Learn Hardcore Polish: Lekarz mówi, że zdrowy spacer pomaga łatwiej odzyskać energię. - The doctor says that a healthy walk helps to regain energy more easily.

In Polish, że is a conjunction used to introduce a subordinate (dependent) clause. Whenever you report what someone says or think, you link the main clause to the subordinate clause with że. Standard punctuation calls for a comma before że.
Example structure:
– Main clause (Lekarz mówi),
– comma,
– że + subordinate clause (zdrowy spacer pomaga łatwiej odzyskać energię).

Why is zdrowy spacer in the nominative case?

Zdrowy spacer is the subject of the verb pomaga. In Polish, the subject of a verb typically appears in the nominative case. Here:
– zdrowy = nominative masculine singular adjective (“healthy”)
– spacer = nominative masculine singular noun (“a walk”)

Why is energię in the accusative case?

Energię is the direct object of the infinitive odzyskać (“to recover”). In Polish, verbs of action like odzyskać take their object in the accusative case. The base form is energia (nominative), and the accusative singular is energię.

How does pomaga combine with an infinitive, and why do we use odzyskać here?

The verb pomaga (“helps”) can be followed directly by an infinitive to mean “helps to do something.” For example:
– Pomaga mi nauczyć się (It helps me learn).
In your sentence, pomaga + odzyskać energię means “…helps (to) recover energy.” We use the perfective infinitive odzyskać because we’re talking about the single action of regaining energy, not an ongoing or repeated process.

What is łatwiej, and why do we use the comparative form of łatwo?

Łatwiej is the comparative adverb of łatwo (which means “easily”). In English you’d say “more easily” or “easier” in this context. Comparatives in Polish often end with -iej for adverbs:
– łatwo → łatwiej (“more easily”)

Why is łatwiej placed before odzyskać energię, and how flexible is word order in Polish?

Polish has relatively free word order, but neutral/default placement for an adverb is just before the verb or verb group it modifies. Here łatwiej precedes odzyskać energię to clearly show that it modifies the action “to recover energy.” You could also say odzyskać łatwiej energię, but that sounds a bit awkward—you would normally keep the adverb close to the verb.

Why is there no pronoun after pomaga, for example mi or ci?

This sentence states a general truth: “A healthy walk helps recover energy more easily.” No specific person is indicated, so no dative pronoun (mi, ci, etc.) is needed. If you wanted to say “helps me,” you’d include mi:
Lekarz mówi, że zdrowy spacer pomaga mi łatwiej odzyskać energię.

Could we express the same idea using a different construction, like pomaga w łatwiejszym odzyskaniu energii?

Yes. A more formal or “noun‐based” version uses pomaga w + noun in the locative:
– Lekarz mówi, że zdrowy spacer pomaga w łatwiejszym odzyskaniu energii.
Here w (“in”) requires the locative case, and odzyskaniu is the locative of odzyskanie (a noun, “recovery”).

What’s the difference between using że and żeby in this sentence?

Że introduces reported speech or a fact: “Doctor says that…”
Żeby introduces purpose or intention: “in order to…”
If you wrote Lekarz mówi, żeby zdrowy spacer pomagał…, it would sound like the doctor is ordering someone: “Doctor says so that a healthy walk would help…,” which is not correct here. Use że for “that” in reported statements.