Breakdown of Zazwyczaj ustawiam budzik na szóstą, ale dziś ustawię na siódmą.
ja
I
ale
but
dziś
today
zazwyczaj
usually
ustawiać
to set
budzik
the alarm
na szóstą
for six
ustawić
to set
na siódmą
for seven
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Questions & Answers about Zazwyczaj ustawiam budzik na szóstą, ale dziś ustawię na siódmą.
Why is it ustawiam in the first clause but ustawię in the second?
- ustawiam is present, imperfective; it expresses a habitual action (supported by zazwyczaj = usually).
- ustawię is future, perfective; it’s used for a single, completed action planned for today.
- You could say dziś będę ustawiał only to emphasize an ongoing process (rare with setting an alarm).
Why na szóstą / na siódmą? Could I say o szóstej / o siódmej?
- With verbs of setting/scheduling/aiming, Polish uses na + Accusative: ustawić coś na [godzinę].
- o + Locative tells when something happens: Wstaję o szóstej.
- So: ustawiam budzik na siódmą, but budzik dzwoni o siódmej.
Why are the numbers ordinal (sixth, seventh), not cardinal (six, seven)?
- Clock hours in Polish use ordinals that agree with the (often omitted) feminine noun godzina.
- Full form: na godzinę szóstą / na godzinę siódmą.
- Using cardinals (na sześć) for clock times is incorrect.
Why do the hour words end in -ą (feminine accusative)?
- They agree with godzina (feminine). Accusative feminine ordinal endings are -ą: szóstą, siódmą.
- Locative forms after o are o szóstej, o siódmej.
Is there any difference between dziś and dzisiaj?
- They mean the same. dziś is a shorter, slightly more informal-sounding variant. Both are standard.
Do I need to repeat budzik or add go in the second clause?
- Repetition is optional. You can say: …ale dziś ustawię (go) na siódmą.
- The pronoun go (“it/him”) is often omitted when the object is clear from context.
Is budzik the right word for a phone alarm? How about alarm?
- budzik = wake‑up alarm (device or phone feature). Natural here.
- alarm is broader (fire alarm, burglar alarm). For waking up, budzik is preferred.
Could I use nastawić instead of ustawić?
- Yes. nastawiać/nastawić budzik is very common and perhaps the most idiomatic.
- ustawiać/ustawić is also correct but more general (“set, arrange”).
What does zazwyczaj add, and where can it go?
- It means “usually/typically,” marking a habitual pattern.
- Position is flexible: Zazwyczaj ustawiam…, Ustawiam zazwyczaj…; initial position is most common.
Can I move dziś elsewhere?
- Yes: Dziś ustawię na siódmą or Ustawię dziś na siódmą. Word order changes focus slightly, not meaning.
How do I pronounce the special letters here?
- ą: nasal “o,” like French “on”; word‑final -ą (in szóstą/siódmą) often sounds like “-om/-own.”
- ś: soft, palatal “sh.”
- ó: pronounced like u.
- sz (in szóstą): hard “sh.”
Why is there a comma before ale?
- Polish puts a comma before coordinating conjunctions like ale when they join two clauses.
If I write the time with digits, what’s natural?
- na 6.00 or na 6:00 (and na 7.00/7:00) are common; Poland typically uses the 24‑hour clock.
- In speech you still inflect: na szóstą / na siódmą.
Does na siódmą mean “by seven” or “at seven”?
- With scheduling, na + Acc means “for (targeting) a time.” For an alarm, it effectively means it will ring at 7:00.
- In other contexts it can mean “by/for” in the sense of readiness by a certain time: Mam to zrobić na piątą = I must have it done by five.