Breakdown of Ledwo odkryli tę jaskinię, latarki zaczęły migotać.
ten
this (m)
zacząć
to start
latarka
the flashlight
odkryć
to discover
jaskinia
cave
ledwo
barely / hardly
migotać
to flicker
Questions & Answers about Ledwo odkryli tę jaskinię, latarki zaczęły migotać.
Why isn't there a word for "when" in the second part of the sentence?
In Polish, the structure ledwo + [past action], [next action] doesn't require a direct equivalent of "when" or "then". The rapid sequence of events is clear just by putting the two clauses side by side. While you could technically add a or jak to start the second clause, leaving them out is very natural and creates a snappy, dramatic feel.
Why is the first verb odkryli perfective, but the end of the sentence uses the imperfective migotać?
The conjunction ledwo focuses on an action that was just completed, so it almost always takes a perfective verb like odkryli (they discovered). In the second clause, zaczęły (they started) is also perfective because the start of the action is a singular, completed point in time. However, it must be followed by the imperfective infinitive migotać because the flickering itself is a continuous process that began right at that moment.
I sometimes hear native speakers use tą instead of tę in phrases like this. Are they both correct?
Strictly speaking, tę is the correct accusative form of the feminine pronoun ta (this), making tę jaskinię grammatically perfect as the direct object. The word tą is the instrumental form. However, in casual spoken Polish, native speakers very often substitute tą for tę in the accusative case. Using tę shows you know the standard rules, but you should expect to hear tą jaskinię in everyday conversation.
Why do the two past tense verbs have different plural endings (-li vs -ły)?
This shows the difference between masculine personal and non-masculine personal plural forms. Odkryli uses the masculine personal -li ending because the hidden subject refers to a group of people including at least one male. Zaczęły uses the non-masculine personal -ły ending because its subject is latarki (flashlights), which is an inanimate noun.
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