Dzieci marzną na boisku, więc wracamy do domu.

The children are freezing on the field, so we are going back home.

Breakdown of Dzieci marzną na boisku, więc wracamy do domu.

• dom: the house
• dziecko: the child
• do: to
• na: on
• wracać: to return
• więc: so
• my: we
• boisko: the field
• marznąć: to get cold

Questions & Answers about Dzieci marzną na boisku, więc wracamy do domu.

What exactly does marzną mean here, and how is it different from just “are cold”?

Marzną comes from marznąć – to be freezing / to get very cold (to feel cold).

It suggests that the children feel uncomfortably cold, not just slightly chilly.

Roughly:

• być zimnym – to be cold (as a property: the water is cold)
• marznąć – to (start to) freeze, to be freezing (as a person/animal)

So Dzieci marzną is like “The children are freezing / getting really cold,” not just “are a bit cold.”

Why is it marzną and not something like są zimne?

You could say Dzieci są zimne, but that normally describes their state in a neutral way (“the children are cold”), like a fact.

Dzieci marzną adds the idea of process and discomfort – they are in the process of freezing/feeling very cold. That fits better with the second part of the sentence (we’re going home because they’re really cold).

What is the infinitive of marzną, and what are its perfective/imperfective forms?

• Infinitive: marznąć (imperfective)
• Perfective partner: zmarznąć

Usage difference:

• Dzieci marzną – The children are freezing / are getting cold (focus on the ongoing situation).
• Dzieci zmarzły – The children have frozen / got really cold (focus on the result, they have already ended up cold).

Why does marzną end in -ą?

Because it’s 3rd person plural in the present tense.

For verbs like marznąć in the present tense:

• (ja) marznę – I am freezing
• (ty) marzniesz – you are freezing
• (on/ona/ono) marznie – he/she/it is freezing
• (my) marzniemy – we are freezing
• (wy) marzniecie – you (pl.) are freezing
• (oni/one) marzną – they are freezing

Dzieci is grammatically plural, so the verb takes the plural ending -ą.

Is dzieci singular or plural, and what is its basic form?

Dzieci is plural. The basic singular noun is:

• dziecko – a child
• dzieci – children

So you must use plural verb forms:

• Dzieci marzną – The children are freezing
  not
• ✗ Dzieci marznie (wrong: singular verb with plural noun)

What case is na boisku, and why is it in that case?

Boisku is in the locative case.

The preposition na takes:

• locative when it means location / where?
  
  • na boisku – on the pitch / at the field
• accusative when it means movement / where to?
  
  • na boisko – onto the pitch / to the field

In the sentence, the children are already there, so it’s na boisku (locative, static location).

Why is it na boisku and not w boisku?

Both na and w can translate as “on/in/at”, but:

• na is used for open, flat surfaces or areas:

  • na boisku – on the sports field
  • na stadionie – at the stadium
  • na plaży – on the beach

• w is used for enclosed spaces / inside something:

  • w domu – in the house
  • w pokoju – in the room

A sports pitch is conceptualized as an open area, so Polish uses na boisku.

What does więc mean, and how is it used here?

Więc means “so / therefore” and introduces a result or consequence.

• Dzieci marzną na boisku, więc wracamy do domu.
  → The children are freezing on the pitch, so we’re going home.

It connects two clauses:

• cause/situation: children are freezing
• result/decision: we are going home

Why is there a comma before więc?

In Polish, you normally put a comma before conjunctions like więc, bo, ale, dlatego że when they join two clauses.

So:

• Dzieci marzną na boisku, więc wracamy do domu. ✔

Both parts have their own verbs (marzną, wracamy), so they are separate clauses and must be separated by a comma.

What is the infinitive of wracamy, and what aspect does it have?

• Infinitive: wracać – to return / to go back (imperfective)

Perfective partner:

• wrócić – to come back / to return (single, completed act)

In the sentence:

• wracamy do domu – we are going back home (focus on the ongoing action / general decision)

If you used perfective in the future:

• wrócimy do domu – we will come back home (one finished act in the future).

Why is wracamy used for “we are going back”, even though it looks like a simple present tense?

Polish doesn’t have a separate present continuous form. The present tense of an imperfective verb (like wracać) can mean:

• we go back (generally)
• we are going back (right now)

Here, context (children are freezing now) makes it clear that wracamy = “we are going back (now).”

Why don’t we say my wracamy instead of just wracamy?

You can say My wracamy do domu, but it’s usually unnecessary.

Polish verb endings clearly show the person and number:

• wracamy already means “we are going back”.

Subject pronouns (ja, ty, my, wy) are often dropped unless you want to:

• emphasize the subject (e.g. We, not they, are going)
• avoid ambiguity.

Why is it do domu and not do dom or something else?

The preposition do (“to, into, towards”) always requires the genitive case.

• base form (nominative): dom – house, home
• genitive singular: domu

So after do you must say do domu:

• Wracamy do domu – We’re going home. ✔
• ✗ Wracamy do dom – incorrect case ending.

Can I change the word order, for example: Na boisku dzieci marzną, więc wracamy do domu?

Yes, that’s correct and natural. Polish word order is relatively flexible, so you can say:

• Dzieci marzną na boisku, więc wracamy do domu.
• Na boisku dzieci marzną, więc wracamy do domu.

The meaning is the same; the second version slightly emphasizes na boisku (“on the pitch”). The original order is more neutral.

How is rz in marzną pronounced, and what about the ą at the end?

• rz is pronounced like the “zh” sound in English “vision” or French “je”.
• ą is a nasal vowel. Before z/n it’s usually pronounced like “on” / “om” in French bon or nom.

So marzną is roughly like:

• [MAR-znon] / [MAR-znohng] (approximate for English speakers)

The w after ą is not written, but you may hear a slight “w” glide because of the nasalization.