Breakdown of Pożyczę ci samochód pod warunkiem, że wrócisz przed nocą.
samochód
car
ci
to you (sg)
noc
night
pożyczyć
to lend / to borrow (perfective)
przed
before (in time)
wrócić
to return, to come back (perfective)
pod warunkiem, że
provided that, on condition that
Questions & Answers about Pożyczę ci samochód pod warunkiem, że wrócisz przed nocą.
How do we know pożyczę means "I will lend" here, since the same verb can also mean "I will borrow"?
The key is the dative pronoun ci (to you). The structure pożyczyć komuś means "to lend to someone". If you wanted to say "I will borrow from you", you would use od ciebie instead of ci.
Why is the noun warunkiem in the Instrumental case?
The phrase pod warunkiem literally means "under the condition". The preposition pod requires the Instrumental case when describing a static situation, condition, or location. The basic nominative form is warunek.
The English translation says "you are back" in the present tense, but is wrócisz in the present tense?
No, wrócisz is the future tense of the perfective verb wrócić (to return). English often uses the present tense after conditional phrases like "provided that" or "if", but Polish strictly uses the future tense when the action takes place in the future.
Why does przed nocą use the Instrumental case?
The preposition przed (before) requires the Instrumental case when referring to a point in time. Nocą is the Instrumental form of the feminine noun noc.
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