Breakdown of Musi pan pokazać oryginał, abyśmy sprawdzili dokument.
pan
sir / Mr.
dokument
document
musieć
to have to
sprawdzić
to check
pokazać
to show
aby
in order to (formal variant of żeby)
oryginał
original (noun)
Questions & Answers about Musi pan pokazać oryginał, abyśmy sprawdzili dokument.
Why does the verb sprawdzili look like it is in the past tense here?
When a purpose clause has a different subject than the main clause (the man shows, but we check), Polish requires aby, by, or żeby combined with the past tense form of the verb. We take the 3rd person plural past form (sprawdzili) and attach the personal ending for "we" (-śmy) directly to the conjunction to make abyśmy.
Can I just say aby sprawdziliśmy instead?
No, that is incorrect. In conditional and purpose clauses, the personal ending (like -śmy) must attach to the conjunction, creating abyśmy. The verb itself must be left in the 3rd person past tense form (sprawdzili).
Is there a difference between using abyśmy and żebyśmy in this sentence?
Both oryginał and dokument are direct objects. Why haven't their endings changed?
They are indeed in the accusative case because they are direct objects. However, because both are masculine inanimate nouns, their accusative forms look exactly identical to their basic nominative dictionary forms.
Learn Musi pan pokazać oryginał, abyśmy sprawdzili dokument 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