Breakdown of Nie chcę pobrać tego pliku, bo myślę, że to wirus.
to
this
nie
no / not
ten
this (m)
chcieć
to want
myśleć
to think
bo
because
że
that
pobrać
to download
plik
the file
wirus
the virus
Questions & Answers about Nie chcę pobrać tego pliku, bo myślę, że to wirus.
Why is it tego pliku instead of the accusative ten plik?
This is because of the genitive of negation. Even though the file is the direct object of the action pobrać, the main verb of the sentence is negated (nie chcę). When you negate a verb phrase in Polish, the direct object switches from the accusative case to the genitive case.
Why is pobrać (to download) in its perfective form here?
You are talking about downloading a specific file once, which is a completed, single action. For single, completed actions, Polish uses perfective verbs. If you were talking about downloading files in general or repeatedly, you would use the imperfective form pobierać.
Why does the sentence say że to wirus instead of że to jest wirus?
In Polish, when you use the pronoun to (meaning 'this is' or 'it is') followed by a noun, you can usually skip the verb jest. Saying że to jest wirus is also completely correct, but dropping jest sounds very natural and is common in everyday speech.
Since we are learning about żeby, could I use żeby instead of bo here?
No, because they serve different functions. Żeby means 'in order to' or 'so that', expressing a goal or purpose. Bo means 'because' and gives a reason. If you used żeby here, it would mean you are avoiding the download 'in order to think it is a virus', which doesn't make sense. You need bo to explain the reason.
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