Breakdown of Kiedy skończycie zmywać naczynia?
kiedy
when
skończyć
to finish
zmywać
to wash (dishes)
naczynie
the dish
Questions & Answers about Kiedy skończycie zmywać naczynia?
Why do we use the imperfective verb zmywać after the perfective verb skończycie?
This is the main rule for verbs about starting or finishing an action. After verbs like zaczynać/zacząć (to start) or kończyć/skończyć (to finish), the second verb must always be imperfective. You are finishing the ongoing process of washing, so that process needs the imperfective verb zmywać.
Skończycie is conjugated with present tense endings. Why does it translate to the future "will you finish"?
Skończyć is a perfective verb, meaning it describes a completed action. Perfective verbs do not have a present tense because an action cannot be completed right now in the present moment. When you conjugate a perfective verb with present-tense endings, it automatically creates the future tense. So, skończycie means "you (plural) will finish".
Could I use the regular verb myć (to wash) instead of zmywać here?
Yes, you can say myć naczynia, but zmywać naczynia is the most natural, fixed phrase for "doing the dishes" in Polish. The prefix z- in zmywać adds the nuance of washing food and dirt off a surface.
Why does naczynia look like it is in the nominative case if it is the object of the sentence?
It is actually in the accusative case because it is the direct object receiving the action of washing. Naczynie (dish) is a neuter noun. For neuter nouns in the plural, the accusative form is exactly the same as the nominative form, which is naczynia.
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