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Wyglądasz albo elegancko, albo podejrzanie.

Wyglądasz albo elegancko, albo podejrzanie.
You look either elegant or suspicious.
From Lesson 405:Sensory verbs with adverbs (wyglądać, brzmieć)·Polish

Questions & Answers about Wyglądasz albo elegancko, albo podejrzanie.

Why does this sentence use the adverbs elegancko and podejrzanie instead of adjectives?
In Polish, sensory verbs like wyglądać (to look), brzmieć (to sound), and pachnieć (to smell) require adverbs, not adjectives. While English uses the adjective 'elegant' to describe the person, Polish grammar treats 'looking' as an action, so you use an adverb to describe the manner in which you present yourself. You are literally saying 'you look elegantly'.
Why is there a comma before the second albo?
In Polish punctuation, when you use a paired or repeated conjunction like albo... albo... (either... or...), ani... ani... (neither... nor...), or czy... czy... (whether... or...), you must always place a comma before the second part of the pair.
How do we know whether to use the -o or -ie ending for these adverbs?
It depends on the ending of the base adjective. Adjectives ending in -ki or -gi usually take the -o ending to form an adverb, which is why elegancki becomes elegancko. Adjectives ending in -ny typically take the -ie ending, so podejrzany becomes podejrzanie.
Could I use 'lub' instead of 'albo' in this sentence?
You could say lub elegancko, lub podejrzanie, but albo... albo... is much more natural for mutually exclusive choices. Lub is softer and leans more towards 'and/or,' whereas albo strongly emphasizes a strict 'either/or' scenario, which fits the sharp contrast between elegant and suspicious.

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