakupy, zrobimy sobie gorącą czekoladę.
kiedy
when
my
we
gorący
hot
skończyć
to finish
zakupy
the shopping
zrobić
to make
sobie
ourselves
czekolada
the chocolate
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Questions & Answers about Kiedy skończymy zakupy, zrobimy sobie gorącą czekoladę.
What does skończymy mean and why is it used here?
Skończymy is the first-person plural future form of the perfective verb skończyć (to finish). In Polish, perfective verbs describe completed actions, and their future is expressed by a single word. So skończymy literally means “we will finish.”
Why isn’t the subject my (we) explicitly stated before skończymy?
Polish verbs carry person and number endings, so the pronoun my (“we”) is redundant and usually dropped. The ending -my on skończymy already tells you the subject is “we.”
Why is zakupy in the plural form here?
Zakupy is a pluralia tantum noun (it only exists in the plural) meaning “shopping” or “groceries.” Even though it looks plural, it behaves semantically like an uncountable concept.
What role does sobie play in zrobimy sobie?
Sobie is a reflexive pronoun in the dative case. With verbs like zrobić, adding sobie means “to make for oneself.” So zrobimy sobie = “we will make for ourselves.”
Why are perfective verbs (skończymy, zrobimy) used instead of imperfective ones?
Perfective verbs focus on a single complete action and are used for future events as a simple tense (e.g. zrobimy = we will make). Imperfective verbs would require a periphrastic future (e.g. będziemy robić = we will be making/doing repeatedly).
Why is gorącą czekoladę in the accusative case?
It’s the direct object of zrobić. “Gorąca czekolada” is a feminine noun with an adjective. In singular accusative feminine, the adjective takes -ą and the noun takes -ę, hence gorącą czekoladę.
Why is there a comma after zakupy?
In Polish, a subordinate clause (here introduced by kiedy) is separated from the main clause by a comma. The comma always goes before the main verb phrase if the time clause comes first.
Could you use gdy or jak instead of kiedy?
Yes, all three can introduce time clauses meaning “when.” Kiedy is the most neutral. Gdy is slightly more formal or literary, while jak is more colloquial.
Can I invert the clauses and say Zrobimy sobie gorącą czekoladę, kiedy skończymy zakupy?
Absolutely. Polish allows flexible word order. You’d still need the comma before kiedy. The meaning remains the same.