Learn Hardcore Polish: Proszę zatrzymać autobus obok apteki. - Please stop the bus next to the pharmacy.

proszę is the 1st person singular present form of prosić (to ask), used as a polite request marker—much like English “please.” Grammatically, it means “I ask (you) to….” After proszę, you follow with an infinitive (zatrzymać), not an imperative form of the main verb.

Why is zatrzymać in the infinitive and not in the imperative (zatrzymaj)?

When you use proszę + verb, Polish prefers the infinitive to soften the request. Saying Zatrzymaj autobus obok apteki! is also correct but more direct. With proszę, the infinitive style feels more neutral and polite.

Why is autobus in the accusative case and not the nominative?

autobus is the direct object of zatrzymać (to stop something). Direct objects take the accusative case. For masculine inanimate nouns like autobus, the accusative form is identical to the nominative, so it stays autobus.

Which case does the preposition obok require, and why is apteki in the genitive?

obok always governs the genitive case. That’s why apteka (nominative) changes to apteki (genitive). The genitive after obok expresses location: “next to the pharmacy.”

Could I use a different preposition like przy instead of obok? What’s the difference?

Yes.

obok apteki (genitive) = “beside/next to the pharmacy,” emphasis on side-by-side positioning.
przy aptece (locative) = “by/at the pharmacy,” suggests closeness or being at the building.

Both indicate location but with slightly different nuances.

Why is apteki in the locative for przy, but genitive for obok?

Each Polish preposition pairs with a specific case.

przy → locative, so apteka becomes aptece.
obok → genitive, so apteka becomes apteki.
You need to memorize case requirements for each preposition.

Can I change the word order? For example, Proszę obok apteki zatrzymać autobus?

Polish word order is flexible, but Proszę zatrzymać autobus obok apteki is the most neutral and natural. Moving obok apteki before zatrzymać is grammatically correct but less common in everyday speech.

Why isn’t there an explicit subject like “you” in the sentence?

Polish often drops subjects when they’re clear from context. Here, it’s understood that you’re speaking to the bus driver or someone who can stop the bus. Explicit subjects are added only when necessary for clarity.

Why is the perfective aspect zatrzymać used instead of the imperfective zatrzymywać?

Perfective verbs (like zatrzymać) describe a single, completed action: “stop it (once).” Imperfective verbs (like zatrzymywać) imply ongoing or repeated actions, which doesn’t fit a one-time request to stop the bus at a specific spot.