Breakdown of Obie zawodniczki wygrały jeden set.
jeden
one
wygrać
to win
set
set
obie
both (f)
zawodniczka
player (f)
Questions & Answers about Obie zawodniczki wygrały jeden set.
Why do we use obie here instead of oba or oboje?
The word for "both" has to match the gender of the noun it modifies. Because zawodniczki (female players) is a feminine plural noun, we use the feminine form obie. You would use oba for masculine inanimate or neuter nouns, and oboje for mixed-gender groups.
Why does the verb end in -ły (wygrały)?
In the plural past tense, Polish verbs have two main forms: masculine-personal (used when there is at least one man in the group) and non-masculine-personal (used for women, animals, and objects). Since the subject is exclusively female (zawodniczki), we use the non-masculine-personal ending -ły. If they were male players, it would be wygrali.
What case is jeden set, and why didn't it change its ending?
It is in the accusative case because it's the direct object of the verb (it answers the question: what did they win?). However, set (a sports set) is a masculine inanimate noun. For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative form looks exactly the same as the nominative (dictionary) form, so both jeden and set remain unchanged here.
Why use the perfective verb wygrały instead of the imperfective wygrywały?
We use the perfective verb wygrać because the focus is on a completed, one-time action with a clear result: they successfully finished and won that single set. If you used the imperfective wygrywały, it would mean they were in the process of winning it, or that they used to win one set repeatedly.
Learn Obie zawodniczki wygrały jeden set and more in Polish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free