Breakdown of W weekend spotykamy się z kuzynem i kuzynką na obiedzie u babci.
Questions & Answers about W weekend spotykamy się z kuzynem i kuzynką na obiedzie u babci.
Why is spotykamy się in the present tense if the sentence is about a future plan?
In Polish, the present tense of an imperfective verb is often used to talk about future arrangements, especially when there is a time expression like w weekend (on/over the weekend).
- W weekend spotykamy się…
literally: On the weekend we meet…
but in context = We’re meeting… / We will be meeting… (this weekend)
This is similar to English:
- We meet them on Saturday = We’re meeting them on Saturday.
So:
- spotykamy się (present, imperfective) + w weekend (future time)
→ natural way to talk about a planned future meeting.
Why do we say spotykamy się and not just spotykamy?
The reflexive pronoun się is essential here.
- spotykać się z kimś = to meet (up) with someone / to get together with someone (mutual, arranged).
- spotykać kogoś (without się) = to meet someone, encounter someone (regularly), often not so mutual-sounding, more like “to see someone (as part of your life)”.
Examples:
- Często spotykamy się z przyjaciółmi.
We often meet up with friends. - Często spotykam tego sąsiada w sklepie.
I often bump into that neighbor in the shop. (no się)
In your sentence, it’s a mutual meeting, so you must say:
- spotykamy się z kuzynem i kuzynką
not: spotykamy z kuzynem i kuzynką (ungrammatical).
What case are z kuzynem and z kuzynką, and why are they in that case?
z kuzynem and z kuzynką are in the instrumental case.
When z means “with”, it normally takes the instrumental:
- z kim? z czym? (with whom? with what?)
So:
- kuzyn (cousin, m.) → z kuzynem (instr. sg.)
- kuzynka (cousin, f.) → z kuzynką (instr. sg.)
This is the standard pattern:
- z mamą (with mom), z kolegą (with a (male) colleague), z siostrą (with (my) sister).
Why do kuzynem and kuzynką have different endings?
They have different endings because they are different genders, and the instrumental case endings depend on gender:
kuzyn – masculine noun
- Nominative: kuzyn
- Instrumental: kuzynem (‑em)
kuzynka – feminine noun
- Nominative: kuzynka
- Instrumental: kuzynką (‑ą)
Typical instrumental singular endings:
- Masculine: ‑em (kolega → kolegą; nauczyciel → nauczycielem)
- Feminine: ‑ą (siostra → siostrą; babcia → babcią)
Do we need to repeat z before kuzynką? Could we say z kuzynem i z kuzynką?
Both are grammatically correct:
- z kuzynem i kuzynką
- z kuzynem i z kuzynką
In practice:
- z kuzynem i kuzynką is more common and sounds natural and smooth.
- z kuzynem i z kuzynką can add a tiny bit of emphasis on each person separately, but often it just sounds slightly heavier.
Polish frequently lets one preposition govern a whole list:
- z mamą, tatą i bratem (with mom, dad and brother).
What case is w weekend, and why doesn’t weekend change its form here?
w weekend uses the accusative case, but for inanimate masculine nouns (like weekend), the accusative form = the nominative form, so you see no visible change.
Why accusative?
With expressions of time like “on Monday, in May, at 5 o’clock” etc., Polish very often uses preposition + accusative:
- w poniedziałek (on Monday – accusative)
- w przyszły piątek (this coming Friday – accusative)
- w weekend (on/over the weekend – accusative)
You might also hear w weekendzie (locative), but:
- w weekend is more common and more colloquial, especially in modern speech.
- w weekendzie can sound more old-fashioned or regional; it’s correct but less frequent.
So w weekend is what you’ll usually say.
Why is it na obiedzie and not na obiad?
Both exist, but they mean different things:
na obiedzie – locative case, means at (the) lunch / during lunch, i.e. location / situation
→ We’re meeting (while we are) at lunch / at Grandma’s for lunch.na obiad – accusative case, means for lunch in the sense of direction / goal
→ We’re going (to someone) for lunch.
