Breakdown of Ile mamy czasu? Zróbmy przerwę i zamówmy kawę.
i
and
mieć
to have
kawa
coffee
czas
time
zrobić
to do / to make (someone something)
ile
how many
przerwa
break
zamówić
to order (perfective)
Questions & Answers about Ile mamy czasu? Zróbmy przerwę i zamówmy kawę.
Why do zróbmy and zamówmy both end in -my?
This is the first-person plural imperative form, which translates to 'let's...'. You create it by taking the basic command form of a verb, like zrób (do/make) or zamów (order), and adding -my to the end.
Since mamy also ends in -my, is it also a 'let's' command?
No, mamy is just the regular present tense for 'we have' (from mieć). While the 'we' form of regular present tense verbs also ends in -my, you can tell zróbmy and zamówmy are commands because their base parts (zrób- and zamów-) are imperative roots, not present tense roots.
Why does the first sentence say czasu instead of the dictionary form czas?
The word ile (how much / how many) expresses a quantity, and in Polish, quantities require the noun that follows to be in the genitive case. For the masculine noun czas (time), the genitive form is czasu.
Why do przerwę and kawę both end in -ę here?
They are the direct objects of their verbs - the things being taken and ordered. Because przerwa (break) and kawa (coffee) are feminine nouns, they take the accusative case here, which changes their normal -a ending to -ę.
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