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Questions & Answers about Jeśli bateria w telefonie padła, ładowarka jest dostępna na parterze budynku.
What does padła mean in this sentence?
Padła is the past-tense, third-person singular feminine form of the verb paść (colloquially “to die” or “to go flat”) when talking about batteries. So bateria padła literally means “the battery died” or “the battery ran out.”
Why is the verb in the feminine form (padła) rather than masculine (padł)?
In Polish, past-tense verbs agree in gender (and number) with the grammatical subject. Here the subject is bateria (battery), which is feminine, so we use padła. If the subject were masculine (e.g. telefon), you’d use padł.
Could I say telefon padł instead of bateria w telefonie padła?
Saying telefon padł isn’t common for a dead battery; it sounds like the entire phone “died” or “crashed.” More precise options are:
- bateria padła (“the battery died”)
- telefon się wyłączył (“the phone turned itself off”)
- telefon się rozładował (“the phone got discharged”)
What’s the difference between padła and rozładowała się?
- padła (from paść) is colloquial, more vivid: “the battery just died.”
- rozładowała się (from rozładować się) is neutral and descriptive: “the battery got discharged.” Both are correct; padła is more informal.
Why is it bateria w telefonie and not telefonowa bateria?
Both are possible, but bateria w telefonie (literally “battery in the phone”) emphasizes location. Telefonowa bateria (“phone battery”) is also correct but just describes the type of battery. In everyday speech you’d often say bateria w telefonie when you’re talking about “the battery that’s inside my phone.”
Why is na parterze used, and which case is parterze?
To express static location “on the ground floor,” Polish uses the preposition na with the locative case. The noun parter (“ground floor”) in locative is parterze. So na parterze = “on the ground floor.”
Why is budynku in this sentence, and what case is it?
Budynek (“building”) is here put in the genitive to mean “of the building.” The phrase na parterze budynku = “on the ground floor of the building.” Note that the genitive form of budynek is budynku, same in writing as its locative, but grammatically it’s a possessive/genitive complement.
What’s the difference between jeśli and gdy or kiedy?
- jeśli = if, used for conditions (hypothetical or future): “If the battery dies…”
- gdy/kiedy = “when,” used for temporal clauses (something expected to happen): “When the battery dies…”
In English you might say both “if” and “when,” but Polish distinguishes condition (jeśli) vs. time (gdy, kiedy).
Why is there a comma after padła?
In Polish, a subordinate clause introduced by jeśli (an “if” clause) is separated by a comma from the main clause. So you write:
Jeśli bateria w telefonie padła, ładowarka jest dostępna…
Can you drop jest in ładowarka jest dostępna?
In informal notes or headlines you might see ładowarka dostępna na parterze, omitting jest. In full sentences, however, Poles typically include jest to form a complete clause: ładowarka jest dostępna…