Policjant odwiedza schronisko co tydzień i przynosi karmę dla psów.

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Questions & Answers about Policjant odwiedza schronisko co tydzień i przynosi karmę dla psów.

Why doesn’t the sentence use any articles like a or the before policjant?
Polish has no definite or indefinite articles. Context alone tells you whether you mean “a policeman,” “the policeman,” or “policemen in general.”
What tense, aspect, and person is odwiedza, and why is this form used?
  • odwiedza is 3rd person singular present tense of the imperfective verb odwiedzać (“to visit regularly”).
  • Imperfective aspect is used for habitual or repeated actions (“visits every week”). A perfective form (odwiedzi) would imply a single, completed visit.
What case and role does schronisko have here?
  • schronisko is nominative singular (neuter).
  • It’s the subject of the verb odwiedza (“he visits the shelter”).
What does co tydzień mean, and are there other ways to say “every week”?
  • co tydzień literally “every week.”
  • Alternatives: raz w tygodniu (“once a week”), każdego tygodnia (“of every week”). Word order can vary (e.g., Policjant co tydzień odwiedza…).
Why is karmę in the accusative case?
  • karmę is the accusative singular of karma (feminine), meaning “food.”
  • It’s the direct object of przynosi (“he brings the food”).
What case is psów, and why do we use dla + genitive here?
  • psów is genitive plural of psy (“dogs”).
  • The preposition dla (“for”) always takes the genitive case, so dla psów = “for dogs.”
Could we say przynosi psom karmę instead of przynosi karmę dla psów?
Yes. In przynosi psom karmę, psom is dative plural (“to dogs”) and karmę remains accusative (“food”). Both constructions are equally correct and common.
Where is the stress in Policjant, odwiedza, schronisko, and karmę?

Polish stress is almost always on the penultimate syllable:

  • PO-li-cjant
  • od-WIE-dza
  • schro-NIS-ko
  • kar-MĘ