Breakdown of Staliśmy przed konsulatem, aż dostaliśmy wizy.
dostać
to get
stać
to stand
przed
in front of (+ Instrumental)
wiza
visa
Questions & Answers about Staliśmy przed konsulatem, aż dostaliśmy wizy.
How does aż work here, and could I use dopóki instead?
The word aż connects an ongoing action to its final result or interruption. You could use dopóki here, but to mean 'until', it requires a negative structure: dopóki nie dostaliśmy wizy (literally 'as long as we did not receive visas'). Using aż is simpler and very natural when a continuous action is stopped by a completed one.
Why is staliśmy imperfective, but dostaliśmy is perfective?
This is a very common aspect pattern with aż (until). You use an imperfective verb for the ongoing, continuous background action (staliśmy - we were standing) and a perfective verb for the single, completed event that finally puts an end to the waiting (dostaliśmy - we received).
Why does konsulat change to konsulatem?
The preposition przed (in front of) is followed by the Instrumental case when it describes a static location (answering the question 'where?'). Because konsulat is a regular masculine noun, it takes the standard Instrumental ending -em.
Why does the sentence use wizy instead of wizę?