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Questions & Answers about Kelner w hotelowej restauracji przynosi rachunek, gdy nikt o niego nie prosi.
Why is w hotelowej restauracji used instead of just w restauracji?
The phrase w hotelowej restauracji means “in the hotel restaurant.” After the preposition w (in), Polish takes the locative case. Restauracja (restaurant) is feminine, so its locative singular is restauracji. The adjective hotelowy must agree in gender, number and case, so it becomes hotelowej (feminine locative singular).
Why is the verb przynosi in the present tense, and what aspect is it?
Przynosi is the 3rd person singular present form of the imperfective verb przynosić (“to bring”). Imperfective verbs in the present can express habitual or repeated actions. Here it tells us that the waiter habitually brings the bill. If you wanted to say “will bring the bill” as a one-time event, you would use the perfective przyniesie.
Why is rachunek in the accusative case?
Rachunek (bill/check) is the direct object of przynosić. In Polish, direct objects normally appear in the accusative case. Rachunek is a masculine inanimate noun, and its accusative singular form happens to be identical to its nominative: rachunek.
What does gdy mean, and how is it different from kiedy?
Gdy and kiedy both mean “when.” The main difference is stylistic and sometimes temporal:
- Gdy often introduces background or simultaneous events (more formal or narrative).
- Kiedy is more neutral and common in spoken language.
In this sentence, gdy nikt o niego nie prosi means “when nobody asks for it.”
Why do we say o niego after prosić, instead of the pronoun go alone?
The verb prosić (“to ask for, to request”) requires the preposition o plus the accusative. You cannot say prosić go. To request the bill you must say prosić o rachunek, and with a pronoun it becomes prosić o niego.
How does negation work with nikt and nie prosi?
Nikt means “nobody.” In Polish, a negative pronoun like nikt must be accompanied by the negative particle nie before the verb. Hence you say nikt nie prosi, literally “nobody does not ask,” which conveys “nobody asks.”
Could we replace prosić with pytać and drop the preposition o?
You can say pytać o coś (“to ask about something”), but that means “inquire about something,” not “request it.” To ask for the bill you use prosić o rachunek or colloquially kłaniać się o rachunek. Saying pytać rachunek or pytać go would be incorrect for requesting the bill.
Can the subordinate clause gdy nikt o niego nie prosi be moved to the front of the sentence?
Yes. Polish word order is flexible. You can say:
Gdy nikt o niego nie prosi, kelner w hotelowej restauracji przynosi rachunek.
The meaning stays the same; you are just emphasizing the time clause by placing it first.