Learn Hardcore Polish: Sypię sól do zupy i dodaję pieprz. - I add salt to the soup and add pepper.

sypię comes from sypać and is used for pouring/sprinkling loose, granular substances (salt, sugar, sand). It highlights the manner (sprinkling).
dodaję comes from dodawać and simply means “I add,” without specifying the manner. It’s the neutral, all-purpose “add.”

Using both together is natural: you can specify the manner for salt and the general action for pepper.

Why is it do zupy and not do zupa?

The preposition do (“to/into”) always takes the genitive case. The noun zupa (feminine) in the genitive singular is zupy. So: do zupy = “into the soup.”

Why is sól in this sentence and not soli?

sól (salt) is a direct object here, and its accusative singular is identical to the nominative: sól. The form soli is genitive, dative, or locative, not the accusative. So after a verb like sypię (I sprinkle), you use sól.

Why is it pieprz and not pieprzu?

As a direct object, masculine inanimate nouns take the accusative, which equals the nominative: pieprz. The form pieprzu is genitive. However, with mass nouns you will also hear the partitive genitive to mean “some (of)”: dodaję pieprzu. Both are acceptable; the genitive suggests an indefinite amount.

So can I say dodaję pieprzu or sypię soli here?

Yes. With mass nouns, Polish often uses the genitive to express an indefinite, non-total amount:

dodaję pieprzu ≈ “I’m adding some pepper”
sypię soli is less common with plain sypać, but you’ll often hear it with “adding more”: dosypuję soli (“I’m adding some more salt”)

Why no comma before i?

In Polish, when two predicates share the same subject within one clause, you do not put a comma before i (“and”). Here, the same “I” is doing both actions.

What’s the difference between i and a?

i = “and,” neutral addition.
a often means “and” with contrast (“while/whereas”). Your sentence needs i because there’s no contrast.

How do I pronounce the tricky parts: pieprz, sypię, dodaję, sól?

pieprz ≈ “pyepsh.” The final rz is like English “zh,” but it devoices to “sh” at the end: [pʲɛpʂ].
sypię ≈ “SIH-pyeh” (final ę is lightly nasal, often close to “-e” in casual speech).
dodaję ≈ “do-DA-yeh” (final ę similarly light).
sól ≈ “sool” (Polish ó is pronounced “u”).

Where does the stress fall?

In Polish, stress is almost always on the penultimate syllable:

SY-pię
do-DA-ję
ZU-py
sól is one syllable.

Why do sypię and dodaję end with -ę instead of something like -am?

They’re first person singular present-tense forms in the common -ę / -esz pattern:

sypać: sypię, sypiesz, sypie, sypiemy, sypiecie, sypią
dodawać: dodaję, dodajesz, dodaje, dodajemy, dodajecie, dodają

How do aspect and tense work here? What would the perfective be?

dodaję and sypię are imperfective: ongoing/habitual actions (“I’m adding/I add”).
Perfective forms talk about a single, completed act (and their “present” form is future in meaning):
- dodać (perf.): dodam (“I will add”)
- For “pour in (once, into)”: wsypać (perf.): wsypię (“I will pour in”)
- For “add some more (granular)”: dosypać (perf.): dosypię (“I’ll add some more”)

Could I say Wsypuję sól do zupy instead of Sypię sól do zupy?

Yes, but there’s a nuance:

sypię focuses on the action of sprinkling/pouring (neutral).
wsypuję (imperfective of wsypać) highlights motion “into” a container/space, often as one transfer. With do zupy, both are fine; wsypuję can sound a tad more “into-the-pot” deliberate.

Are there alternative ways to say this, like “I salt and pepper the soup”?

Yes:

Solę zupę i pieprzę ją. (I salt the soup and pepper it.)
Przyprawiam zupę solą i pieprzem. (I season the soup with salt and pepper.)
Doprawiam zupę solą i pieprzem. (similar to the above; often implies adjusting to taste)

Can the word order change?

Polish word order is flexible. You can say:

Dodaję pieprz i sypię sól do zupy.
Do zupy sypię sól i dodaję pieprz. Shifts mainly affect emphasis (what’s new/important). The original order is the most neutral.

Why do zupy and not w zupę or na zupę?

do
- genitive = movement into a goal/container; standard with adding ingredients: do zupy.
w
- accusative can mean into/inside but is less idiomatic here.
na zupę would mean “onto the soup” (surface) or “for soup” (as a meal), not what you want when adding ingredients.

What are the genders of sól and pieprz, and how does that affect forms?

sól is feminine: ta sól, genitive: soli.
pieprz is masculine inanimate: ten pieprz, genitive: pieprzu. As direct objects, feminine sól stays sól; masculine inanimate pieprz stays pieprz in the accusative.

Are sól and pieprz countable in Polish?

In cooking contexts they’re mass nouns (uncountable). Use quantifiers:

trochę soli/pieprzu (a bit of)
szczypta soli/pieprzu (a pinch of)
łyżeczka soli/pieprzu (a teaspoon of) With measures, the ingredient after the measure is genitive: łyżeczka soli.

Why does sól have ó, but in related forms we see o, like soli or solić?

It’s a common historical alternation ó ~ o in Polish. The base noun is sól (with ó pronounced “u”), but many derived or inflected forms shift to o: soli, solić. You learn these as part of the word family.