Breakdown of Przygotowując nową misję, czekaliśmy na rakietę.
nowy
new
na
on, at / to (motion toward) / for (a meal) / for (waiting for)
czekać
to wait
przygotowywać
to prepare (imperfective)
misja
the mission
rakieta
the rocket
Questions & Answers about Przygotowując nową misję, czekaliśmy na rakietę.
How is przygotowując formed and what exactly does it do here?
It is an adverbial contemporary participle. It shows an ongoing background action happening at the exact same time as the main verb. To make it, you take an imperfective verb in its 'they' present tense form (przygotowują) and replace the final -ą with -ąc.
Does przygotowując change its ending to match the 'we' in czekaliśmy?
No, words ending in -ąc are completely indeclinable. They never change their endings for gender, number, or case. You use the exact same word whether 'I', 'you', or 'we' are doing the action.
Could we use the perfective verb przygotować to make this -ąc word?
No, you can only attach the -ąc ending to imperfective verbs. This is because it describes an action that is currently ongoing. Perfective verbs describe completed actions, so they cannot form this specific participle.
Why is it nową misję rather than the dictionary form nowa misja?
Even though przygotowując is a participle rather than a standard conjugated verb, it still takes a direct object. Just like its base verb przygotowywać, it forces its object (nową misję) into the accusative case.
Can this structure be used if a different group of people is preparing the mission while we wait?
No. A strict rule for using the -ąc participle is that the exact same subject must perform both actions. This sentence structure guarantees that the 'we' preparing the mission and the 'we' waiting for the rocket are the exact same people.
Learn Przygotowując nową misję, czekaliśmy na rakietę and more in Polish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free