Breakdown of Gdyby prawnik doczytał tę klauzulę, nie mielibyśmy kłopotów.
mieć
to have
nie
no / not
ten
this (m)
prawnik
lawyer
kłopot
trouble
gdyby
if (hypothetical)
klauzula
clause
doczytać
to read to the end
Questions & Answers about Gdyby prawnik doczytał tę klauzulę, nie mielibyśmy kłopotów.
What exactly does the prefix do- add to doczytał compared to just using przeczytał?
It emphasizes bringing an action to its final conclusion. While przeczytał means the lawyer read it (as a general completed action), doczytał means he read it all the way to the very end. It highlights that he might have skimmed it or started reading, but didn't finish it thoroughly.
Why does the verb doczytał look like a normal past tense verb when the English translation uses "had read"?
In Polish, hypothetical conditional sentences use the word gdyby (if) followed by the regular past tense form of the verb. The conditional meaning is carried entirely by gdyby. You don't add the conditional ending -by to the verb here because it is already attached to gdy.
I often hear Polish people say tą for the accusative feminine, but here it is tę klauzulę. Are both correct?
Tę klauzulę is the strictly correct form for the accusative case in standard and written Polish. Using tą (like tą klauzulę) is extremely common in everyday spoken Polish, but it is technically a colloquialism. Since this sentence involves a formal legal context, the standard tę is most appropriate.
Why is the word for problems (kłopotów) in the genitive case instead of the accusative?
This happens because of the negation. The verb mieć (to have) usually takes a direct object in the accusative case. However, in Polish, any direct object of a negated verb automatically switches to the genitive case.
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