Learn Polish: Klient niedopłacił za zamówienie, więc anulowaliśmy dostawę. - The client underpaid for the order, so we cancelled the delivery.

Klient niedopłacił za zamówienie, więc anulowaliśmy dostawę.

The client underpaid for the order, so we cancelled the delivery.

Breakdown of Klient niedopłacił za zamówienie, więc anulowaliśmy dostawę.

Questions & Answers about Klient niedopłacił za zamówienie, więc anulowaliśmy dostawę.

Why is niedopłacił written as one word when nie is normally separated from verbs?

This is a special spelling rule for the prefix niedo- when it indicates falling short. If you wrote nie dopłacił as two words, it would mean he simply did not pay an additional surcharge. Written together as niedopłacił, it specifically means he underpaid the required total.

What is the exact opposite of niedopłacić using the prefixes from this lesson?

The opposite is przepłacić (to overpay). While the prefix niedo- shows that the action fell short of a target, the prefix prze- shows that the action exceeded the normal limit.

Why is the preposition za used here instead of dla for the word "for"?

In Polish, when you pay, thank, or exchange money "for" a product or service, you use za plus the accusative case. You only use dla when something is for someone's benefit. Because zamówienie is a neuter noun, its accusative form is identical to the nominative.

Why doesn't anulowaliśmy have a prefix to make it a perfective verb?

The verb anulować is biaspectual, which is a common trait for foreign loanwords ending in -ować. This means the exact same word acts as both imperfective and perfective depending on the context. Here, it functions as a perfective verb because cancelling the delivery was a single, completed action.