Muszę spisać adres apteki.

I have to write down the address of the pharmacy.

Breakdown of Muszę spisać adres apteki.

• musieć: to have to
• spisać: to write down
• adres apteki: the address of the pharmacy

Questions & Answers about Muszę spisać adres apteki.

Why is spisać used here instead of alternatives like zapisać or zanotować?

Spisać suggests writing something down from another source or your own memory to record it permanently. While zapisać means “to note down” and zanotować is “to jot down,” spisać can imply a more complete, formal transcription—fitting for recording an address.

Why is apteki in the genitive case?

In Polish, you express “the address of something” by putting the thing in the genitive. Since adres asks the question adres czego (“address of what?”), apteka takes the genitive form apteki: adres apteki = “address of the pharmacy.”

Why is the infinitive placed right after muszę? Can I say spisać muszę?

With modal verbs like muszę (“I have to”), Polish usually follows the pattern muszę + infinitive. Standard word order is Muszę spisać…. While you can sometimes move words in Polish for emphasis, Spisać muszę… sounds poetic or archaic rather than neutral.

What aspect is spisać, and why is it perfective here?

Spisać is the perfective form of “to write down.” Perfective verbs denote a completed action. Since you intend to finish writing the address in one go, you choose the perfective spisać, not the imperfective spisywać (which suggests repeated or ongoing action).

Why don’t we use a preposition like of in adres apteki?

Polish uses cases instead of prepositions to show relationships like possession. So instead of “address of the pharmacy,” you simply say adres apteki (pharmacy in genitive). Adding a preposition like do would change the meaning to “address to the pharmacy.”

Could I say Muszę spisać adres do apteki?

No—adres do apteki would mean “address to the pharmacy,” implying direction. To say “the pharmacy’s address,” use adres apteki with the genitive case, without a preposition.

How do you pronounce Muszę spisać adres apteki, and where is the stress?

In Polish, stress almost always falls on the penultimate syllable of each word:
• MU-szę
• SPI-sać
• AD-res
• AP-te-ki

Is there another way to specify which pharmacy’s address I need?

Yes. If you want to point to a particular pharmacy, you can add a demonstrative or adjective. For example:
• Muszę spisać adres tej apteki (“I need to write down the address of this pharmacy.”)
• Muszę spisać ten adres apteki (“I need to write down this pharmacy address.””)