Kiedy kaszel wraca wieczorem, katar też wraca.

When the cough comes back in the evening, the runny nose also comes back.

Breakdown of Kiedy kaszel wraca wieczorem, katar też wraca.

• też: also
• wieczorem: in the evening
• kiedy: when
• kaszel: the cough

Questions & Answers about Kiedy kaszel wraca wieczorem, katar też wraca.

Why is wraca in the present tense? Does it mean something happening right now or a repeated situation?

In this sentence wraca (3rd person singular, present tense of wracać) describes a repeated / habitual situation, not something happening at this exact moment.

Polish uses the present tense of imperfective verbs (like wracać) for:

• actions happening now:
  
  • Kaszel wraca. – The cough is coming back (now).
• regular, repeated situations or general truths (like here):
  
  • Kiedy kaszel wraca wieczorem, katar też wraca. – Whenever the cough comes back in the evening, the runny nose comes back too.

English also uses the simple present for habits, so the tenses actually match quite well here.

Could you use wróci instead of wraca? What is the difference between wraca and wróci?