To express that one event had barely or hardly finished before another suddenly occurred, use ledwo or ledwie.
Start the first clause with ledwo or ledwie followed by a past-tense verb. The interrupting event follows in the second clause, also in the past tense. Usually, the two clauses are simply separated by a comma.
| They had barely discovered this cave when the flashlights started to flicker. | Ledwo odkryli tę jaskinię, latarki zaczęły migotać. |
Ledwo and ledwie are interchangeable:
| They had barely crossed the threshold when the flashlight went out. | Ledwie przeszli przez próg, latarka zgasła. |
| They had barely taken a step when a strange chill engulfed them. | Ledwie zrobili krok, ogarnął ich dziwny chłód. |
While a simple comma is the most common connection, you will sometimes see the second clause introduced with gdy (when), which closely mirrors the English structure "had barely... when":
| The explorers had barely entered the cave when the flashlight began to flicker in the gloom. | Odkrywcy ledwo weszli do jaskini, gdy latarka zaczęła migotać w półmroku. |
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