Breakdown of Dlatego noszę twardą walizkę tylko dwa razy w roku.
ja
I
w
in
dlatego
therefore
tylko
only
nosić
to carry
twardy
hard
walizka
the suitcase
dwa razy
twice
rok
the year
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Questions & Answers about Dlatego noszę twardą walizkę tylko dwa razy w roku.
Why is twarda walizka written as twardą walizkę in this sentence?
Because twardą walizkę is the direct object of the verb nosić, so it must be in the accusative case. In Polish, most feminine nouns ending in -a change that ending to -ę in the singular accusative (walizka → walizkę), and adjectives agree with the noun (twarda → twardą).
What does tylko modify and why is it placed before dwa razy w roku?
Tylko means only and here it limits the frequency to exactly two times per year. It normally precedes the element it restricts. If you moved it elsewhere (e.g. tylko noszę), you’d be emphasizing a different part of the sentence.
Why is the time expression dwa razy w roku constructed with w + roku, and not na rok?
Polish expresses “times per time unit” using razy + w + the locative case of the unit. So rok (year) becomes roku after the preposition w. Saying na rok would mean “per year” in a rate sense (e.g. price per year), but is less idiomatic for counting occurrences.
What role does dlatego play at the beginning of the sentence?
Dlatego is an adverb meaning therefore or that’s why. It signals a conclusion or result and often starts a clause. You can also link it with że (dlatego że) if you want to introduce the reason explicitly.
Why is the verb in the imperfective form noszę, and not a perfective verb like zanieść?
The imperfective aspect (nosić) is used for habitual or repeated actions—in this case, carrying the hard suitcase twice a year. A perfective verb (zanieść) would describe a single, completed action (e.g. I will carry it once to the destination).
Why is the subject I (ja) omitted before noszę?
Polish verb endings encode person and number. Noszę already tells you the subject is first person singular, so the pronoun ja is usually dropped unless you want to add extra emphasis.
Can you change the word order in this sentence without losing the meaning?
Yes. Polish has relatively free word order. For example:
- Tylko dwa razy w roku noszę twardą walizkę.
- Noszę twardą walizkę tylko dwa razy w roku.
- Dlatego twardą walizkę noszę tylko dwa razy w roku.
All convey the same basic idea; different order just shifts the emphasis slightly.