Word
Proszę o zmianę, by mój stan cywilny był prawidłowy.
Meaning
I ask for a change so that my civil status is correct.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Proszę o zmianę, by mój stan cywilny był prawidłowy.
być
to be
mój
my
prosić
to ask
zmiana
change (modification)
Questions & Answers about Proszę o zmianę, by mój stan cywilny był prawidłowy.
Why do we use the past tense verb był after by when the English translation says "is"?
In Polish, clauses of purpose introduced by by, aby, or żeby require the verb to be in the past tense form (the l-participle) when the subject changes. Here, the subject shifts from "I" (proszę) to "status" (stan cywilny). Because stan is a masculine noun, we use the 3rd-person masculine past tense był to express the desired outcome.
Could I use żeby instead of by here? What is the difference?
Grammatically, yes, you can use żeby. However, by (along with aby) belongs to a higher, more formal register. Because this sentence is clearly an administrative or official request (like writing to a government office or HR department), using by makes your Polish sound highly professional and perfectly matched to the formal context.
Why is the word for "change" in the accusative case (zmianę) instead of nominative?
The verb prosić (to ask / to request) strongly governs the preposition o followed by the accusative case when you are asking for a noun. Because zmiana is a feminine noun, it takes the -ę ending in the accusative case, becoming proszę o zmianę.
Does stan cywilny literally mean "civil status"?