Learn Hardcore Polish: W przyszłym tygodniu podróżnik z Hiszpanii odwiedzi nasze miasto. - Next week a traveler from Spain will visit our city.

Forming w przyszłym tygodniu:
• tydzień (week) → locative singular tygodniu
• przyszły (next) as a masculine locative adjective → przyszłym

So w przyszłym tygodniu literally means “in the next week.” You could say przyszły tydzień to mean “the next week” as a noun phrase, but to specify when something happens you need w + locative.

Why does tydzień become tygodniu in the locative—where did the -u ending come from?

tydzień is one of those masculine nouns with an irregular stem in certain cases. In the locative it takes -u, not the regular -e. Many soft-stem masculine words follow a similar pattern, so you simply memorize:
• nominative: tydzień
• locative: tygodniu

Why is it z Hiszpanii (from Spain)? What case is Hiszpanii?

The preposition z (“from”) governing origin requires the genitive case. The base (nominative) form is Hiszpania, so its genitive is Hiszpanii. Hence z Hiszpanii = “from Spain.”

Why isn’t the preposition spelled ze Hiszpanii?

In Polish, z changes to ze only before tough consonant clusters (e.g. ze szkoły, ze stołu). Since Hiszpanii starts with H + vowel, the simple form z is used.

What case is nasze miasto in, and why does miasto look unchanged?

nasze miasto is the direct object of odwiedzi, so it’s in the accusative. Neuter singular nouns have identical nominative and accusative forms, so miasto remains miasto. The possessive pronoun nasze agrees in gender (neuter), number (singular) and case (accusative/neuter) with the noun.

Why is the verb odwiedzi in this form? What tense or aspect does it represent?

odwiedzi is the 3rd person singular future of the perfective verb odwiedzieć (to visit once). Perfective verbs don’t have a distinct present tense—instead, their “present” forms are understood as future. Conjugation pattern here:
• ja odwiedzę
• ty odwiedzisz
• on/ona/ono odwiedzi

Could you use an imperfective form like odwiedza or będzie odwiedzać here instead of odwiedzi?

Yes, but with a different nuance:
• odwiedzi (perfective) = a single, completed visit next week.
• będzie odwiedzał or odwiedzać (imperfective) = repeated or ongoing visits, or focusing on the process rather than completion.

For announcing one definite visit, odwiedzi is the natural choice.

How flexible is the word order in W przyszłym tygodniu podróżnik z Hiszpanii odwiedzi nasze miasto?

Polish allows relatively free word order for emphasis or style. You can shuffle time-phrases, subjects and objects:
• Podróżnik z Hiszpanii odwiedzi nasze miasto w przyszłym tygodniu.
• Nasze miasto w przyszłym tygodniu odwiedzi podróżnik z Hiszpanii.
• W przyszłym tygodniu odwiedzi nasze miasto podróżnik z Hiszpanii.

Grammatical roles stay clear thanks to case endings, so you choose order based on what you want to highlight.

What’s the best way to pronounce W przyszłym tygodniu podróżnik z Hiszpanii odwiedzi nasze miasto, especially those tricky clusters?

Break it down and watch the consonant clusters:
• W [v]
• przyszłym [ˈpʂɨʂwɨm] (prz = [pʂ], sz = [ʂ], ł = [w])
• tygodniu [tɨˈɡɔdɲu] (dź = [dʑ], ni = [ɲ])
• podróżnik [pɔˈdruʐɲik] (ż = [ʐ], ń = [ɲ])
• z Hiszpanii [z xiʂˈpaɲi] (z + H = [z x], sz = [ʂ])
• odwiedzi [ɔdˈvʲedʑi] (dz = [d͡z], dź = [dʑ])
• nasze [ˈnaʂɛ] (sz = [ʂ])
• miasto [ˈmʲasto] (ś = [ɕ])

Practice each cluster slowly, then blend into full phrases.