Learn Hardcore Polish: Według kalendarza wolontariusz wyjedzie na urlop w lipcu. - According to the calendar the volunteer will leave on vacation in July.

według translates as “according to” or “as per.” It’s a preposition that always takes the genitive case, so kalendarz becomes kalendarza (genitive singular).

Why is there no article before wolontariusz? How do we express “a/the volunteer” in Polish?

Polish does not have articles (no “a” or “the”). wolontariusz simply means “volunteer.” Context usually tells you whether it’s definite or indefinite. If you need to be specific, you can add a demonstrative: ten wolontariusz (“this volunteer”) or use possessives.

What does wyjedzie mean, and what tense/aspect does it express?

wyjedzie is the 3rd-person singular future tense of the perfective verb wyjechać (“to depart,” “to go away”). Here it means “he will depart” or more naturally “he will go on vacation.”

Why is wyjedzie used instead of an auxiliary future like będzie wyjeżdżał?

Because wyjechać is perfective, Polish forms its future as a single word (wyjedzie). będzie wyjeżdżał uses the imperfective wyjeżdżać and stresses an ongoing or habitual action (“he will be departing”). Since this is a one-time planned trip, the perfective simple future is preferred.

What case does urlop take after na, and why is it not in the locative?

After the preposition na indicating direction or purpose (“for vacation”), the noun takes the accusative case. For masculine inanimate nouns like urlop, the accusative form is identical to the nominative, so we get na urlop.

Why is lipiec in its locative form lipcu, and what does w lipcu mean?

To express “in [month]” Polish uses w + locative case. lipiec becomes lipcu in locative singular, so w lipcu means “in July.”

Can you change the word order, for example putting w lipcu at the beginning? Would the meaning change?

Yes—Polish word order is flexible.
Example: W lipcu według kalendarza wolontariusz wyjedzie na urlop.
The core meaning stays the same; you only shift emphasis (here, more focus on when).

How would you say “according to our calendar” instead of just “kalendarza”?

Replace kalendarza with the genitive of nasz + kalendarz: według naszego kalendarza.

If the volunteer were female, how would the sentence change?

Change the noun wolontariusz to wolontariuszka. Everything else remains:
Według kalendarza wolontariuszka wyjedzie na urlop w lipcu.

What if you wanted to express an ongoing process, like “the volunteer will be going on vacation in July”?

Use the imperfective verb wyjeżdżać in the future periphrastic form:
Według kalendarza wolontariusz będzie wyjeżdżał na urlop w lipcu.
This highlights the action as ongoing or habitual.