Questions & Answers about Drzwi do łazienki otwierają się wolno.
Why is drzwi in plural? Doesn’t that mean two doors?
In Polish drzwi is a plural-only noun, similar to the English word scissors. It can refer to a single door or a pair of doors, but it always uses the plural form, so any verbs or adjectives agree in plural.
Why is there do before łazienki, and why is łazienka in the genitive case?
The preposition do requires the genitive case to express movement or direction to somewhere. So do łazienki literally means to the bathroom, with łazienki being the genitive form of łazienka.
What role does się play in otwierają się?
Się is a reflexive pronoun that makes otwierać się mean to open by itself. It turns the action inward, indicating that the subject (the doors) is performing the action on itself, giving a sense of automatic or unforced opening.
How would you most naturally translate otwierają się into English?
Literally otwierają się is they open themselves, but in idiomatic English you’d say they open or they are opening, implying that the doors move without you pushing them.