Mówi się, że mniej stresu jest wtedy, gdy robisz powtórki regularnie.

People say there is less stress when you do reviews regularly.

Breakdown of Mówi się, że mniej stresu jest wtedy, gdy robisz powtórki regularnie.

• być: to be
• że: that
• mówić: to say
• gdy: when
• robić: to do
• mniej: less
• się: reflexive pronoun
• wtedy: then
• stres: the stress
• powtórka: the review
• regularnie: regularly

Questions & Answers about Mówi się, że mniej stresu jest wtedy, gdy robisz powtórki regularnie.

What does Mówi się literally mean, and why is się there?

Mówi się is an impersonal construction. Literally it is:

• mówi – “(someone) says / is saying” (3rd person singular of mówić)
• się – a reflexive / impersonal particle

Together mówi się means something like:

• “people say…”
• “it is said that…”
• “they say…”

Polish often uses się to avoid naming the subject when it’s general or not important. Compare:

• Ludzie mówią, że… – People say that…
• Mówi się, że… – It is said that… / People say that…

So się doesn’t mean “himself/herself” here; it just makes the verb impersonal and general.

Why is że needed here? In English we can say “People say (that) there is less stress…” and drop “that”.

In Polish, że cannot be dropped in this kind of sentence. It introduces a subordinate clause (“that-clause”):

• Mówi się, że mniej stresu jest wtedy…
  = “People say that there is less stress then…”

In standard Polish you must keep że in sentences like:

• Myślę, że… – I think (that)…
• Wiem, że… – I know (that)…
• Słyszałem, że… – I heard (that)…

Unlike English, Polish does not normally allow you to omit że here.

Why is it mniej stresu and not mniej stres or mniej stresów?

Mniej (“less”) normally requires the genitive case after it. Stresu is the genitive singular of stres.

• stres – nominative singular (“stress” as a subject)
• stresu – genitive singular (“of stress / some stress”)

With quantity words like mniej (less), więcej (more), dużo (a lot of), mało (little), Polish usually uses the genitive:

• mniej stresu – less stress
• więcej wody – more water
• dużo czasu – a lot of time
• mało pieniędzy – little money

Mniej stres is ungrammatical.
Mniej stresów (genitive plural) would mean “fewer kinds / instances of stresses” and sounds odd here; for this general meaning, mniej stresu is correct and natural.

Is the word order mniej stresu jest wtedy normal? Could we say wtedy jest mniej stresu instead?

Both are grammatically correct, but the feeling is slightly different:

• Mówi się, że mniej stresu jest wtedy, gdy…
  – Puts mniej stresu (“less stress”) at the beginning of the clause, so it’s slightly more in focus.

• Mówi się, że wtedy jest mniej stresu, gdy…
  – Sounds a bit more neutral and many speakers would probably choose this order in everyday speech.

Polish word order is quite flexible. Here are a few natural variants:

• Mówi się, że jest mniej stresu, gdy robisz powtórki regularnie.
• Mówi się, że wtedy jest mniej stresu, gdy robisz powtórki regularnie.

The original sentence is fine, just a bit more “emphasizing” the mniej stresu part.

Why do we have both wtedy and gdy? Don’t they both relate to time?

Yes, both are time-related, but they play different roles:

• wtedy – “then / at that time” (an adverb, like “then”)
• gdy – “when” (a conjunction introducing a time clause)

In wtedy, gdy robisz powtórki regularnie you can read it as:

• wtedy – at that time
• gdy robisz powtórki regularnie – when you do reviews regularly

So literally: “less stress is then, when you do reviews regularly.”

The pair wtedy, gdy… is very common. You could also say just:

• Mniej stresu jest, gdy robisz powtórki regularnie.

That is also correct and slightly shorter. Adding wtedy makes the “then” a bit more explicit and can sound a little more formal or explanatory.

What is the difference between gdy and kiedy? Could we say kiedy robisz powtórki instead?

Yes, you can say kiedy robisz powtórki. In this context gdy and kiedy are almost interchangeable:

• gdy – often feels a bit more formal/literary
• kiedy – very common in everyday speech

So:

• …wtedy, gdy robisz powtórki regularnie.
• …wtedy, kiedy robisz powtórki regularnie.

Both are natural. In normal spoken Polish, kiedy is probably more frequent, but gdy is perfectly correct and not unusual.

Why is it robisz powtórki (present tense) and not a future form like zrobisz powtórki?

Polish uses the present tense of an imperfective verb (here: robić) for:

• general truths
• repeated / habitual actions

So gdy robisz powtórki regularnie means “when you do reviews regularly / when you are in the habit of doing reviews”.

If you said gdy zrobisz powtórki, that would be:

• zrobisz – perfective, future, “when you have done / when you do (once, completed in the future)”

That would refer to a single completed event, e.g.:

• Będziesz mniej zestresowany, gdy zrobisz powtórki.
  – You’ll be less stressed when you (have) done the reviews. (one occasion)

In the original sentence the idea is “whenever you regularly review, in general”, so robisz (present, imperfective, habitual) is the right choice.

Why is there no ty (“you”) in gdy robisz powtórki regularnie?

Polish is a pro‑drop language: subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending already shows the person:

• robisz – 2nd person singular (you do)

So:

• gdy robisz powtórki = “when (you) do reviews”

You would add ty only for emphasis or contrast:

• Gdy ty robisz powtórki regularnie, jest mniej stresu.
  – When you do reviews regularly, there is less stress. (maybe contrasting with others who don’t)

In neutral sentences, leaving out ty is more natural.

What exactly does powtórki mean here? Is it like “repeats”, “revisions”, or “reviews”?

Powtórka literally means “a repetition”. In education it usually means:

• going over material again
• revising / reviewing what you’ve learned

Powtórki is the plural form. In this context it’s best translated as “reviews” or “revision sessions” (BrE: “doing revision”).

Common collocations:

• robić powtórkę – do a (single) review/revision
• robić powtórki – do reviews in general, do them repeatedly
• powtarzać materiał – to review/revise the material

Here robisz powtórki regularnie suggests you regularly repeat/review the material, not just once. That’s why the plural is natural.

Could the sentence be Mówi się, że jest mniej stresu, gdy robisz powtórki regularnie? Is that equally correct?

Yes, that version is fully correct and very natural:

• Mówi się, że jest mniej stresu, gdy robisz powtórki regularnie.

Compared with the original:

• Mówi się, że mniej stresu jest wtedy, gdy robisz powtórki regularnie.

the differences are subtle:

• jest mniej stresu – more neutral word order
• no wtedy – a bit shorter and simpler

Both sentences mean the same thing: people say that there is less stress when you review regularly.

Why are there commas before że and gdy in this sentence?

Polish has clear rules about commas before conjunctions that introduce subordinate clauses.

In:

• Mówi się, że mniej stresu jest wtedy, gdy robisz powtórki regularnie.

you have:

1. że mniej stresu jest wtedy… – a clause introduced by że
2. gdy robisz powtórki regularnie – another clause introduced by gdy

Polish normally requires a comma before:

• że, gdy, kiedy, jeśli, ponieważ, chociaż, etc.
  when they introduce a subordinate clause.

So both commas (before że and before gdy) are grammatically obligatory in standard Polish.