Learn Hardcore Polish: Szukam kluczy, ale ona szuka koszuli w szafie. - I am looking for the keys, but she is looking for a shirt in the wardrobe.

Polish usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person. The ending -m in szukam clearly marks 1st person singular (I). You can add Ja szukam… for emphasis or contrast, but it’s not required.

Why is it kluczy and not klucze?

Because szukać (to look for) governs the genitive case, not the nominative or accusative.

klucze = nominative/accusative plural (keys)
kluczy = genitive plural (of keys)
Since you “look for something,” Polish uses the genitive: Szukam kluczy.

Why is it koszuli and not koszulę?

Again, szukać takes the genitive. For the noun koszula (a shirt):

genitive singular: koszuli (of a shirt)
accusative singular: koszulę (a shirt)
In this sentence we need the genitive: ona szuka koszuli.

Does szukać always take the genitive?

Yes. Szukam kogo? czego? → genitive. This is true in both affirmative and negative sentences:

Affirmative: Szukam kluczy.
Negative: Nie szukam kluczy.
Other verbs that take genitive include: słuchać (to listen to), uczyć się (to learn), potrzebować (to need), bać się (to fear).

What case is w szafie, and why?

It’s locative. The preposition w (in) takes the locative when it expresses location: w kim? w czym? → w szafie (in the wardrobe).
Compare: na stole (on the table), w domu (in the house).

Could it be w szafę instead?

w + accusative is used for motion/placement “into” something (or hitting against):

Wkładam koszulę w szafę. (I’m putting the shirt into the wardrobe.)
Here we describe where she is searching (a static location), so we use w szafie (locative).

Why is the pronoun ona included in the second clause? Could it be omitted?

Polish often omits subject pronouns, so (Ona) szuka is fine without ona. It’s included here for contrast with “I”:

Szukam kluczy, ale ona szuka koszuli…
The ona highlights the contrast (I’m looking for X, but she is looking for Y) and removes any ambiguity (since szuka could be he/she/it).

What’s the difference between ale and a here?

ale = but, introduces a stronger opposition/contrast.
a = and/whereas, milder contrast or simple juxtaposition.
Both can work:
…ale ona szuka… (but she is…)
…a ona szuka… (whereas she is…)

Can the word order change? For example, can I move w szafie?

Yes. Polish word order is flexible and often used for emphasis. All of these are possible and natural in the right context:

Ona szuka koszuli w szafie.
Ona w szafie szuka koszuli. (emphasis on the place)
W szafie ona szuka koszuli. (strong focus on location, more marked)
Key rule: case endings, not word order, signal grammatical roles.

How do you conjugate szukać in the present?

ja szukam
ty szukasz
on/ona/ono szuka
my szukamy
wy szukacie
oni/one szukają

What about aspect: szukać vs poszukać vs znaleźć?

szukać (imperfective): to be looking/searching (ongoing/habitual).
poszukać (perfective): to look for a while / to make an attempt; used mainly for planned or completed future actions: Poszukam jutro.
odszukać / wyszukać (perfective): to locate/find after searching (with nuances: recover/track down vs search out).
znaleźć (perfective): to find (result), not the act of searching.

Why is it w szafie and not just w szafa?

After prepositions you almost never use the nominative. w requires a specific case (locative for location), so szafa must change to szafie.

How do the noun forms here work? Can you summarize the key ones?

klucz (a key): gen sg klucza, nom/acc pl klucze, gen pl kluczy.
koszula (a shirt): gen sg koszuli, acc sg koszulę, gen pl koszul.
szafa (a wardrobe): loc sg szafie (after w for location).

Is kluczy the only correct genitive plural of “keys”? What about kluczów?

For “keys” the standard genitive plural is kluczy. kluczów is used with some other meanings of klucz (e.g., a flock of birds, groups, certain technical senses). For everyday “keys,” use kluczy.

How would I say “I’m looking for two keys”?

Because szukać takes the genitive, the numeral also appears in the genitive:

Szukam dwóch kluczy.
Variant (more formal/literary): Szukam dwu kluczy.

Could I say “I’m looking for a key” instead?

Yes:

Szukam klucza. (genitive singular of klucz)

Why is there a comma before ale?

Polish puts a comma before coordinating conjunctions like ale when joining clauses. Here we have two clauses: Szukam kluczy and (ale) ona szuka koszuli w szafie, so the comma is required.

Any quick pronunciation tips for the tricky letters?

sz = sh (as in English “shoe”) → szu-kam
cz = ch/tch (as in “church”) → klu-czy
u = oo (like “food”)
Final -ć in szukać is a soft “ch” sound; the infinitive -ać is like “atch.”
w szafie has a consonant cluster; think “v-sha-fyeh.” (Polish w sounds like English “v.”)

Could I use we instead of w (as in “we wtorek”) before szafie?

No. The expanded form we is only used before certain difficult clusters (e.g., we wtorek, we Włoszech, we mnie). w szafie remains w szafie.