Kiedy restauracja jest zamknięta, robimy sałatkę i pijemy sok.

When the restaurant is closed, we make a salad and drink juice.

Breakdown of Kiedy restauracja jest zamknięta, robimy sałatkę i pijemy sok.

• być: to be
• i: and
• kiedy: when
• restauracja: the restaurant
• pić: to drink
• zamknięty: closed
• robić: to make
• sałatka: the salad
• sok: the juice

Questions & Answers about Kiedy restauracja jest zamknięta, robimy sałatkę i pijemy sok.

Why do we use kiedy in this sentence? Can we also use gdy?

Both kiedy and gdy translate as “when” and can introduce a temporal clause.

• kiedy is more common in everyday speech.
• gdy feels slightly more formal or literary.
  You could say: Gdy restauracja jest zamknięta, robimy sałatkę i pijemy sok.

Why is there a comma after zamknięta?

In Polish, when a subordinate clause (here the kiedy-clause) comes before the main clause, you separate them with a comma.
Structure: Subordinate clause + comma + Main clause.
If you place the main clause first, the comma becomes optional:
Robimy sałatkę i pijemy sok kiedy restauracja jest zamknięta.

Why is restauracja in the nominative case?

restauracja is the subject of the subordinate clause (“when the restaurant is closed”). Subjects in Polish always take the nominative case. The verb jest (is) requires a nominative subject.

Why is zamknięta used here, and why does it end in “-a”?

zamknięta is the past passive participle of zamknąć used as an adjective meaning “closed.”
It agrees with restauracja in gender (feminine), number (singular), and case (nominative), hence the ending “-a.”

Why are sałatkę and sok in the accusative case?

They are direct objects of the verbs robimy (“we make”) and pijemy (“we drink”). In Polish, direct objects of transitive verbs require the accusative case:

• sałatka → sałatkę (feminine singular)
• sok remains sok (masculine singular)

Why is the present tense used (robimy, pijemy) instead of past or future?

The present tense in Polish often expresses habitual or repeated actions. Here it means: “Whenever the restaurant is closed, we (always) make a salad and drink juice.” No additional aspect markers are needed for a routine.

Could we reorder the sentence without changing the meaning?

Yes. Polish word order is quite flexible because of case marking. You can say:
Robimy sałatkę i pijemy sok, kiedy restauracja jest zamknięta.
In that order, the comma before kiedy is optional.

Is there an alternative to robimy sałatkę if I want to sound more formal?

Yes. You can use przygotowujemy sałatkę (“we prepare a salad”) instead of robimy sałatkę (“we make a salad”). Both are correct; przygotowywać emphasizes the process of preparation.

Can we omit jest and say Kiedy restauracja zamknięta?

No. You need jest to form a complete finite clause. Kiedy restauracja zamknięta is missing the verb “is” and won’t be understood as a proper sentence.