Learn Hardcore Polish: Jutro piszemy test z polskiego, który pokaże nasz poziom języka. - Tomorrow we are taking a Polish test that will show our level of the language.

In Polish, the present tense of an imperfective verb (like pisać – to write) is very often used for planned future events, especially when there is a clear time expression such as jutro (tomorrow).

So:

Jutro piszemy test.
= Tomorrow we are taking / will take a test.

This is similar to English “We’re taking a test tomorrow” (present continuous with future meaning).

You could also say:

Jutro będziemy pisać test.

This also means “Tomorrow we will be taking a test”, but it sounds a bit more formal or heavier. In everyday speech, Jutro piszemy test is very natural and common in schools.

Why does piszemy test mean “we are taking a test”, not literally “we are writing a test”?

In school/university contexts, pisać test / sprawdzian / egzamin in Polish means:

to sit a test / to take a test, as a student.

So:

Jutro piszemy test.
= Tomorrow we’re taking a test.

If you wanted to say that a teacher is writing/creating the test, you would normally use different verbs, e.g.:

układać test – to compose / create a test
przygotowywać test – to prepare a test
pisać test can mean physically writing it, but in educational contexts it’s default for students taking it.

So the idiomatic school meaning of pisać test is “to sit/take a test.”

Why do we say test z polskiego instead of something like test polskiego or test po polsku?

In Polish, for school subjects, we normally use:

test / egzamin / sprawdzian + z + [subject in genitive case]

Examples:

test z polskiego – a test in Polish (as a subject)
sprawdzian z matematyki – a test in math
egzamin z historii – an exam in history

So:

test z polskiego = a test in (the subject) Polish.

Other options:

test polskiego – sounds wrong in this meaning; it would suggest something like “a test of a Polish person” or “a test belonging to a Pole”.
test po polsku – a test *in Polish language (the test is conducted in Polish), but not necessarily *about Polish as a school subject. For example, a math test written in Polish could be test z matematyki po polsku.

So z polskiego is the standard, idiomatic way to talk about a test in the subject of Polish.

What case is z polskiego, and why is it used here?

Polskiego is in the genitive case (dopełniacz).

The preposition z (from, of, in [a subject]) requires the genitive in this construction:

test z polskiego – test of/in Polish
egzamin z chemii – exam in chemistry
kolokwium z fizyki – quiz in physics

So the pattern is:
[test / exam / quiz] + z + [subject in genitive].

Does który refer to test or to polskiego in test z polskiego, który pokaże…?

Grammatically, który refers to test.

The head noun of the phrase is test.
z polskiego is just a prepositional phrase modifying test (telling us which test).
The relative clause który pokaże nasz poziom języka attaches to test.

So the meaning is:

Test (z polskiego), który pokaże nasz poziom języka.
= The (Polish) test which will show our level of the language.

Could it refer to polskiego (Polish as a language)? Semantically, that wouldn’t make sense: “Polish, which will show our level of the language” is odd. Only the test can show your level.

Form-wise, który is masculine singular, which could match both test and język polski, but by syntax and meaning it clearly points to test.

Why is there a comma before który?

In Polish, a relative clause introduced by który, która, które, że, gdzie etc. is almost always separated by a comma from the main clause.

So:

Jutro piszemy test z polskiego, który pokaże nasz poziom języka.

The comma marks the beginning of the relative clause:

który pokaże nasz poziom języka – which will show our level of the language.

This is a standard punctuation rule in Polish: relative clauses are set off by commas.

Why is it pokaże, not pokazuje?

pokazać – perfective verb (to show, to demonstrate once, as a complete action)
pokazywać – imperfective verb (to show repeatedly / be showing).

Pokaże is the future tense of the perfective verb “pokazać”:

który pokaże nasz poziom języka
= which will (once, at some point) show our level of the language.

If you said który pokazuje nasz poziom języka, that would mean:

“which shows our level of the language” (more general or habitual statement).

Here we’re talking about the result of that one test in the future, so the perfective pokaże is appropriate.

Why is it nasz poziom języka, not naszego poziomu języka?

Poziom here is the direct object of the verb pokaże:

pokazać (co?) poziom – to show (what?) level.

For masculine inanimate nouns like poziom, the accusative form is the same as the nominative:

nominative: (ten) poziom
accusative: (widzę) poziom

The possessive pronoun must match that case and gender:

nasz poziom (nominative/accusative masculine inanimate)

So:

który pokaże nasz poziom – which will show our level.

Naszego poziomu would be genitive, used after some verbs or prepositions, but pokaże takes a direct object in accusative, so we use nasz poziom, not naszego poziomu.

Why is it języka and not just język in nasz poziom języka?

Języka is in the genitive case.

The noun poziom (level) typically takes a genitive complement to specify what it is a level of:

poziom (czego?) języka – the level of (what?) language
poziom wody – water level
poziom znajomości gramatyki – level of knowledge of grammar

So:

nasz poziom języka = our level of the language.

If you said nasz poziom język, that would be ungrammatical; język must be in genitive → języka.

Can jutro go in a different position, like Piszemy jutro test z polskiego? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, jutro can move, and the basic meaning stays the same. Some natural options:

Jutro piszemy test z polskiego, który pokaże nasz poziom języka.
Piszemy jutro test z polskiego, który pokaże nasz poziom języka.
Jutro z polskiego piszemy test, który pokaże nasz poziom języka.

All mean roughly: “Tomorrow we’re taking a Polish test which will show our level of the language.”

Word order in Polish is flexible and is often used to slightly change emphasis:

Jutro piszemy test… – light emphasis on tomorrow as the new info.
Piszemy jutro test… – more neutral, very common in speech.

But there is no change in core meaning: the test is tomorrow either way.

Can I say test z języka polskiego instead of test z polskiego? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say:

Jutro piszemy test z języka polskiego, który pokaże nasz poziom języka.

This is perfectly correct and slightly more explicit/formal:

z języka polskiego – literally “in the Polish language (as a subject)”
z polskiego – a shorter, very common school-style phrase.

In everyday school contexts, z polskiego is extremely common and completely natural. Z języka polskiego may sound a bit more formal (e.g., in official documents, exam descriptions), but the meaning is the same.