Word
Grzybiarz zje wszystko, byleby to było jadalne.
Meaning
A mushroom picker will eat anything, provided it is edible.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Grzybiarz zje wszystko, byleby to było jadalne.
to
this
być
to be
zjeść
to eat (perfective)
wszystko
everything
Questions & Answers about Grzybiarz zje wszystko, byleby to było jadalne.
Why does the sentence use the past tense było when the English translation says 'provided it is edible'?
Conjunctions expressing a condition or purpose, like byleby, byle, and żeby, require the verb to be in the past tense to form the subjunctive mood. Even though the action is a general truth or in the future, the grammar rule demands the past tense form było.
Could I use byle instead of byleby in this sentence?
Yes, absolutely. Both byle and byleby mean 'provided that' or 'as long as' and introduce a minimal condition. The added -by just slightly emphasizes the conditional feeling, but they are fully interchangeable here: byle to było jadalne is just as correct.
Why is wszystko (everything) used here instead of cokolwiek (anything)?
Polish often uses wszystko in affirmative sentences where English speakers would naturally say 'anything'. The logic is that the mushroom picker will eat 'everything' available to them, as long as it passes the test of being edible.
What is the purpose of the -arz ending in grzybiarz?