Breakdown of Po pierwsze, musimy sprawdzić tę hipotezę, żeby ją udowodnić.
ona
she / it (f)
ten
this (m)
musieć
to have to
sprawdzić
to check
żeby
so that, in order to
udowodnić
to prove
po pierwsze
firstly (po pierwsze..., po drugie...)
hipoteza
hypothesis
Questions & Answers about Po pierwsze, musimy sprawdzić tę hipotezę, żeby ją udowodnić.
Why does "firstly" translate to po pierwsze with an -e ending?
The phrase po pierwsze is a fixed expression. When sequencing arguments, the preposition po is followed by the neuter form of the ordinal number (pierwsze, drugie, etc.). You will use this exact same pattern for "secondly" (po drugie) and "thirdly" (po trzecie).
Why is it tę hipotezę and not tą hipotezę?
Hipoteza is a feminine noun functioning as the direct object here, so it needs the accusative case. The formally correct accusative form of ta is tę. You will frequently hear native speakers say tą hipotezę in casual speech, which is actually the instrumental form, but at a B2 level it is good to master the strict tę for writing and formal contexts.
Could I put the pronoun ją at the very end of the sentence?
Why is żeby followed by the infinitive udowodnić?
When the subject of both clauses is the exact same (we must investigate, we will prove), żeby is followed by the infinitive. If the subjects were different (for example, "we must investigate it so that they can prove it"), you would have to use a past tense verb form instead, such as żeby ją udowodnili.
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