Question 1

Why is the ending -śmy attached to gdyby instead of the verb?

Accepted Answer

In Polish conditionals, personal endings like -śmy (we) attach to the conditional particle by. Since gdyby (if) already contains by, the ending naturally attaches to it, giving us gdybyśmy. The verb that follows is just the third-person past-tense form, mieli.

Question 2

Could I say Gdyby my mielibyśmy instead of Gdybyśmy mieli?

Accepted Answer

No, you only use the by particle once per clause. Because it is already built into gdybyśmy, adding it again to the verb (mielibyśmy) is incorrect. The rule is to use gdyby with the personal ending, followed by the plain past-tense form of the verb.

Question 3

Why does the verb zainwestowalibyśmy look so long? How is it built?

Accepted Answer

It looks long but follows a very logical formula: the third-person past-tense plural zainwestowali (they invested) + the conditional particle by (would) + the first-person plural ending śmy (we). Put together, it means "we would invest".

Question 4

Why is the word for cash in the form gotówki?

Accepted Answer

Gotówki is the genitive case form of gotówka (cash). We use the genitive here because of the word dużo (a lot). In Polish, quantifiers that express an amount or quantity always force the noun that follows into the genitive case.

Question 5

What case is w ten biznes?

Accepted Answer

It is in the accusative case. The verb zainwestować (to invest) combined with the preposition w (in) requires the accusative case to show what you are putting your money into. Because biznes is a masculine inanimate noun, its accusative form looks exactly like its basic dictionary form.

Gdybyśmy mieli dużo gotówki, zainwestowalibyśmy w ten biznes.

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