Breakdown of Gdyby portal działał, widzielibyśmy te same gwiazdy.
widzieć
to see
działać
to function
gwiazda
star
gdyby
if (hypothetical)
ten sam
the exact same one [f: ta sama, n: to samo]
portal
portal
Questions & Answers about Gdyby portal działał, widzielibyśmy te same gwiazdy.
Why do we use te same for "the exact same" in this sentence?
It describes gwiazdy (stars), which is a plural noun. Because stars are not a group involving men, we use the non-masculine-personal plural form te same. If we were talking about a group of men, it would be ci sami. In this sentence, it is the direct object of the verb, so it takes the accusative case, which looks identical to the nominative here.
Does te same naturally mean "the exact same"? I don't see a separate word for "exact" here.
Why is the verb działał in the past tense if we are talking about a hypothetical present or future?
That is how Polish builds conditionals (the "if... would..." structures). The word gdyby (if) requires the verb that follows it to be in its past tense form. Since portal is a masculine noun, we use the masculine past tense form działał.
How is the word widzielibyśmy (we would see) put together?
It is the conditional form of widzieć (to see). It combines the past tense for "we" (widzieli) with the conditional particle (by) and the personal ending for "we" (śmy). While you could technically split it and say my byśmy widzieli, attaching it all to the verb is the most natural and common way.
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