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żeby / żebyś - when and how to use them?


kiwiboy  3 | 12  
28 Jun 2008 /  #1
I see these two words quite a lot in Polish sentences - żeby / żebyś - sorry if the spelling is wrong! What exactly do they mean and how/where do you use them?
mafketis  38 | 10990  
28 Jun 2008 /  #2
żeby

is a combination of the conjunction że (that) and the conditional particle by (roughly 'would', 'should' or subjunctive)

żeby is followed by an infinitive (impersonal) or a past stem (looks like third person singular of the past tense)

żebyś can only be followed by the past stem and only with second person singular (familiar) subject

żeby być = in order to be

żeby był = that he might be, that he be (subjunctive), that he should be

żebyś był = (same as above but with 'you' instead of 'he')
OP kiwiboy  3 | 12  
28 Jun 2008 /  #3
Dzieki Mafketis I'll try and get my head around that! :)

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