Breakdown of W każdym tygodniu dzieci dostają nowe zdanie do napisania w szkole.
w
in
dziecko
the child
do
to
nowy
new
każdy
every
szkoła
the school
napisać
to write
tydzień
the week
dostawać
to get
zdanie
the sentence
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Questions & Answers about W każdym tygodniu dzieci dostają nowe zdanie do napisania w szkole.
Why is it w każdym tygodniu (Locative) instead of każdego tygodnia (Genitive)?
Because when you use w (“in”) to express repetition over time, the noun takes the Locative case: w każdym tygodniu literally “in every week.” You can also say każdego tygodnia without w, using the Genitive, to mean “every week.” Informally, co tydzień is very common as well.
Why is the verb dostają used here rather than otrzymują?
Dostają is the everyday, neutral verb for “get” or “receive.” Otrzymują means the same but sounds more formal or bookish. In a school context, dostają is more natural.
What does zdanie mean here? I thought it was “sentence.”
In this context zdanie is short for zadanie do napisania – a writing assignment. While zdanie can mean a grammatical sentence, here it means “task” or “assignment.”
What is the function of do napisania in the sentence?
Do napisania is an infinitive construction with do + Genitive (napisania). It expresses purpose or a task to be done. So zdanie do napisania means “an assignment to write.”
Why is the adjective nowe used, and which case is it in?
Nowe (“new”) modifies zdanie, which is a neuter noun. As the direct object of dostają, nowe zdanie is in the Accusative case. For neuter nouns, the Accusative form looks the same as the Nominative.
What case is w szkole, and why is it used here?
W szkole (“in school”) uses the Locative case after the preposition w, indicating location—where the children get the assignment.
Could the word order be different in Polish, and would it change the meaning?
Yes. Polish word order is flexible. For example:
• Dzieci dostają w każdym tygodniu nowe zdanie do napisania w szkole.
• W szkole dzieci co tydzień dostają nowe zadanie.
You can move phrases to add emphasis (time, place, etc.) without changing the core meaning.
Why are there no words for “a” or “the” in this sentence?
Polish does not have articles. Indefiniteness or definiteness is inferred from context rather than marked by separate words.
Why is dzieci used here and not a different form like dzieciom?
Dzieci is the plural Nominative form of dziecko (“child”), used for the subject of the sentence. Dzieciom would be Dative (to/for the children), which is not the function here.