Breakdown of On potrafi naprawić wszystko.
on
he / it (m)
wszystko
everything
naprawić
to fix (perfective)
potrafić
to be able to, to know how to
Questions & Answers about On potrafi naprawić wszystko.
Why use potrafi here instead of może?
Potrafić and umieć mean "can" in the sense of having the skill, ability, or know-how to do something. Móc means "can" in the sense of having the permission or physical possibility. Since fixing things requires a skill, potrafi is the right choice here.
Could I use umie instead of potrafi in this sentence?
Yes, absolutely! On umie naprawić wszystko means exactly the same thing. In everyday Polish, potrafić and umieć are used interchangeably when talking about learned skills and abilities.
Why is the verb naprawić in its perfective form rather than the imperfective naprawiać?
We use the perfective naprawić because the focus is on the completion or the result of the action (getting the thing completely fixed). If you used the imperfective naprawiać, it would mean he has the skill to spend time working on things, but it wouldn't emphasize successfully finishing the job.
The English translation says "anything", so why does the Polish sentence use wszystko (everything)?
In Polish, to say someone can fix "anything" with no exceptions, it is much more natural to say they can fix "everything" (wszystko). The word for "anything" (cokolwiek) is usually reserved for offering a free choice or expressing indifference, like "Choose anything" (Wybierz cokolwiek).
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