Questions & Answers about Zablokowano ten duży przelew.
Why is it zablokowano instead of a regular past tense like zablokował?
Zablokowano is an impersonal past tense form ending in -no. It means that the action happened, but we do not know or do not care exactly who did it. In English, we usually translate this using the passive voice (like 'was blocked') or a generic subject (like 'they blocked').
Why is ten duży przelew in the accusative case here, if it translates as the subject in English?
This is a major difference between English and Polish! Even though we translate it as a passive sentence in English, the Polish -no construction acts like an active verb. It essentially means 'someone blocked this transfer.' Therefore, ten duży przelew is the direct object receiving the action, so it must be in the accusative case. Since przelew is a masculine inanimate noun, its accusative form happens to look exactly like its nominative form.
Could I use the imperfective form blokowano here?
Yes, but it would change the meaning. Zablokować is perfective, so zablokowano means the transfer was successfully blocked once as a completed event. If you used the imperfective blokowano, it would mean the transfer was being blocked as an ongoing process, or was blocked repeatedly over time.
What exactly does przelew mean in this context?
Przelew refers to a bank transfer or a wire transfer. It comes from the verb przelewać, which literally means to pour a liquid from one container to another. In banking, you are metaphorically pouring money from one account to another!