Learn Hardcore Polish: W weekend robię krótką powtórkę, a w tygodniu powtarzam rzadziej. - On the weekend I do a short review, and during the week I review less often.

w weekend – sounds completely natural and is what you’ll usually hear.
w weekendzie – also possible and not wrong, but sounds a bit heavier/less colloquial; some speakers avoid it.

You will also often hear alternatives like:

podczas weekendu – during the weekend
w czasie weekendu – during the weekend

So if you’re unsure, stick with w weekend; it’s the safest everyday choice.

What case is krótką powtórkę, and why does it change from krótka powtórka?

The base form is krótka powtórka (nominative: “a short review”).

In the sentence, krótką powtórkę is the direct object of the verb robię (“I do”), so it must be in the accusative case:

nominative (dictionary form): krótka powtórka
accusative: krótką powtórkę

Both the adjective (krótka → krótką) and the noun (powtórka → powtórkę) change to show:

feminine gender
singular
accusative case (object of robię)

This is normal adjective–noun agreement in Polish.

Why is it robię krótką powtórkę and not just powtarzam in the first part?

There’s a nuance:

robię krótką powtórkę – literally “I do a short review”; it presents the review as one concrete session/activity.
powtarzam – “I review / I revise” in general; it focuses more on the ongoing process of repeating material.

In this sentence, the speaker contrasts two habits:

On weekends: a specific little session (robię krótką powtórkę).
During the week: they generally review less often (powtarzam rzadziej).

You could say w weekend powtarzam krótko, but it would sound odd and more like “I repeat briefly,” focusing on how you repeat rather than a short review session as a thing.

Why is it a w tygodniu instead of i w tygodniu?

Both a and i translate to “and”, but they differ in nuance:

i – simple addition: “and, plus”.
a – mild contrast or comparison: “and / whereas / while (on the other hand)”.

Here, the speaker contrasts weekend habits with weekday habits:

W weekend robię krótką powtórkę, a w tygodniu powtarzam rzadziej.
→ “On the weekend I do a short review, whereas during the week I revise less often.”

So a is more natural because it highlights the contrast.

What exactly does w tygodniu mean? Is it “in a week” like English?

No. w tygodniu does not mean “in a week” (after a week’s time). It means:

“during the (normal) week / on weekdays / on workdays”
(i.e. Monday to Friday, in contrast with the weekend)

Some comparisons:

w tygodniu – during the week (as opposed to the weekend)
za tydzień – in a week (one week from now)
w przyszłym tygodniu – next week

So the sentence means:
“On the weekend I do a short review, and during the week I revise less often.”

Why is it w tygodniu and not w tydzień?

The noun tydzień (“week”) appears here in the locative case, because it follows the preposition w in a “time location” meaning (“during X”).

nominative: tydzień
locative: tygodniu

With w + locative for time, you often get meanings like “in/during X”:

w styczniu – in January
w 2024 roku – in the year 2024
w dzieciństwie – in (my) childhood
w tygodniu – during the week

So w tygodniu literally is “in the week” → “during the week.”

Why does the second part say just powtarzam with no object? What am I repeating?

The direct object is simply understood from context. In Polish, if it’s clear what you mean, you can drop the object:

powtarzam – “I review / revise (it / the material / my notes)”

In this sentence, powtarzam clearly refers to the same kind of review as krótką powtórkę in the first clause: the material the person is learning.

You could make it explicit:

w tygodniu powtarzam materiał rzadziej – “during the week I revise the material less often”

But it’s not necessary; the shorter version is very natural.

What is the difference between robię and powtarzam here, since both are about reviewing?

They highlight slightly different things:

robię (krótką powtórkę) – “I do (a short review)”:
focuses on performing a discrete activity (a single review session).
powtarzam – “I repeat / review / revise (material)”:
focuses on the action of going over something again, a more process-like verb.

So the structure is:

Weekend: I carry out one short review session.
Weekdays: I engage in the reviewing process less often.

Both ideas are related to studying, but the phrasing reflects a shift from “a particular session” to “how often I review.”

Why present tense robię / powtarzam if this describes a regular habit, not right now?

In Polish (as in English), the present tense is used for habits and routines, not only for actions happening right now.

Codziennie piję kawę. – I drink coffee every day.
W weekend robię krótką powtórkę. – On the weekend I do a short review.
W tygodniu powtarzam rzadziej. – During the week I revise less often.

So the present tense here is a “present habitual”: it describes what you usually do.

What verb aspect is used here, and why not zrobię / powtórzę?

Both robię and powtarzam are imperfective verbs:

robić (imperfective) – to be doing / to do (habitually)
perfective pair: zrobić – to do once, to complete
powtarzać (imperfective) – to be repeating / to repeat (habitually)
perfective pair: powtórzyć – to repeat once (successfully/fully)

For regular, repeated actions or habits, Polish normally uses the imperfective aspect:

W weekend robię krótką powtórkę. – every weekend, as a habit
W tygodniu powtarzam rzadziej. – generally, less often during the week

Perfective (zrobię, powtórzę) would suggest a single future event, e.g.:

W ten weekend zrobię krótką powtórkę. – This weekend I’ll do one short review.
W tygodniu powtórzę to raz czy dwa. – During the week I’ll review it once or twice.

What does rzadziej mean exactly, and how is it formed?

rzadziej means “less often / more rarely”.

It’s the comparative form of the adverb rzadko (“rarely / not often”):

rzadko – rarely, not often
rzadziej – more rarely, less often

English often prefers “less often,” but conceptually it’s “rarer than before / than something else.”
The implied comparison here is “less often than on the weekend,” even though that second part is not repeated.

Could I say w weekend powtarzam rzadziej, a w tygodniu robię krótką powtórkę instead?

You could grammatically swap them, but the meaning would change:

Original:
W weekend robię krótką powtórkę, a w tygodniu powtarzam rzadziej.
→ On the weekend I do a short review; during the week I revise less often.
Swapped:
W weekend powtarzam rzadziej, a w tygodniu robię krótką powtórkę.
→ On the weekend I revise less often; during the week I do a short review.

So grammatically it’s fine, but semantically it says almost the opposite of the original sentence.

Can I move w weekend / w tygodniu to the end? For example, Robię krótką powtórkę w weekend?

Yes, that’s possible. Polish word order is quite flexible. You can say:

W weekend robię krótką powtórkę.
Robię krótką powtórkę w weekend.

Both are correct. The differences are in emphasis:

Starting with w weekend highlights the time frame (“As for weekends, …”).
Putting w weekend later can slightly emphasize the activity itself (robię krótką powtórkę) more.

In everyday speech, both orders are perfectly natural.