Breakdown of Jeżeli będziesz kłamać, będziesz żałować.
być
to be
jeżeli
if
kłamać
to lie (tell an untruth)
żałować
to regret
Questions & Answers about Jeżeli będziesz kłamać, będziesz żałować.
Why does Polish use the future tense (będziesz kłamać) after jeżeli, when English uses the present ('If you lie')?
In Polish, if the condition happens in the future, you must use the future tense right after jeśli or jeżeli. While English says 'If you lie' (present tense), Polish logically says 'If you will lie'. This is a major difference to remember!
Can I use jeśli instead of jeżeli in this sentence?
Yes, jeśli and jeżeli are completely interchangeable. They both mean 'if'. Jeżeli is just a bit more formal and is very commonly used at the beginning of a sentence, just like it is here.
Why is the future tense made of two words (będziesz kłamać) instead of a single word?
Both kłamać (to lie) and żałować (to regret) are imperfective verbs, meaning they focus on the ongoing process of an action. To make the future tense for imperfective verbs, you use the future form of być (to be) — which is będziesz for 'you' — plus the infinitive of the verb.
The translation says 'you will regret it'. Why is there no word for 'it' in the Polish sentence?
In English, 'regret' usually needs an object, so we add 'it'. In Polish, żałować often stands perfectly fine on its own when the context is obvious from the first half of the sentence.
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