Breakdown of Te fachowce myślały, że gniazdko jest zbyt skomplikowane.
być
to be
ten
this (m)
myśleć
to think
że
that
zbyt
too / excessively
skomplikowany
complicated
fachowiec
professional (noun)
gniazdko
socket
Questions & Answers about Te fachowce myślały, że gniazdko jest zbyt skomplikowane.
Why are we using te fachowce instead of ci fachowcy?
The word fachowiec (expert or professional) is a masculine personal noun. The standard plural is ci fachowcy. By intentionally using the non-masculine personal pronoun te and the ending -e, the speaker creates a depreciative form. This adds a highly sarcastic or mocking tone, implying these experts are actually incompetent.
Why is the verb myślały used here instead of myśleli?
Once you make the subject depreciative (te fachowce), the grammar of the sentence treats it as a non-masculine personal noun. You must drop the masculine personal past tense ending -li and use the non-masculine personal ending -ły, resulting in myślały.
Can I mix and match standard and depreciative forms, for example saying te fachowcy myśleli?
No, the agreement must be consistent across the whole clause. The demonstrative pronoun (te), the noun (fachowce), and the verb (myślały) all have to be in the non-masculine personal form to correctly express this depreciative tone. Mixing them is simply a grammatical error.
I know gniazdo means nest. Why are we using the diminutive gniazdko here?
While gniazdo literally means a bird's nest, its diminutive gniazdko is the standard, everyday word for an electrical wall socket or plug. Using the non-diminutive form for a wall socket would sound unnatural to a Polish speaker.
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