Breakdown of Wydawało mi się, że kupiłeś karnet na siłownię.
ja
I
na
on, at / to (motion toward) / for (a meal) / for (waiting for)
że
that
kupić
to buy (perfective)
siłownia
gym
wydawać się
to seem
karnet
the pass
Questions & Answers about Wydawało mi się, że kupiłeś karnet na siłownię.
Why do we use na siłownię (accusative) instead of the locative na siłowni?
In this sentence, na siłownię modifies the noun karnet to show its purpose or target—it is a pass for the gym. This structure requires na plus the accusative case. If you used the locative na siłowni, it would mean the pass is physically located at the gym.
Why is the verb wydawało in the neuter form?
The phrase meaning it seemed is an impersonal construction in Polish. Because there is no specific masculine, feminine, or neuter noun acting as the subject (the 'it' in English is just a placeholder), the past tense verb defaults to the neuter third-person singular form.
Why is the pronoun order Wydawało mi się rather than Wydawało się mi?
Both mi and się are short, unstressed pronouns called clitics. While both orders are grammatically possible, native speakers strongly prefer putting the personal pronoun (mi) before the reflexive pronoun (się) in this specific cluster for a more natural rhythm.
Could I use the imperfective verb kupowałeś instead?
You would only use kupowałeś if you were focusing on the ongoing process of the purchase, as in I thought you were in the middle of buying a pass. Since the speaker refers to a completed action where a pass was successfully acquired, the perfective kupiłeś is the natural choice.
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