Breakdown of Zaraz będę dzwonić do hydraulika, chyba że to naprawisz.
to
this
być
to be
dzwonić
to call
zaraz
right away
do
to
naprawić
to fix (perfective)
hydraulik
plumber
chyba że
unless
Questions & Answers about Zaraz będę dzwonić do hydraulika, chyba że to naprawisz.
Why do we use the future tense naprawisz after chyba że, when the English translation uses the present tense 'unless you fix'?
In Polish, if the condition happens in the future, the verb after chyba że must be in the future tense. Naprawisz is the perfective future of naprawić (to fix). Polish is much stricter about using future tenses for future events than English is.
Could I use the perfective verb zadzwonię instead of będę dzwonić here?
Yes, you absolutely could. Będę dzwonić is the imperfective future, focusing on the process of making the call ('I will be calling'). Zaraz zadzwonię would mean 'I will call right now [and complete the action]'. Both are very natural here.
Can I say będę dzwonił or będę dzwoniła instead of using the infinitive dzwonić?
Yes! To form the imperfective future, you can use być (here as będę) plus either the infinitive (dzwonić) or the past-tense form (dzwonił for a male speaker, dzwoniła for a female speaker). They mean exactly the same thing and are completely interchangeable.
Why does the word for plumber take the form hydraulika?
The verb dzwonić (to call/ring) takes the preposition do, which always requires the Genitive case. For masculine animate nouns like hydraulik, the Genitive ending is -a, resulting in do hydraulika.
Is it okay to put to at the end of the sentence, saying chyba że naprawisz to?
It is grammatically correct, but putting to before the verb (chyba że to naprawisz) sounds more natural. In Polish, short pronouns tend to tuck in before the verb unless you are specifically emphasizing them at the end of the sentence.
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