Learn Hardcore Polish: Po pracy przebieram się w wygodne ubrania i siadam na kanapie. - After work I change into comfortable clothes and sit on the sofa.

Note: po can also use other cases with different meanings (e.g., po chleb – “for bread” / “to get bread”), but with the meaning after (something) it requires locative: po obiedzie (after lunch), po pracy (after work), po szkole (after school).

Why do we say przebieram się instead of something like zmieniam ubranie? What does the się do?

Przebierać się is a reflexive verb meaning “to change (one’s) clothes” / “to get changed”.

przebieram – “I change (something)”
przebieram się – “I change myself (i.e. my clothes)” → “I get changed”

The little word się is a reflexive pronoun, roughly like “myself / yourself / himself…” depending on the person. In this verb, it’s just part of the fixed expression przebierać się = to get changed.

You can say zmieniam ubranie (I’m changing my clothes), but:

przebierać się is the most natural everyday verb for “get changed”.
zmieniać ubranie can feel a bit more literal or technical: “change (one’s) clothes” rather than just “get changed.”

Why is it w wygodne ubrania and not w wygodnych ubraniach? What’s the difference?

The preposition w can take either accusative or locative, and the case changes the meaning:

w + accusative → movement into something: “into”
w + locative → being in something: “in”

In the sentence:

przebieram się w wygodne ubrania
– wygodne ubrania is accusative plural
– meaning: “I change into comfortable clothes.”

If you said:

jestem w wygodnych ubraniach
– wygodnych ubraniach is locative plural
– meaning: “I am in comfortable clothes.”

So w wygodne ubrania = into comfortable clothes (change into),
while w wygodnych ubraniach = in comfortable clothes (state, not movement).

Why is ubrania plural? Can I say w wygodne ubranie?

Ubrania is the plural of ubranie.

ubranie (singular) often means “an outfit” or “a piece of clothing”, depending on context.
ubrania (plural) is “clothes” in general.

In everyday speech, when you say “I change into comfortable clothes,” you almost always mean it in a general, plural sense, so w wygodne ubrania is natural.

You can say w wygodne ubranie, but then it sounds more like:

“into a comfortable outfit / one comfortable set of clothes”

So both are possible, but ubrania matches the broad, generic “clothes” idea best.

Why is it przebieram się, not przebiorę się? What’s the aspect difference?

Polish verbs have imperfective and perfective aspects.

przebierać się – imperfective
- przebieram się – I (usually) get changed / I am getting changed
przebrać się – perfective
- przebiorę się – I will get changed (one whole completed act)

In this sentence, we’re talking about a habitual routine:

Po pracy przebieram się… – “After work, I get changed (as my regular habit).”

For habits, Polish uses the present tense of the imperfective:
przebieram się, siadam, czytam, etc.

Przebiorę się would be used for a single, specific future event:
Po pracy przebiorę się i pójdę do sklepu – After work (today) I’ll get changed and go to the shop.

Why do we use siadam instead of siedzę? Both seem to mean “sit”.

Polish makes a clear distinction:

siadać – to sit down, to take a seat (the action of starting to sit)
- siadam – I sit down / I take a seat (habitually or right now)
siedzieć – to be sitting (the state)
- siedzę – I am sitting

In the sentence:

siadam na kanapie – “I sit down on the couch” / “I take a seat on the couch.”

We’re describing the action as part of a routine: get home → change clothes → sit down.
If you said:

siedzę na kanapie – “I am sitting on the couch” (I’m already in the sitting position).

So siadam is the right choice here, because it fits the sequence of actions after work.

Why is it na kanapie, not na kanapę? Isn’t there movement “onto” the couch?

With na, case choice again affects the meaning:

na + locative → location: “on” / “on top of” (where)
na + accusative → movement onto something (to where)

So:

na kanapie – on the couch (locative)
na kanapę – onto the couch (accusative)

Both are possible with verbs of sitting, but the patterns are:

siadać na czymś (locative) – more neutral / common: “sit down on something”
siadać na coś (accusative) – emphasizes the movement onto that surface

In your sentence, siadam na kanapie is the usual, natural form for “I sit down on the couch.”
If you said siadam na kanapę, you’d slightly stress the movement onto the couch (e.g. maybe from standing next to it), but in many contexts they’re almost interchangeable.

Can I change the word order, for example: Przebieram się po pracy w wygodne ubrania i siadam na kanapie?

Yes, Polish word order is fairly flexible, especially in simple sentences like this.

All of these are grammatically correct, but differ a bit in emphasis:

Po pracy przebieram się w wygodne ubrania i siadam na kanapie.
Neutral, with a mild emphasis on po pracy (“After work, I…”).
Przebieram się po pracy w wygodne ubrania i siadam na kanapie.
Slightly more emphasis on przebieram się (“I get changed after work…”).
Po pracy siadam na kanapie i przebieram się w wygodne ubrania.
Changes the sequence: first sitting, then changing – so it actually changes the meaning.

The main rule: word order is flexible, but the order of actions in time usually follows the order in the sentence, unless context clearly says otherwise.

Why is there no “I” pronoun (ja) in the Polish sentence?

In Polish, subject pronouns like ja (I), ty (you), on / ona (he / she) are often omitted when the verb ending already shows the person.

przebieram się – the -am ending shows it’s 1st person singular (“I”).
siadam – also 1st person singular.

So ja is usually not needed. You would say ja only for emphasis or contrast:

Ja po pracy przebieram się w wygodne ubrania, a mój brat od razu idzie na siłownię.
“I get changed into comfortable clothes after work, but my brother goes straight to the gym.”

Omitting the pronoun is normal and more natural in neutral statements.

What conjugation pattern are przebieram and siadam following? How do I recognize the “I” form?

Both verbs here end in -am in the 1st person singular present tense:

przebierać (się) → przebieram (się) – I get changed
siadać → siadam – I sit down

For many verbs ending in -ać in the infinitive, the “I” form is:

drop -ać, replace with -am
e.g.
- czytać → czytam (I read)
- mieszkać → mieszkam (I live)
- oglądać → oglądam (I watch)

So when you see -am at the end of a verb in the present tense, it almost always indicates 1st person singular: “I …”

Why is there no comma before i in “…wygodne ubrania i siadam na kanapie”?

Polish comma rules are stricter than English. In general:

You do not put a comma before i when it links two main clauses with the same subject and no special contrast.

Here, both parts share the same subject (I):

(ja) przebieram się w wygodne ubrania
(ja) siadam na kanapie

Because the subject is the same and i simply joins two actions, there is no comma:

Po pracy przebieram się w wygodne ubrania i siadam na kanapie.

You would use a comma if i linked more complex clauses under some conditions, but not in a straightforward “A and B” sequence with the same subject like this.