Learn Hardcore Polish: Po południu szef przyjedzie zobaczyć nasze mieszkanie. - In the afternoon the boss will arrive to see our apartment.

Po południu literally means “in the afternoon.” It’s formed with the preposition po + locative (południe → południu). You can also see popołudniu as a single word in some contexts, but both forms are correct. At the beginning of the sentence we capitalize Po simply because it’s the first word.

Why is przyjedzie used instead of przyjdzie?

Przyjechać (stem przyjedz-) means “to arrive/come (by vehicle or generally),” whereas przyjść means “to come (on foot).” Here we imagine the boss coming by car/train, so przyjedzie is more appropriate. Also, przyjedzie is the future form of the perfective verb przyjechać, which is expressed simply in the future tense.

Why is zobaczyć in the infinitive, and where is the “to” we see in English?

In Polish, after a verb of motion (like przyjedzie) you can attach an infinitive to express purpose. So przyjedzie zobaczyć = “he will come in order to see.” There’s no separate word for English “to” because the infinitive ending -ć already marks it.

Could we say przyjedzie, aby zobaczyć or przyjedzie żeby zobaczyć?

Yes. Adding aby or żeby (“in order that”) makes the purpose more explicit:
– Po południu szef przyjedzie, aby zobaczyć nasze mieszkanie.
– Po południu szef przyjedzie, żeby zobaczyć nasze mieszkanie.
But in everyday speech, it’s common to drop aby/żeby after a motion verb.

Why is zobaczyć perfective, and what if we used an imperfective like oglądać?

Perfective zobaczyć implies a single, completed act of seeing (“he will see it once”). An imperfective like oglądać or zobaczać would suggest an ongoing or repeated action (“he will be watching it” or “he will see it repeatedly”), which isn’t what we mean here.

What case is nasze mieszkanie, and why doesn’t it look different from nominative?

Nasze mieszkanie is the direct object of zobaczyć, so it’s in the accusative case. In neuter singular, the accusative form is identical to the nominative (mieszkanie), so you don’t see a change. The possessive nasze agrees with mieszkanie in gender (neuter), number (singular) and case (accusative).

What gender is szef, and why doesn’t its ending change?

Szef is a masculine animate noun in the nominative singular (subject of the sentence). Many masculine nouns end in a consonant in the nominative singular, so no additional ending appears.

Can the subject szef be dropped, and would the meaning change?

Yes, Polish often omits subjects when context makes them clear. You could say:
Po południu przyjedzie zobaczyć nasze mieszkanie.
In isolation it’s ambiguous (who will come?), but in a conversation about your boss the meaning is understood.

Why is the time phrase placed at the beginning? Could we say Szef przyjedzie po południu zobaczyć nasze mieszkanie?

Polish word order is flexible. Starting with Po południu puts emphasis on when something happens. Your alternative Szef przyjedzie po południu zobaczyć nasze mieszkanie is also perfectly correct; the meaning stays the same.