Word
Zróbmy przerwę, dopóki sytuacja się nie uspokoi.
Meaning
Let's take a break until the situation calms down.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Zróbmy przerwę, dopóki sytuacja się nie uspokoi.
nie
no / not
zrobić
to do / to make (someone something)
przerwa
break
sytuacja
the situation
Questions & Answers about Zróbmy przerwę, dopóki sytuacja się nie uspokoi.
Why is there a nie before uspokoi if the English translation isn't negative?
This is the structure you are currently learning! To say 'until [an action is completed]' in Polish, we use dopóki nie followed by a perfective verb. The nie here is just required by the grammar and isn't translated as a negative. Literally, it acts like 'as long as the situation does not calm down.'
What tense is the verb uspokoi here?
It is in the future tense. The verb uspokoić się (to calm down) is perfective, which means it describes a completed action. Because perfective verbs cannot happen in the present, conjugating them with present-tense endings automatically creates the future tense.
Why is it zróbmy przerwę instead of using a verb that means 'take'?
It is simply a set phrase. In English you 'take' a break, but in Polish you 'make' a break: zrobić przerwę. Here, przerwę is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of our action.
How is the word zróbmy formed?
Zróbmy translates to 'let's take' or 'let's make'. It is the first-person plural imperative (command) form. You build it by taking the basic command zrób (do/make!) and adding the 'we' ending -my to create a suggestion for the group.