Breakdown of Poszedł do sklepu, żeby kupić wodę bez gazu.
woda
water
sklep
shop
do
to
kupić
to buy (perfective)
żeby
so that, in order to
pójść
to go (on foot)
bez
without
gaz
gas
Questions & Answers about Poszedł do sklepu, żeby kupić wodę bez gazu.
Why does the word for gas change to gazu at the end of the sentence?
The preposition bez (without) always forces the noun that follows it into the Genitive case. The dictionary form is gaz (a masculine inanimate noun), and its Genitive form takes the -u ending, making it bez gazu.
Does do sklepu follow the same grammar rule as bez gazu?
Yes! Both the preposition do (to/into) and the preposition bez (without) require the Genitive case. The dictionary form sklep gets the -u ending to become do sklepu, exactly like gaz becomes bez gazu.
Why is the water written as wodę instead of the dictionary form woda?
Because the water is the direct object being bought, it must take the Accusative case. Feminine nouns that end in -a change their ending to -ę in this case, so woda becomes wodę.
What is the exact role of żeby here?
In English, we simply say 'to buy', but in Polish, you usually need the word żeby (in order to) before an infinitive verb to show purpose. Together, żeby kupić means 'in order to buy'.
I recognize szedł (he was walking), but why is it poszedł here?
poszedł is the perfective form of the verb, meaning it describes a completed action: he successfully made the trip to the store. If you used the imperfective szedł, it would mean he was still in the process of walking there.
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