Learn Hardcore Polish: Dzieci liczą świeczki na torcie i śmieją się. - The children are counting the candles on the cake and laughing.

So śmieją się literally means they laugh themselves, but in natural English we just say they are laughing. Leaving out się here would be ungrammatical.

What case is świeczki in, and why that form?

The noun świeczki here is in the accusative plural.

Base form (nominative singular): świeczka (a candle)
Nominative plural: świeczki
Accusative plural (for feminine nouns like this): also świeczki

In this sentence, świeczki is the direct object of liczą (they are counting what? ⇒ the candles), so it must be in the accusative case.

But when you count things with numbers, you often see świeczek, not świeczki. Why?

There are two different structures in Polish:

Verb + object (no numeral)
- Dzieci liczą świeczki. – The children are counting (the) candles.
  Here, świeczki is a normal direct object → accusative plural.
Numeral + noun
- pięć świeczek – five candles
  After numbers 5 and higher, the noun goes to genitive plural, so świeczka → świeczek.

So liczą świeczki is correct as a direct object; pięć świeczek is correct after a numeral.

Why is it na torcie and not na tort?

The preposition na can take either locative or accusative, depending on the meaning:

na + locative = location, “on/in” (no movement)
- świeczki są na torcie – the candles are on the cake
- świeczki na torcie – candles on the cake
na + accusative = movement towards a surface / goal
- kładę świeczki na tort – I am putting candles onto the cake

In Dzieci liczą świeczki na torcie, na torcie describes where the candles are (location), so tort must be in locative: torcie.

What is the grammatical gender and number of dzieci, and how does that matter here?

Dzieci is grammatically plural, and its basic singular form is dziecko (a child).

A few key points:

dziecko = neuter singular
dzieci = plural, but treated as non-masculine-personal plural for agreement

This affects:

Adjectives and past tense:
- Dzieci były wesołe. – The children were cheerful. (not byli wesoły)

In the present tense, all 3rd person plural verbs look the same (-ą), so liczą and śmieją się don’t show that special agreement difference; it shows up more clearly in adjectives and past tense.

How are the verbs liczą and śmieją formed? What are the dictionary forms?

The dictionary (infinitive) forms are:

liczyć – to count
śmiać się – to laugh

They are conjugated in the present tense, 3rd person plural:

oni / one liczą – they count / they are counting
oni / one śmieją się – they laugh / they are laughing

The -ą ending is the regular 3rd person plural present tense ending for most Polish verbs (for both oni and one).

Why is there no comma before i in …na torcie i śmieją się?

In Polish, when two verbs share the same subject and are joined by i (and), you normally don’t put a comma:

Dzieci liczą świeczki na torcie i śmieją się.

You would usually add a comma only if:

there are different subjects, or
the parts are treated as more separate clauses, often with a different conjunction, or for emphasis.

Here, both actions (liczą and śmieją się) clearly belong to the same subject (dzieci), so no comma is used.

Can I change the word order, for example to Dzieci śmieją się i liczą świeczki na torcie?

Yes. Polish word order is relatively flexible. You can say, for example:

Dzieci śmieją się i liczą świeczki na torcie.
Dzieci liczą na torcie świeczki i śmieją się. (less neutral, but possible)

The original order liczą świeczki na torcie i śmieją się is very natural and neutral. Changing the order can slightly change the emphasis (what feels more important or more “in focus”), but all of these are grammatically correct.

What’s the difference between liczą and policzą?

This is about aspect (imperfective vs. perfective):

liczyć (here: liczą) – imperfective: focuses on the process / ongoing action
- Dzieci liczą świeczki. – The children are counting candles.
policzyć (future: policzą, past: policzyły) – perfective: focuses on the completion / result
- Dzieci policzą świeczki. – The children will count the candles (and finish counting).
- Dzieci policzyły świeczki. – The children have counted the candles.

In the given sentence, we describe what is happening right now, so liczą (imperfective present) is appropriate.

How do you know if this means the children are counting the candles or just children count candles in general, since there are no articles?

Polish has no articles (no equivalent of a/an/the), so context does the work.

In isolation, Dzieci liczą świeczki na torcie i śmieją się is most naturally understood as a specific, current situation:
- The children are counting the candles on the cake and laughing.

If you wanted to talk about a general habit, you’d usually add adverbs or extra context, e.g.:

Zazwyczaj dzieci liczą świeczki na torcie. – Usually, children count the candles on the cake.

So here, the default reading is a specific scene, like in a story or description.

Is there a difference between tort and ciasto? Could I say świeczki na cieście instead of na torcie?

Yes, there is a difference:

tort – a decorated, often layered cake, typically for special occasions (birthdays, weddings, etc.).
ciasto – cake in general, or simply “baked dough”; also used for things like pies or simple cakes.

For birthday-style candles, Poles normally imagine them on a tort, not just any ciasto, so świeczki na torcie sounds natural and idiomatic.
Świeczki na cieście is grammatically fine but would sound odd in a typical birthday context.

How do you pronounce some of the tricky words like dzieci, świeczki, and śmieją?

Approximate pronunciations (in simple English terms):

dzieci – roughly “jye-chee”
- dz
  - soft ie gives a sound a bit like English “j” in “jeans”, then “che” with a soft ć at the end.
świeczki – roughly “shvyech-kee”
- św = soft “shv”;
- cz = like “ch” in “chocolate”;
- soft ki.
śmieją (from śmieją się) – roughly “shmye-yon”
- śm = soft “shm”;
- -eją ends with a nasal vowel ą, often heard like a nasal “on/om”.

Precise Polish pronunciation is more systematic than English, but these approximations will help you be understood.