Learn Hardcore Polish: Czy powinni spacerować po parku, jeśli są zmęczeni chorobą? - Should they walk in the park if they are tired from illness?

czy is the interrogative particle used to form yes/no questions in Polish. It doesn’t translate directly into English but signals to the listener that a yes/no answer is expected. Placed at the very start, it triggers the inverted word order typical for Polish questions (verb before subject).

Why is powinni used here and what does it mean?

powinni is the 3rd person plural of the modal verb powinien, which expresses obligation or advice—equivalent to “should” in English. It agrees with the implied subject oni (“they”) and requires a following infinitive verb (spacerować).

Why is the verb spacerować in its infinitive form?

In Polish, modal verbs like powinien are always followed by an infinitive. This pattern is similar to English “should + base verb,” so you’ll see spacerować (to walk) unconjugated after powinni.

Why do we use po parku, and what case is parku?

The preposition po (in the sense of “around,” “through,” or “in”) takes the locative case when describing movement within an area. parku is the locative singular of park, so po parku means “around the park” or “in the park.”

What is the role of jeśli in the sentence, and how is it different from czy?

jeśli means “if” and introduces the conditional clause (“if they are tired by illness”). In contrast, czy starts the overall yes/no question. So:
• czy → marks the whole sentence as a question
• jeśli → sets up the condition under which the action might happen

Why do we say są zmęczeni chorobą instead of using a past-tense verb like “they became tired”?

The phrase są zmęczeni uses the present tense of być (“they are”) plus the short-form participle zmęczeni (“tired”) to describe a current state. It focuses on “they are tired” rather than on the action of becoming tired (which would be zmęczyli się).

Why is chorobą in the instrumental case after zmęczeni?

The construction być zmęczonym (“to be tired by something”) requires the instrumental case to indicate the cause. Therefore chorobą is the instrumental singular of choroba (“illness”).

Can we include the pronoun oni in this sentence, and if so, where?

Yes. Because powinni implies “they,” the pronoun oni is optional. If you choose to include it, it typically appears immediately after czy or after the verb:
• Czy oni powinni spacerować…?
• Czy powinni oni spacerować…?

Is it possible to start with the conditional clause rather than czy?

Absolutely. You can invert the order without changing the meaning:
Jeśli są zmęczeni chorobą, czy powinni spacerować po parku?
Polish word order is flexible, and leading with the “if” clause is perfectly natural.