Ja idę z psem.

I go with a dog.

Breakdown of Ja idę z psem.

• ja: I
• pies: the dog
• iść: to go
• z: with

Questions & Answers about Ja idę z psem.

What is the role of ja in the sentence, and is it necessary to include it in Polish?

Ja means "I". In Polish, subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending makes clear who the subject is. However, including ja can add emphasis or clarity, similar to how you might stress "I" in English for contrast or emphasis.

What does idę indicate, and how is it formed?

Idę is the first-person singular present tense form of the verb "iść", which means "to go." The ending -ę marks the first-person singular, so idę translates to "I am going" or "I go."

Why is the preposition z used in the sentence, and what does it mean here?

The preposition z means "with." In this sentence, it links the subject with the companion (the dog). Polish requires that certain prepositions, including z, be followed by a noun in the appropriate case—in this instance, the instrumental.

Why is pies written as psem in this context?

In Polish, when a noun follows the preposition z, it must appear in the instrumental case. Psem is the instrumental form of "pies" (dog). Changing pies to psem shows that the dog is the entity accompanying the subject.

Polish doesn’t have articles like "the" or "a." How does that affect the interpretation of this sentence?

That's correct—Polish does not use articles. So, psem simply means "dog" without specifying whether it is a particular dog or just any dog. The context in which the sentence is used will determine whether it refers to a specific dog (like a pet) or dogs in general.

Is it possible to change the word order of the sentence without changing its meaning?

Yes, thanks to Poland’s case system, the word order is fairly flexible. Although the typical order is "Ja idę z psem," you could also say something like "Z psem idę" and still convey the same meaning. The different arrangements might emphasize different parts of the sentence, but the core meaning—"I am going with the dog"—remains unchanged.