Breakdown of Gdybyśmy wyjechali, tęskniłbym za ojczyzną.
wyjechać
to leave / to go away (by vehicle)
gdyby
if (hypothetical)
tęsknić
to miss
za
for (after someone/something, with tęsknić)
ojczyzna
homeland
Questions & Answers about Gdybyśmy wyjechali, tęskniłbym za ojczyzną.
How does the grammar of Gdybyśmy wyjechali work?
Gdybyśmy is made of the word gdy (when/if), the conditional particle by, and the first-person plural ending -śmy (we). Because the personal ending is already attached to gdyby, the main verb that follows is simply in the third-person past tense form (wyjechali).
How do we know the person saying tęskniłbym is male?
Polish conditional verbs are built on past tense forms, which indicate gender. Tęskniłbym breaks down into the masculine past form tęsknił plus the conditional ending -bym. If a female speaker were saying this, she would use the feminine past form tęskniła, making it tęskniłabym.
Why is the verb wyjechali used instead of wyjechały?
Wyjechali is the masculine personal form, which means the group of people leaving (the "we") includes at least one man. If the group consisted entirely of women, the non-masculine form would be used, and the sentence would start with Gdybyśmy wyjechały.
Why does the word ojczyzna change to ojczyzną here?
The verb tęsknić (to miss or to long for) pairs with the preposition za. When za is used with this verb, it forces the noun that follows into the Instrumental case. Therefore, the nominative ojczyzna takes the standard feminine Instrumental -ą ending, becoming za ojczyzną.
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