Breakdown of Proszę o odpis, aby udowodnić pochodzenie.
prosić
to ask
o
for (asking for something)
udowodnić
to prove
aby
in order to (formal variant of żeby)
pochodzenie
ancestry
odpis
copy (official transcript, certified duplicate)
Questions & Answers about Proszę o odpis, aby udowodnić pochodzenie.
Why does this sentence use aby instead of the more common żeby?
Aby is a more formal, written-register equivalent of żeby. You will often see it in official documents, academic writing, or formal requests like this one. In everyday speech, a Polish person would almost certainly say żeby udowodnić. Both mean "in order to" and are followed by the infinitive here because the person asking and the person proving are the same.
Could I use kopia instead of odpis here?
You could, but they have different legal weights. A kopia is just a standard photocopy or reproduction. An odpis (from odpisać, to copy out or transcribe) usually refers to a certified copy or official transcript, like a birth or marriage certificate, which is exactly what you would need to prove your origin (udowodnić pochodzenie) to a government office.
What case is odpis in this sentence?
It is in the accusative case, because the phrase prosić o (to ask for) always requires the accusative. Since odpis is a non-living masculine noun, its accusative form is identical to its nominative (dictionary) form.
Do I always need a comma before aby?
Yes. Unlike English, where we usually do not put a comma before "in order to," Polish punctuation rules strictly require a comma before conjunctions that introduce subordinate clauses, including aby, żeby, and by.
Why is the perfective verb udowodnić used here instead of the imperfective udowadniać?
When stating a purpose with aby or żeby, you usually use the perfective aspect if the goal is a completed, successful action. Here, the speaker wants to successfully establish their origin once and for all, not just engage in the ongoing process of trying to prove it.
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