Breakdown of Dodałem nawóz, ale obawiam się, żeby glony nie zaczęły rosnąć.
nie
no / not
ale
but
żeby
so that, in order to
zacząć
to start
dodać
to add
rosnąć
to grow
obawiać się
to fear, to be afraid of (+ Genitive; o + Accusative; że)
nawóz
fertilizer
glon
algae
Questions & Answers about Dodałem nawóz, ale obawiam się, żeby glony nie zaczęły rosnąć.
The English translation says "algae might start to grow," so why is there a nie before zaczęły?
This is called "pleonastic" (extra or redundant) negation. After verbs of fearing like obawiać się (to be afraid), when we use żeby to express the outcome we are worried about, Polish adds an illogical nie. Even though it literally translates as "afraid so that they won't start," it actually means you are afraid they will start.
Why is the verb zaczęły in a past tense form if the fear is about the future?
The conjunction żeby always requires the following verb to be an infinitive or an "L-participle" (the verb form used to build the past tense). Because the subject of the second clause (glony) is different from the first clause (I / ja), we must use the L-participle. Despite looking like the past tense, after żeby it expresses a hypothetical or potential future event.
Why is it nawóz (Accusative) here? Doesn't dodać often take the Genitive case?
The verb dodać (to add) can take either the Accusative or the Genitive. We use the Genitive for an unspecified amount (the "partitive Genitive," like dodałem nawozu - I added some fertilizer). Using the Accusative (nawóz) implies adding a specific, distinct unit or a complete, predetermined dose of the fertilizer.
Could I use boję się instead of obawiam się in this sentence?
Yes, they are interchangeable here and both trigger the exact same żeby nie structure. Obawiać się is just slightly more formal and is often used to express apprehension or concern, whereas bać się is the standard, everyday word for all types of fear.
Why does zaczęły end with -y instead of -i?
The subject of this clause is glony (algae), which is a non-masculine-personal (non-virile) plural noun. Therefore, the L-participle must take the non-masculine-personal ending -ły rather than the masculine-personal ending -li.
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