Kurier sprawdza pocztę co godzinę.

The courier checks the mail every hour.

Breakdown of Kurier sprawdza pocztę co godzinę.

• sprawdzać: to check
• kurier: the courier
• poczta: the mail
• co godzinę: every hour

Questions & Answers about Kurier sprawdza pocztę co godzinę.

What does co godzinę literally mean, and how is it constructed?

Literally, co means every and godzinę is the accusative singular of godzina (hour). Together they form a frequentative time expression co godzinę meaning every hour, indicating how often the action repeats.

Why is co godzinę in the accusative case instead of the nominative?

Because time expressions with the preposition co always take the accusative case in Polish. The base noun godzina (nominative) becomes godzinę (accusative).

Why don’t we say co godziny to express every hour?

With co, you must use the accusative form of the time noun. Godziny is either nominative or genitive plural, so co godziny would be ungrammatical for every hour. The correct pattern is co + Acc, hence co godzinę.

Can we replace co godzinę with każdą godzinę, and would that sound natural?

While każdą godzinę literally means each hour, Polish typically uses co + Acc to express periodicity. Saying Kurier sprawdza pocztę każdą godzinę sounds awkward; co godzinę is the natural choice for every hour.

What is the infinitive and aspect of sprawdza, and what does this form imply?

The infinitive is sprawdzać, which is an imperfective verb. Sprawdza is the third-person singular present indicative form, indicating a habitual or repeated action (“he checks”).

Could we use the perfective form sprawdzi here? How would that change the meaning?

Using the perfective sprawdzi implies a single, completed action rather than a habitual one. Kurier sprawdzi pocztę co godzinę would sound odd, because perfective verbs don’t naturally pair with expressions of repeated frequency.

What case is pocztę, and why is that case used here?

Pocztę is in the accusative singular case, used as the direct object of the verb sprawdzać. The base form poczta (nominative) changes to pocztę in the accusative.

Does changing the word order—for example, Co godzinę kurier sprawdza pocztę—affect the sentence’s meaning or emphasis?

Both orders are grammatically correct and keep the same basic meaning. Fronting co godzinę (Co godzinę kurier sprawdza pocztę) places extra emphasis on the frequency (“It’s every hour that the courier checks the mail”), while the original order is more neutral.

How would you say “The courier checks the mail every two hours” in Polish?

Adjust the time interval in the same co + [time in Accusative] pattern: Kurier sprawdza pocztę co dwie godziny. Here dwie godziny is the accusative plural (identical to the nominative plural for feminine nouns), so the structure remains consistent.