Breakdown of Student idzie do biblioteki po lekcji.
iść
to go
do
to
po
after
biblioteka
the library
student
the student
lekcja
the class
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Questions & Answers about Student idzie do biblioteki po lekcji.
Why is there no article before student like the student or a student?
Polish does not use definite or indefinite articles. Context alone tells you whether you’re talking about “a student,” “the student,” or students in general.
What case does the noun after do take, and why is biblioteki in that form?
The preposition do (“to,” “into”) always requires the genitive case. The base form biblioteka (nominative) becomes biblioteki in the genitive singular.
Why is it po lekcji instead of po lekcję or another case?
When po means “after” in a temporal sense, it governs the locative case. The word lekcja (nominative) turns into lekcji in the locative singular.
Why is the pronoun on (“he”) omitted before idzie?
Polish is a pro-drop language: the verb ending -ie in idzie already marks 3rd person singular, so the subject pronoun on can be—and often is—dropped.
What tense and aspect does idzie express, and how is it different from a form like pójdzie?
Idzie is present tense of the imperfective verb iść (“to go”), indicating an ongoing action (“is going”). Pójdzie is the perfective future (“will go,” single complete action).
Is word order fixed in Polish? Could you say Do biblioteki student idzie instead?
Polish word order is quite flexible. Do biblioteki student idzie is grammatically correct and places emphasis on the destination, but the neutral SVO order is Student idzie do biblioteki.
How do you pronounce biblioteki, and where is the stress?
Polish stress almost always falls on the penultimate syllable. biblioteki is pronounced [bi-blioˈtɛ.kʲi], with stress on -te-.