Compare:
Jesteśmy na obiedzie u babci.
We are at lunch at Grandma’s (house).Idziemy do babci na obiad.
We’re going to Grandma’s for lunch.
In your sentence:
- spotykamy się … na obiedzie
focuses on where / in what situation you’re meeting: at the lunch.
Why is it u babci and not u babcia or do babci?
Case and form:
- The preposition u (at someone’s place) takes the genitive case.
- babcia (grandma) – genitive singular: babci
So you must say u babci, not u babcia.
Meaning difference:
- u babci = at Grandma’s place (location)
- do babci = to Grandma’s (place) (movement / direction)
So:
- na obiedzie u babci = at lunch at Grandma’s (house).
- Idziemy do babci na obiad. = We’re going to Grandma’s for lunch.
Why is there no word for “we” (like my) in the sentence?
In Polish, subject pronouns (ja, ty, on, my, wy, oni/one) are often dropped because the verb ending already shows the person and number.
- spotykamy się → the ending ‑my tells you it’s “we”.
- Adding my (my spotykamy się…) is usually only for emphasis or contrast:
- My spotykamy się z kuzynem, a oni zostają w domu.
We are the ones meeting with the cousin, and they are staying at home.
- My spotykamy się z kuzynem, a oni zostają w domu.
So in neutral sentences, you normally omit the pronoun:
- Spotykamy się z kuzynem… = We’re meeting with (our) cousin…
Could we change the word order? For example: Spotykamy się w weekend z kuzynem i kuzynką na obiedzie u babci?
Yes. Polish word order is fairly flexible, especially in spoken language, as long as the grammar (cases, prepositions, endings) is correct.
All of these are possible and natural:
- W weekend spotykamy się z kuzynem i kuzynką na obiedzie u babci.
- Spotykamy się w weekend z kuzynem i kuzynką na obiedzie u babci.
- W weekend u babci spotykamy się z kuzynem i kuzynką na obiedzie.
Differences are mostly about rhythm and emphasis, not about basic meaning.
The original version (W weekend spotykamy się…) is a very neutral, common pattern:
- [Time] + [Verb] + [With whom] + [Where].
What’s the difference between spotykamy się and spotkamy się?
They differ in aspect and nuance:
spotykać się (imperfective) → spotykamy się
- Focus on the process, a plan, or a habit.
- Can mean we are meeting (this time) or we (usually) meet.
spotkać się (perfective) → spotkamy się (future)
- Focus on the completed event, a single concrete meeting.
- Clearly future: we will (have a) meet(ing), we’ll meet.
Both can work with w weekend, but:
- W weekend spotkamy się z kuzynem…
sounds like a specific one-time future event, slightly more “single occasion”. - W weekend spotykamy się z kuzynem…
sounds like either a planned meeting or even a typical weekend habit, depending on context.
In casual speech, for a planned meeting, both are common, with a subtle difference in feel rather than meaning.
How would I say “cousin” in Polish if I don’t want to say whether it’s male or female?
Polish always marks gender for “cousin” in the normal words:
- kuzyn – male cousin
- kuzynka – female cousin
If you really need to be vague, people normally rely on context or say something like:
- jeden z kuzynów (one of my cousins – but masculine plural form).
- z kuzynostwem (with the cousins as a group – collective, but not for one person).
For one specific cousin, you usually have to choose kuzyn or kuzynka once the gender is known.
How would I say “Every weekend we meet with our cousins for lunch at Grandma’s” using this pattern?
You can adapt the sentence like this:
- W weekendy spotykamy się z kuzynami na obiedzie u babci.
= On weekends / Every weekend we meet with (our) cousins for lunch at Grandma’s.
Alternatives:
- Co weekend spotykamy się z kuzynami na obiedzie u babci.
Every weekend we meet with (our) cousins for lunch at Grandma’s.
Notes:
- w weekendy or co weekend – express regularity.
- kuzyni / kuzynami – plural of kuzyn (mixed or all-male group).
Instrumental plural: z kuzynami.
(If the group is all female, you could say z kuzynkami.)
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