Breakdown of Wypełniłem kupon, obyśmy trafili.
wypełnić
to fill in
oby
hopefully / if only
kupon
the betting slip
trafić
to guess correctly / to hit
Questions & Answers about Wypełniłem kupon, obyśmy trafili.
Why does the ending -śmy attach to oby instead of the verb?
In Polish, movable personal endings like -śmy (we) can detach from the verb and attach to words earlier in the sentence. With the particle oby (hopefully / if only), this is actually required. You must attach the personal ending directly to oby, making it obyśmy trafili rather than oby trafiliśmy.
Why is the verb trafili in the past tense when we are hoping for a future win?
The particle oby grammatically requires the past tense form (specifically the l-participle, which is the past tense verb without its personal ending) to express a wish or hope. This rule applies even if the wish is about the present or the future, similar to how conditional statements work in Polish.
How does trafili mean "guessed right" here? I thought it meant "to hit" or "to get somewhere".
The literal meaning of trafić is indeed "to hit a target". In the context of a lottery ticket or betting slip (kupon), "hitting the target" translates idiomatically to picking the winning numbers or guessing the correct outcome.
Why use the perfective wypełniłem instead of the imperfective wypełniałem?
Wypełniłem shows that the action of filling out the slip is completely finished. If you used wypełniałem, it would mean "I was filling out", focusing on the background process rather than the completed result that now allows you to hope for a win.
Learn Wypełniłem kupon, obyśmy trafili and more in Polish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free