Pisanie notatek pomaga uczyć się polskiego.

Writing notes helps you learn Polish.

Breakdown of Pisanie notatek pomaga uczyć się polskiego.

• uczyć się: to learn
• notatka: the note
• pomagać: to help
• polski: Polish
• pisanie: the writing

Questions & Answers about Pisanie notatek pomaga uczyć się polskiego.

What is the function and meaning of Pisanie in this sentence?

Pisanie is a verbal noun (a noun formed from a verb with the suffix -nie). It literally means “writing” or “the act of writing.” Here it serves as the subject: Pisanie notatek = “Writing notes.”

Why is notatek in the genitive plural instead of the accusative?

After many verbal nouns like pisanie, the “object” takes the genitive. So notatek is the genitive plural of notatka (“note”). Pisanie notatek literally means “writing of notes.”

Why do we say pomaga uczyć się rather than “helps to learn” with an extra word?

In Polish, pomaga is directly followed by an infinitive: pomaga + uczyć się = “helps to learn.” There is no need for a separate preposition or particle.

What is the role of się in uczyć się polskiego?

Się is the reflexive pronoun that turns uczyć (“to teach”) into uczyć się, which means “to learn.” It doesn’t imply you’re teaching yourself in a literal “self”-action sense, but Polish uses się with uczyć to mark the learning process.

Why is polskiego in the genitive singular? Shouldn’t it be accusative?

The verb uczyć się governs the genitive case for what is learned. Polskiego is the genitive singular of the adjective polski (“Polish”), understood as (języka) polskiego = “of Polish.”

Can I say Pisanie notatek pomaga mi uczyć się polskiego to mean “Writing notes helps me learn Polish”?

Yes. Adding the dative pronoun mi specifies the person helped:
“Pisanie notatek pomaga mi uczyć się polskiego” = “Writing notes helps me learn Polish.” Omitting mi makes the statement more general.

Is there an alternative way to express this idea?

You can also say:
Pisanie notatek pomaga w nauce języka polskiego.
Here pomaga w nauce + genitive (“w nauce” = “in the learning”) is another common construction.

What’s the difference between uczyć się and nauczyć się here?

• Uczyć się is imperfective: it emphasizes the ongoing process (“to be learning”).
• Nauczyć się is perfective: it focuses on achieving the result (“to learn completely”).
  So pomaga uczyć się = “helps with the learning process,” whereas pomaga nauczyć się = “helps you actually learn/complete your learning.”