Learn Hardcore Polish: Wolontariusz przyjechał dziś wcześniej, więc wszedł do ogrodu bez nas. - The volunteer arrived earlier today, so he entered the garden without us.

Because the speaker describes a single, completed action in the past – the volunteer arrived at a specific time. Polish uses the perfective aspect (przyjechał) for finished events. The imperfective przyjeżdżał would imply a habitual or ongoing action, like “he was arriving” or “he used to arrive.”

What’s the difference between dziś and dzisiaj, and why is dziś chosen here?

Both mean “today.” Dziś is just a shorter, more colloquial form, while dzisiaj is slightly longer and can feel more formal or emphatic. They are interchangeable in most contexts; the writer simply opted for dziś.

In dziś wcześniej, why does wcześniej (earlier) follow dziś (today)? Could the order change?

Polish word order for adverbs is flexible. Dziś wcześniej (“earlier today”) is common because it groups the broad time frame (dziś) before the more specific qualifier (wcześniej). You could say wcześniej dziś, but it’s less usual and might sound awkward.

Why isn’t there a subject pronoun like on (he) before przyjechał or wszedł?

Polish verbs are fully conjugated, so the person and number are clear from the verb ending. Przyjechał already means “he arrived” (3rd person singular masculine), so adding on is redundant and usually omitted unless you want to emphasize the subject.

Why is it do ogrodu and not w ogrodzie? What’s the nuance?

Do ogrodu uses the preposition do + genitive (ogrodu) to indicate movement into a place (“into the garden”). W ogrodzie would use w + locative to mean “in the garden” (static location). Here the action is entering, so do ogrodu is correct.

What case is ogrodu in, and why?

Ogrodu is the genitive singular of ogród (“garden”). After do (“to/into”), Polish requires the genitive case.

Why does bez nas use nas, not my? What case is that?

The preposition bez (“without”) always takes the genitive. Nas is the genitive form of my (“we”). So bez nas literally means “without us.”

Could you use a different connector instead of więc for “so”? For example, dlatego?

Yes. You could say:
Wolontariusz przyjechał dziś wcześniej, dlatego wszedł do ogrodu bez nas.
Both convey “so,” but więc is more neutral and conversational, whereas dlatego is slightly more formal and often used in written or structured contexts.

Both verbs here, przyjechał and wszedł, are perfective. Why use perfective aspect in both cases?

Because both actions (arriving and entering) are single, completed events. In Polish, the perfective aspect is used to indicate that an action is viewed as a complete whole, which matches the context: he arrived at a specific time and then immediately went into the garden.

What is the pronunciation and stress pattern for wolontariusz?

It’s pronounced /vɔ.lɔnˈta.ri.usʂ/ with stress on the second-to-last syllable: wolonTARIUSZ.