Breakdown of Skończyliśmy patrzeć na te zdjęcia.
ten
this (m)
na
on, at / to (motion toward) / for (a meal) / for (waiting for)
zdjęcie
photo (n)
skończyć
to finish
patrzeć
to look
Questions & Answers about Skończyliśmy patrzeć na te zdjęcia.
Why do we use the preposition na here?
In Polish, the verb patrzeć (to look) pairs with the preposition na followed by the Accusative case to mean "to look at [something]". You cannot translate the English "at" directly with other prepositions like w or przy here; patrzeć na is a fixed combination.
What case is te zdjęcia and why doesn't the ending change?
It is in the Accusative plural, required by the phrase patrzeć na. For neuter nouns like zdjęcie (photo) and non-masculine plural words like te (these), the Accusative form is exactly the same as the Nominative (subject) form. The plural of zdjęcie is zdjęcia, so it simply stays te zdjęcia.
Why is patrzeć (imperfective) used after skończyliśmy (perfective)?
Verbs that describe starting, finishing, or continuing an action (like skończyć - to finish) must always be followed by an imperfective infinitive. Even though the finishing is a completed (perfective) action, the "looking" itself was an ongoing process, so we use the imperfective patrzeć.
If a group of women were speaking, would the first word change?
Yes! Skończyliśmy is the masculine personal form, used if there is at least one man in the "we" group. If a group of only women were saying this, they would use the non-masculine personal form: skończyłyśmy.
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