Breakdown of Żądam, aby urząd wydał mi odpis aktu.
ja
I
aby
in order to (formal variant of żeby)
żądać
to demand
wydać
to issue
urząd
government office
akt
certificate (legal document, deed)
odpis
copy (official transcript, certified duplicate)
Questions & Answers about Żądam, aby urząd wydał mi odpis aktu.
Why do we use the past tense wydał if I am demanding something to happen in the future?
In Polish, desire or purpose clauses introduced by aby, by, or żeby always require the verb to be in the past tense form, or the infinitive if the subject is the same. Together, aby and the past tense create the Polish equivalent of the subjunctive mood (I demand that the office issue), regardless of when the action takes place.
Could I just use żeby instead of aby in this sentence?
The verb żądać (to demand) usually requires the genitive case. Why isn't that applied here?
You are right that if you demanded a noun directly, it would take the genitive case, for example: żądam zwrotu pieniędzy (I demand a refund). But here, the object of your demand is an entire subordinate clause. When you follow żądać with an aby clause, the clause itself acts as the object, so you don't need to apply the genitive case to the noun inside it.
Why is aktu in the genitive case, while odpis is in the accusative?
Odpis (copy) is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb wydał (issue). Aktu (certificate or document) is in the genitive case because it modifies the noun before it, expressing possession or relation: it translates to a copy of the certificate.
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