Breakdown of Chciałabym poprosić o rachunek za obiad.
obiad
dinner / lunch (midday meal)
rachunek
the bill
za
behind; in (time)
chciałbym
I would like (m) / chciałabym (f)
poprosić
to ask for / to request
o
for (asking for something)
Questions & Answers about Chciałabym poprosić o rachunek za obiad.
Why does this sentence use chciałabym instead of chciałbym?
Chciałabym is the feminine form of 'I would like.' If a man were speaking, he would use chciałbym. Notice the extra -a- before the ending, which works just like the feminine past tense forms you have already learned.
Why is the word o used after poprosić?
In Polish, when you ask for an object or a favor, you use the verb poprosić (to ask) followed by the preposition o. It acts just like 'for' in the English phrase 'ask for.' The noun that follows it must take the accusative case.
Why do we use za obiad for 'for lunch'?
The word za here means 'for' in the sense of paying or exchanging money. You are asking for the bill (o rachunek), and that bill pays for the lunch (za obiad).
What case are the words rachunek and obiad in?
They are both in the accusative case because they follow the prepositions o and za. They look exactly like their basic dictionary forms because they are non-living masculine nouns, which do not change their endings in the accusative case.
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