Learn Hardcore Polish: Chcielibyśmy też odwiedzić wieżę nocą, ale w tygodniu jest to niemożliwe. - We would also like to visit the tower at night, but during the week it is impossible.

Chcielibyśmy is the 1st person plural conditional of chcieć (“to want”), meaning “we would like.” It’s formed by inserting the conditional marker -by- and the ending -śmy. Compared to chcemy (“we want” – present tense) it sounds more polite or tentative, and unlike chcieliśmy (“we wanted” – past tense), it isn’t about a completed desire but a present wish.

Why do we use the infinitive odwiedzić after chcielibyśmy?

In Polish, volitional or modal verbs like chcieć take a bare infinitive as their complement. After chcielibyśmy, the infinitive odwiedzić (“to visit”) names the action that “we would like” to perform. No additional particle is needed.

What role does też play in the sentence, and why is it placed where it is?

Też means “also” or “too.” Here it adds the idea “in addition” (for example, in addition to visiting by day). In Polish word order, short adverbs like też generally come immediately after the finite verb or just before the main verb if there’s an auxiliary/modal – so it naturally follows chcielibyśmy.

Why is wieżę in the accusative case?

Wieżę is the accusative singular of wieża (“tower”). Because odwiedzić is a transitive verb (“to visit something”), its direct object must be in the accusative.

What does nocą mean, and why is it in the instrumental case?

Nocą is the instrumental singular of noc (“night”), used adverbially to mean “at night.” Polish often uses the instrumental case to express when something regularly happens (much like “in the morning,” “in the evening” in English).

Why do we say w tygodniu and what nuance does it add?

W + locative (here tygodniu, from tydzień “week”) conveys “during the week” or “on weekdays.” It contrasts with phrases like w weekend and specifies that daytime working days (Monday–Friday) are meant.

What is the function of to in jest to niemożliwe, and why include it?

To is a demonstrative pronoun (“this/it”) pointing back to the idea “visiting the tower at night during the week.” While jest niemożliwe (“it is impossible”) is perfectly correct, jest to niemożliwe adds clarity or emphasis: “this is impossible.”

Could we use zwiedzić instead of odwiedzić, and what’s the difference?

Odwiedzić simply means “to visit” (go see). Zwiedzić means “to tour” or “to explore” a place thoroughly. Saying Chcielibyśmy też zwiedzić wieżę nocą would stress exploring every part of the tower, while odwiedzić keeps it more general.