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Questions & Answers about Ja czytam gazetę co tydzień.
Why is ja used at the beginning of the sentence?
In Polish, subject pronouns like ja (I) are optional because the verb ending already shows who is performing the action. You include ja only to add emphasis or clarity. Without emphasis, you could simply say Czytam gazetę co tydzień.
What does czytam mean, and why does it cover both "I read" and "I am reading"?
Czytam is the first person singular present tense of the imperfective verb czytać. Unlike English, Polish uses the present tense for both simple present and present continuous. Context (like co tydzień) tells you it’s a habitual action: “I read a newspaper every week.”
Why is gazeta in the accusative case as gazetę?
Gazeta is a feminine noun, and because it’s the direct object of czytam, it must take the accusative case. The singular accusative of gazeta is gazetę.
What does co mean in the phrase co tydzień?
Here, co doesn’t mean “what” but “every.” Combined with a time expression, co tydzień literally means “every week.”
Why is tydzień singular and not plural (tygodnie)?
When you use co with a time unit, the unit remains in the singular (accusative) form. So you say co tydzień, co miesiąc, co rok, etc., even though in English you’d say “every week,” “every month,” “every year.”
Can you say każdy tydzień instead of co tydzień?
Yes, każdy tydzień also means “every week,” but it’s less idiomatic. Polish speakers overwhelmingly prefer co tydzień for habitual frequency.
Why is the imperfective aspect czytać used here instead of a perfective verb?
The imperfective aspect expresses ongoing or repeated/habitual actions. Since reading a newspaper every week is a habit, you use czytam (imperfective). A perfective form (e.g., przeczytam) would imply a single completed action: “I will read/finish the newspaper.”
How do I pronounce tydzień, and where is the stress?
You pronounce tydzień roughly as [ˈtɨ.d͡ʑɛɲ], with stress on the first syllable: TYE-dzień.
Can I change the word order, for example, Co tydzień czytam gazetę?
Yes. Polish has flexible word order. Co tydzień czytam gazetę, Czytam co tydzień gazetę, and Czytam gazetę co tydzień all mean “I read a newspaper every week.” Word order changes emphasis but not the basic meaning.
Can I omit ja in this sentence without changing the meaning?
Absolutely. In fact, most native speakers would say Czytam gazetę co tydzień without ja unless they want to emphasize the subject.
How do I ask “How often do you read a newspaper?” in Polish?
You would say Jak często czytasz gazetę? Here jak często means “how often,” and czytasz is the second person singular of czytać.