Breakdown of Mimo złej pogody, powinni byli uniknąć opóźnienia.
być
to be
zły
bad
pogoda
weather
powinien
should, ought to
opóźnienie
delay
mimo
despite
uniknąć
to avoid (perfective)
Questions & Answers about Mimo złej pogody, powinni byli uniknąć opóźnienia.
What is the difference between saying powinni uniknąć and powinni byli uniknąć?
Powinni uniknąć means "they should avoid" (a present or future obligation). Adding the past tense auxiliary byli changes it to a past unfulfilled obligation: "they should have avoided." It emphasizes that they were supposed to do something, but ultimately did not.
Why do we use byli here instead of były?
The form powinni byli tells us the subject is masculine personal, meaning the group being talked about contains at least one man. If the group consisted entirely of women, children, or non-human nouns, the form would change to the non-masculine personal powinny były.
Why is opóźnienia in the genitive case rather than the accusative?
The verb uniknąć (to avoid) strictly requires its object to be in the genitive case, regardless of whether the sentence is positive or negative. This is a verb-specific rule you have to memorize, similar to verbs like szukać (to look for) or słuchać (to listen to).
Does the preposition mimo always take the genitive case?
Yes, mimo (despite or in spite of) always forces the noun phrase that follows it into the genitive case, which is exactly why we see złej pogody here.
Could we use the imperfective verb unikać instead of the perfective uniknąć in this sentence?
You could, but it would change the meaning. The perfective uniknąć focuses on the specific, successful result of avoiding this one particular delay. Using the imperfective unikać would imply they should have been in the general, ongoing habit of avoiding delays.
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