Breakdown of Ile pożyczek i kredytów wzięto w zeszłym roku?
i
and
w
in / on (a day)
ile
how many
rok
year
wziąć
to take (perf.)
zeszły
last, previous (zeszły tydzień)
kredyt
credit
pożyczka
loan
Questions & Answers about Ile pożyczek i kredytów wzięto w zeszłym roku?
Why use wzięto instead of a standard past tense like wzięli?
wzięto is the impersonal past tense of wziąć (to take). This form (ending in -no or -to) is used when the doer of the action is unknown, general, or irrelevant. It focuses purely on the action, translating well to the English passive voice ('were taken out').
How do we know to use the -to ending instead of -no for this verb?
The -to suffix is used for verbs that end in -ąć in the infinitive, like wziąć (to take) or zacząć (to start), as well as short verbs like bić or myć. Most other verbs take the -no ending (like zbudowano).
Why are the words pożyczek and kredytów in the genitive case?
They are reacting to the word ile (how many). In Polish, quantity words like ile, dużo (a lot), and mało (few/little) force the following noun into the genitive case. Since we are asking about plural items, we use the genitive plural forms.
What is the difference between a pożyczka and a kredyt?
While both translate to 'loan' in English, they have different meanings in Poland. A kredyt is strictly a bank loan regulated by banking laws. A pożyczka is a general loan that can come from a bank, a private lending company, or even a friend.
Why do we say w zeszłym roku?
To say something happened in a specific year or month, Polish uses the preposition w followed by the Locative case. The base phrase is zeszły rok (last year), which changes to the Locative w zeszłym roku.
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