Breakdown of Piję czarną kawę cały czas, żeby pokonać senność.
pić
to drink
kawa
coffee
czarny
black
czas
time
cały
whole, entire
żeby
so that, in order to
pokonać
to overcome
senność
sleepiness
Questions & Answers about Piję czarną kawę cały czas, żeby pokonać senność.
Why is cały czas used without a preposition like przez?
This is the bare accusative of continuous duration. In Polish, when expressing that an action lasts "all" of a certain time period (like cały czas, całą noc, or cały dzień), you simply use the accusative case with no preposition. While przez cały czas is grammatically valid, dropping przez is the standard, natural way to say it.
Why is the verb pokonać perfective when the main verb piję is imperfective?
The verbs reflect different focuses. Piję is imperfective because drinking coffee is your ongoing, habitual action. However, your goal is to successfully and completely defeat the sleepiness. Because it represents a desired completed result, the infinitive after żeby uses the perfective pokonać.
Senność is the direct object here. Why doesn't it take an accusative ending like -ę?
Senność is a feminine noun, but it belongs to the distinct group of feminine nouns ending in a consonant (like miłość, noc, or sól). For these nouns, the accusative form is identical to the nominative form, so the word does not change.
Can I use aby instead of żeby in this sentence?
Yes, they are interchangeable here. Both mean "in order to" when followed by an infinitive. Żeby is the standard choice for everyday speech, while aby sounds just a tiny bit more formal or literary.
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