Breakdown of Jeśli kawa jest gorzka, proszę dosypać cukru i wymieszać łyżeczką.
być
to be
i
and
kawa
coffee
cukier
sugar
jeśli
if
proszę
please; here you are
gorzki
bitter
dosypać
to add powder
wymieszać
to mix
łyżeczka
teaspoon
Questions & Answers about Jeśli kawa jest gorzka, proszę dosypać cukru i wymieszać łyżeczką.
Why does this sentence use cukru (Genitive) instead of the expected Accusative cukier?
This is the Partitive Genitive. Verbs starting with the prefix do- that mean adding a quantity of a substance (like dosypać for dry goods or dolać for liquids) require the genitive case. It functions like the word 'some' in English, meaning you are adding 'a portion of' the sugar.
Could I just use the general verb dodać instead of dosypać to mean 'add'?
You could, but dosypać is much more natural here. Polish uses highly specific verbs for the physical action of adding: dosypać is for dry, granular substances like sugar or salt, while dolać is for liquids like milk. Dodać is a general 'add' more common in abstract contexts or a written list of recipe steps.
Why is łyżeczką in the Instrumental case?
Because it answers the question 'with what tool?'. When you use a physical object to perform an action, Polish uses the bare Instrumental case without any prepositions. Adding the word z here would incorrectly mean you and the spoon are stirring the coffee together as companions.
Why use the perfective verbs dosypać and wymieszać after proszę instead of their imperfective equivalents?
The speaker is asking for a single, completed result for this specific cup of coffee right now. If they were giving general, repeated advice ('whenever coffee is bitter, you should add sugar'), they would use the imperfective forms dosypywać and mieszać.
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