Ja idę do sklepu, później idę do domu.

I am going to the store, later I go home.

Breakdown of Ja idę do sklepu, później idę do domu.

• ja: I
• dom: the house
• sklep: the store
• iść: to go
• do: to
• później: later

Questions & Answers about Ja idę do sklepu, później idę do domu.

Why is the subject pronoun ja explicitly stated when the verb already implies the subject?

In Polish, verb conjugations clearly indicate the subject, so including ja (meaning “I”) isn’t grammatically necessary. However, it is often used for emphasis or clarity—especially when the speaker wants to stress who is performing the action.

What tense and form is used in idę, and how does it correspond to English tenses?

idę is the first-person singular present tense form of iść (“to go”). Although it is in the present tense, Polish often uses the present form to talk about actions that are imminent or planned for the near future. Thus, it can mean “I am going” as well as “I will go,” depending on the context.

Why is the preposition do used before both sklepu and domu, and what case do these nouns take?

In Polish, do indicates movement toward a destination and it requires the following noun to be in the genitive case. That’s why sklepu (from sklep meaning “store”) and domu (from dom meaning “house”) are in their genitive forms, marking them as places the speaker is heading to.

The verb idę appears twice. Is it necessary to repeat the verb in both clauses?

While it is sometimes possible to omit the repeated verb when the subject remains the same, repeating idę in each clause clearly delineates two separate sequential actions—first, going to the store, and then going home. This repetition reinforces the structure and timeline of events.

What role does później play in the sentence?

później means “later” in English and serves as a temporal connector in the sentence. It indicates that the action of going home occurs after the initial trip to the store, thus establishing the sequence in which the events take place.

Why is the verb iść (as shown in idę) used here instead of the habitual verb chodzić?

The verb iść (with the form idę) is used for describing a single, specific act of going somewhere with a clear direction. In contrast, chodzić is used for habitual or repeated actions and when referring to movement with no specific destination. In this sentence, the speaker details a particular trip to the store followed by a trip home, so iść is the appropriate choice.