Breakdown of Miał zamówić dwie dobre kawy mrożone, zanim wrócił.
dobry
good
kawa
coffee
dwa
two
zamówić
to order (perfective)
Questions & Answers about Miał zamówić dwie dobre kawy mrożone, zanim wrócił.
Why is dobre placed before kawy but mrożone is placed after it?
This showcases the difference between descriptive and classifying adjectives. Dobre (good) is an opinion or description, so it comes before the noun. Mrożone (iced) tells us the specific category or type of product it is. Classifying adjectives almost always go after the noun in Polish.
Why does miał translate to "was supposed to" here, rather than "had"?
When the verb mieć (to have) is combined with another verb in the infinitive, like zamówić (to order), it acts like a modal verb meaning "to be supposed to" or "to have to" do that action. So miał zamówić means "he was supposed to order."
I sometimes get confused with numbers and cases. Why is it dwie dobre kawy and not the genitive dwóch dobrych kaw?
In Polish, the numbers 2, 3, and 4 are followed by the noun in the nominative or accusative plural. Since the coffee is the direct object being ordered, we use the accusative plural dwie dobre kawy. You only switch to the genitive plural for quantities of 5 and above, which would be pięć dobrych kaw.
Why does the sentence use zanim wrócił (perfective) instead of zanim wracał (imperfective)?
The conjunction zanim (before) pairs with the perfective verb wrócił because his return is treated as a single, completed boundary in time. He was meant to finish ordering before the exact moment his return was completed.