Breakdown of W sobotę idziemy na basen, żeby pływać i odpocząć.
iść
to go
i
and
w
on
na
to
żeby
in order to
odpocząć
to rest
sobota
the Saturday
basen
the swimming pool
pływać
to swim
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Questions & Answers about W sobotę idziemy na basen, żeby pływać i odpocząć.
What does W sobotę mean, and why is it in this form?
W sobotę means “on Saturday.” To express a specific point in time in Polish, you use w plus the noun in the accusative case. Since sobota is feminine, its accusative singular is sobotę.
Why is there a comma before żeby?
In Polish, a comma precedes subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like żeby (“in order to”). Here, that comma marks the start of the purpose clause explaining why we’re going to the pool.
What is the function of żeby in this sentence? Could we omit it?
Żeby means “in order to” or “so that” and links the main clause to a purpose clause with infinitives. You need żeby (or the slightly more formal aby) to introduce those infinitives; you can’t just drop it here.
Why is idziemy in the present tense when it refers to Saturday (a future time)?
Polish commonly uses the present tense of an imperfective verb to talk about planned future actions. So idziemy (“we go”) functions as “we’re going (to go)” or “we will go” in this context.
Why do we say iść na basen instead of iść do basenu?
When you talk about going to recreational or activity-type places (pool, gym, cinema), Polish uses na + accusative: iść na basen, iść na siłownię. Do + genitive is used for entering more enclosed or “personal” locations (e.g. iść do domu, iść do pracy).
Why is the verb pływać imperfective while odpocząć is perfective?
In the purpose clause, aspect matters: the imperfective pływać emphasizes the ongoing activity of swimming, whereas the perfective odpocząć highlights completing the act of resting. It stresses that you will actually achieve the rest.
Could we use odpoczywać instead of odpocząć? What would change?
Yes. Odpoczywać is the imperfective counterpart, focusing on the process of relaxing rather than its completion. If you said żeby pływać i odpoczywać, you’d stress doing both activities without implying that the rest will be fully accomplished.
Why is the pronoun my omitted before idziemy?
Polish typically drops subject pronouns because the verb ending (-my) already indicates the person and number (“we”).