Breakdown of Wprawdzie mieszkanie jest umeblowane, ale państwo powinni zobaczyć widok.
być
to be
ale
but
państwo
ladies and gentlemen / you (formal plural)
zobaczyć
to see (perfective)
powinien
should, ought to
mieszkanie
flat, apartment
wprawdzie
admittedly
umeblowany
furnished
widok
view (scenery)
Questions & Answers about Wprawdzie mieszkanie jest umeblowane, ale państwo powinni zobaczyć widok.
How does the wprawdzie ..., ale ... structure work in this sentence?
This paired construction translates to 'admittedly..., but...' or 'while it is true that..., nevertheless...'. In Polish, wprawdzie sets up a concession (acknowledging the fact that the apartment is furnished), and ale introduces the contrasting point that outweighs it (the view is what you really need to see).
Why does the sentence use powinni instead of powinniście for 'you should'?
The sentence uses the formal plural 'you' (państwo), which grammatically takes 3rd person plural verb forms in Polish. Powinniście is the informal 2nd person plural ('you guys should'). Because państwo implies a mixed-gender group (or a group of men), it requires the masculine personal form powinni rather than the non-masculine powinny.
Why use the perfective verb zobaczyć instead of the imperfective widzieć (to see) here?
The speaker is suggesting a single, specific action: taking a look at the view right now. Widzieć describes the ongoing state or ability to see something, whereas the perfective zobaczyć focuses on the discrete event of laying eyes on it.
Why doesn't the noun widok change its ending after the verb zobaczyć?
The verb zobaczyć requires the accusative case for its direct object. Because widok (view) is a masculine inanimate noun, its accusative form is identical to its nominative (dictionary) form. If it had been a feminine noun or a masculine animate noun, the ending would have changed.
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