Breakdown of Rzeka jest zbyt głęboka, żeby przez nią przejść, i za szeroka, żeby ją przepłynąć.
być
to be
i
and
ona
she / it (f)
rzeka
river
żeby
so that, in order to
przez
through, across
szeroki
wide, broad
głęboki
deep
przejść
to cross
za
too (excessively)
zbyt
too / excessively
przepłynąć
to swim across
Questions & Answers about Rzeka jest zbyt głęboka, żeby przez nią przejść, i za szeroka, żeby ją przepłynąć.
The sentence uses both zbyt and za to mean "too". Is there a difference between them?
In this context, zbyt and za mean exactly the same thing. Polish speakers frequently switch between them in the same sentence to avoid repeating the same word, just for stylistic variety. You could say zbyt głęboka and zbyt szeroka, or za głęboka and za szeroka, and it would be perfectly correct.
Why is there a comma before both instances of żeby?
In Polish, you must always put a comma before żeby when it introduces a subordinate clause. This rule is very strict and applies even in correlative structures like zbyt... żeby... (too... to...), whereas in English you would never put a comma before the "to" in "too deep to cross".
Why do we say przez nią przejść but just ją przepłynąć without przez?
The verb przejść (to cross / to walk across) requires the preposition przez (through/across) when talking about crossing a physical space. However, przepłynąć (to swim across) is a transitive verb in Polish, meaning it takes a direct object without a preposition. So, you literally "swim the river" rather than "swim across it".
Both nią and ją refer to the river (rzeka). Why do their forms differ?
They are both accusative forms of the pronoun ona (she/it), since rzeka is feminine. You use ją as a standard direct object after the verb przepłynąć. However, whenever a third-person pronoun follows a preposition (like przez), Polish adds an n- to the beginning to make it easier to pronounce, which gives us przez nią.
Why are przejść and przepłynąć in the perfective aspect?
When using zbyt/za... żeby..., the infinitive describes the hypothetical result or goal that cannot be achieved. Because successfully crossing or swimming to the other side of the river represents a completed achievement rather than a continuous process, the perfective aspect is the natural choice here.
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