Breakdown of Poszedł do kasyna, oby nie zgubił portfela.
nie
no / not
do
to
portfel
wallet
pójść
to go (on foot)
zgubić
to lose
oby
hopefully / if only
kasyno
the casino
Questions & Answers about Poszedł do kasyna, oby nie zgubił portfela.
Why does oby use the past tense zgubił when expressing a hope?
Does oby nie zgubił mean 'hopefully he didn't lose' or 'hopefully he won't lose'?
It can actually mean either! Because oby locks the verb into the past tense grammatically, the true time frame is determined by context. Here, since he already went to the casino (poszedł), it most likely means 'hopefully he didn't lose it'. But if he were leaving right now, it would mean 'hopefully he won't lose it'.
Why is the word for wallet in the form portfela rather than portfel?
This is a great example of the negated accusative rule. The verb zgubić (to lose) normally takes a direct object in the accusative case, which would be portfel for an inanimate masculine noun. However, because there is a nie in front of the verb, the object switches to the genitive case, becoming portfela.
What dictates the -a ending on kasyna?
The preposition do always requires the following noun to be in the genitive case. Since kasyno (casino) is a neuter noun ending in -o, its genitive form changes the -o to an -a.
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