On zawsze mówi grzecznie.

He always speaks politely.

Breakdown of On zawsze mówi grzecznie.

• on: he
• zawsze: always
• mówić: to speak
• grzecznie: politely

Questions & Answers about On zawsze mówi grzecznie.

Why is On used here, and is it necessary?

On is the third-person singular pronoun (“he”). It clarifies or emphasizes who is speaking. Grammatically it isn’t required—mówi already has the ending -i showing 3rd person singular. If the context makes it clear, you can drop On entirely:
• Zawsze mówi grzecznie.

What part of speech is zawsze, and where can it go in the sentence?

zawsze is an adverb meaning “always.” Polish word order is flexible, so you can place it before or after the verb with slightly different emphasis:
• On zawsze mówi grzecznie. (neutral)
• On mówi zawsze grzecznie. (stresses “always” a bit more)

What does mówi tell us about the subject and tense?

mówi is the 3rd person singular present form of mówić (“to speak/say”). The ending -i encodes both person (he/she/it) and number (singular) in Polish, so you don’t need a separate auxiliary or pronoun for that.

What part of speech is grzecznie, and how is it formed?

grzecznie is an adverb of manner (answers “how?”). It’s derived from the adjective grzeczny (“polite”) by replacing -y with -ie, a common pattern for adjectives ending in -ny.

Why isn’t there a preposition before grzecznie?

Adverbs in Polish don’t take prepositions. They modify verbs directly, describing how the action is performed: mówi grzecznie = “speaks politely.”

Could I use the adjective grzeczny instead of the adverb grzecznie?

No. Adjectives describe nouns (grzeczny człowiek = “a polite person”). To modify a verb, you need an adverb. Hence grzecznie (“politely”) is correct here.

How does changing word order affect meaning or emphasis?

Polish relies on endings for grammatical roles, so word order mainly shifts emphasis:
• On zawsze mówi grzecznie. – neutral statement
• Zawsze on mówi grzecznie. – highlights always (frequency)
• On mówi grzecznie zawsze. – uncommon, but could stress manner over frequency
All are grammatical; choice depends on what you want to emphasize.

Can the subject pronoun On be dropped in casual speech?

Yes. In informal or context-clear situations, pronouns are often omitted, as the verb ending already identifies the subject:
• (On) zawsze mówi grzecznie.
This is perfectly natural if listeners know who you mean.