Breakdown of Jeśli pada deszcz, możemy jechać pociągiem do miasta.
do
to
my
we
móc
to be able to
jeśli
if
padać
to rain
deszcz
the rain
jechać
to go
pociąg
the train
miasto
the city
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Questions & Answers about Jeśli pada deszcz, możemy jechać pociągiem do miasta.
What does Jeśli mean and how is it used here?
Jeśli means “if” and introduces a conditional clause. It tells us that the main action (going by train) depends on the condition (it raining). You can also see gdy or kiedy for “when,” but jeśli is the standard choice for hypothetical or possible situations.
Why is deszcz in the nominative case after pada?
In Polish the verb padać (to fall) is used impersonally for weather: pada deszcz = “it rains.” The thing that “falls” (rain) is treated as the grammatical subject, so it takes the nominative case.
What is the function of the comma before możemy?
Polish requires a comma between a subordinate clause (the Jeśli-clause) and the main clause. Since Jeśli pada deszcz comes first, you place a comma before możemy jechać.
Why is możemy jechać used instead of just jedziemy?
Możemy is the first person plural of móc (to be able to / can). Combined with the infinitive jechać (to go/travel), możemy jechać means “we can go”. Without możemy, jedziemy would simply state “we are going”, losing the conditional nuance.
What’s the difference between jechać and pojechać?
- Jechać is imperfective, focusing on the process or habitual action: “to be going / to go (in general).”
- Pojechać is perfective, focusing on the completion or the fact of having gone once: “to go (and arrive).”
Here, the speaker talks about the possibility of traveling without emphasis on completion, so jechać (imperfective) is correct.
Why is pociągiem in the instrumental case?
To express means or instrument in Polish, you use the instrumental case. Pociągiem = “by train.” (Compare: autem = by car, rowerem = by bike).
Why is it do miasta and not na miasto?
- do
- Genitive (miasta) means movement into or towards a place: “to the city.”
- na
- Accusative can also mean “to,” but is used with certain fixed expressions (na Uniwersytet, na koncert). For general “into a town/city,” you say do miasta.
Why aren’t there articles like “the” or “a” in this sentence?
Polish does not have definite or indefinite articles. Context tells you whether you mean “a train”, “the train”, or just “by train” in general.
Can you swap the clauses (main and subordinate) without changing the meaning?
Yes. You could say:
Możemy jechać pociągiem do miasta, jeśli pada deszcz.
The meaning stays the same. Notice the comma still separates the two clauses.