Breakdown of Krawcowe wzięły miarę i skróciły mi je wczoraj.
i
and
mi
to me
je
them / it (neuter)
wczoraj
yesterday
wziąć
to take (perf.)
krawcowa
dressmaker
miara
measure
skrócić
to shorten
Questions & Answers about Krawcowe wzięły miarę i skróciły mi je wczoraj.
Why is the order mi je instead of je mi?
When you have multiple short pronouns (clitics) together, the Dative pronoun (indirect object, like mi) almost always comes before the Accusative or Reflexive pronoun (direct object, like je).
Could I move the pronouns to the end and say skróciły wczoraj mi je?
No, Polish strongly avoids leaving short pronouns like mi and je at the absolute end of a sentence. Placing them before the adverb wczoraj keeps them tucked safely inside the clause, which sounds much more natural.
Why do the verbs end in -ły (wzięły, skróciły) instead of -li?
The subject is krawcowe (dressmakers), which is a plural feminine noun. Because there are no grammatically masculine people in this group, the verbs must use the non-virile (non-masculine-personal) past tense ending -ły.
Why is miarę used here instead of the dictionary form miara?
It acts as the direct object of the verb wzięły (they took). The phrase wziąć miarę is used just like in English to mean taking measurements. Because it is the direct object of an affirmative verb, the feminine noun miara takes the Accusative case ending -ę.
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