Breakdown of Dzięki temu wszystko było gotowe na czas.
być
to be
na
on, at / to (motion toward) / for (a meal) / for (waiting for)
czas
time
gotowy
ready
wszystko
everything
dzięki temu
thanks to that
Questions & Answers about Dzięki temu wszystko było gotowe na czas.
Why does this sentence use temu instead of to after dzięki?
The preposition dzięki (thanks to) always requires the dative case. Temu is the dative form of the pronoun to (this or that).
Why do we use the neuter forms było and gotowe here?
They have to match the subject of the sentence, which is wszystko (everything). In Polish, wszystko is grammatically singular and neuter. Therefore, the verb takes the neuter past tense form było, and the adjective takes the neuter form gotowe.
Could I use dzięki temu if the result was something bad, like 'because of that, we were late'?
No, dzięki is almost always used for positive outcomes, exactly like 'thanks to' in English. If you want to say 'because of that' for a negative outcome, you should use przez to (which uses the preposition przez followed by the accusative case).
Is na czas a fixed phrase, and what case is czas in?
Yes, na czas is a common fixed phrase meaning 'on time'. In this phrase, czas is in the accusative case. The preposition na is often used with the accusative when pointing to a target, destination, or a specific deadline.
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