Breakdown of Proszę wziąć łyżeczkę, dosypać cukru do herbaty i dokładnie wymieszać.
i
and
herbata
tea
cukier
sugar
do
to
dokładnie
exactly
wziąć
to take (perf.)
proszę
please; here you are
dosypać
to add powder
wymieszać
to mix
łyżeczka
teaspoon
Questions & Answers about Proszę wziąć łyżeczkę, dosypać cukru do herbaty i dokładnie wymieszać.
Why is it cukru (genitive) instead of cukier (accusative) after dosypać?
This is the partitive genitive, which is the main focus of this lesson! Verbs with the prefix do- that mean adding a quantity of something (like dosypać for powders or dolać for liquids) take the genitive case for the substance being added. It implies adding some of that substance.
Could I just say dodać cukru instead of dosypać cukru?
Yes, dodać (to add) is perfectly fine and understood, but dosypać is more descriptive. Polish uses specific verbs based on the physical state of what you are adding: sypać/dosypać is used for dry, pourable substances like sugar, flour, or sand, whereas liquid additions would use dolać.
Why are all three action verbs (wziąć, dosypać, wymieszać) in the infinitive?
They are all chained to the polite request word proszę, which requires an infinitive. When giving a list of instructions in this format, you do not need to repeat proszę before each verb; the single proszę at the beginning applies to the whole sequence.
Why use the perfective verbs (wziąć, dosypać, wymieszać) here instead of their imperfective equivalents?
The speaker is giving instructions for a single, completed sequence of actions to be done right now. If these were general instructions for a repeated process (like a rule that you should always stir your tea thoroughly), you would use the imperfective forms: brać, dosypywać, and mieszać.
What is the meaning of dokładnie in this context? Does it not usually mean exactly?
While dokładnie often translates to exactly (for example, dokładnie o ósmej means exactly at eight), when it is paired with verbs involving cleaning, washing, or mixing, it means thoroughly or carefully. So dokładnie wymieszać simply means to stir it very well.
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