Question 1

How do we form the past tense of an impersonal word like trzeba?

Accepted Answer

To put impersonal expressions like trzeba, można, or warto into the past tense, you simply add the third-person singular neuter form of the verb to be, which is było. Because there is no specific grammatical subject doing the action, the neuter form acts as the default.

Question 2

Could I use the imperfective polerować instead of wypolerować after trzeba było?

Accepted Answer

Yes, but it changes the focus. Using the perfective wypolerować means the goal was to get the job done completely. If you used the imperfective polerować, it would mean the necessity was to engage in the activity of polishing, focusing on the duration or process rather than the finished result.

Question 3

Why is tę starą ramę in the accusative case if there is no actual subject performing the action?

Accepted Answer

Even though the sentence is impersonal and lacks a specific subject doing the polishing, the verb wypolerować is transitive and still requires a direct object in the accusative case. The grammatical rules for the verb's object do not change just because it is paired with trzeba było.

Question 4

I constantly hear native speakers say things like tą starą ramę. Why is it tę here?

Accepted Answer

In standard written Polish, the correct accusative form of the feminine pronoun ta is tę. However, in casual spoken Polish, people often say tą to make it rhyme with the feminine accusative adjective and noun endings that follow it (like starą ramę). You should learn to recognize both, but always use tę in formal situations and writing.

Trzeba było wypolerować tę starą ramę.

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