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Nauczyciel poprawia każdy błąd w zeszycie.

Nauczyciel poprawia każdy błąd w zeszycie.
The teacher corrects every mistake in the notebook.
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Questions & Answers about Nauczyciel poprawia każdy błąd w zeszycie.

Why is it każdy błąd, not każda błąd or każde błąd?

In Polish, adjectives and determiners must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

  • błąd (mistake) is:
    • masculine
    • singular
    • here in the accusative case (direct object)

każdy is the masculine singular form of każdy / każda / każde (every/each):

  • masculine: każdy (used with masculine nouns like błąd, stół, dom)
  • feminine: każda (with książka, lekcja, etc.)
  • neuter: każde (with okno, pytanie, etc.)

So you say:

  • każdy błąd – every mistake
  • każda książka – every book
  • każde zadanie – every task
Why is it błąd and not błędu or błęd here?

Błąd is the direct object of the verb poprawia (corrects), so it is in the accusative singular.

For this noun:

  • Nominative (dictionary form): błąd – a mistake
  • Accusative (direct object): błąd – (he corrects) a mistake
  • Genitive: błędu – of a mistake

Masculine inanimate nouns like błąd, stół, dom have the same form in nominative and accusative:

  • Widzę stół. – I see the table.
  • Widzę błąd. – I see the mistake.

So błąd is correct as the object after poprawia.

Why is Nauczyciel capitalized? Is that always the rule?

In the example, Nauczyciel is capitalized because it starts the sentence. Generally:

  • At the beginning of a sentence: the first word is capitalized.
  • Otherwise: nauczyciel is not capitalized; it’s a common noun (like teacher in English).

You only capitalize it mid‑sentence if it’s part of a title or name, e.g.:

  • Spotkałem się z Nauczycielem Roku. – I met the Teacher of the Year.
Why don’t we need a word for “the” or “a”? How do we know if it’s “the teacher” or “a teacher”?

Polish has no articles (no direct equivalents of a / an / the). Context tells you whether it’s:

  • a teacher (some teacher)
  • the teacher (a specific one)

Nauczyciel poprawia każdy błąd w zeszycie.

Depending on the context, it can be translated as:

  • A teacher corrects every mistake in the notebook.
  • The teacher corrects every mistake in the notebook.

In many neutral contexts, English prefers the teacher here, but Polish itself doesn’t mark that difference; it’s inferred from the situation.

Why is the verb poprawia and not poprawić?

Poprawia is the present tense, imperfective aspect of poprawiać (to correct, to be correcting habitually or in progress).

Aspect pair:

  • poprawiać – imperfective (ongoing / habitual)
  • poprawić – perfective (completed single action)

In the sentence:

  • Nauczyciel poprawia każdy błąd w zeszycie.

this usually describes a habitual action (what the teacher usually/typically does), or an action in progress (what the teacher is doing right now):

  • He corrects / is correcting every mistake.

If you used the perfective poprawić, you’d say in past or future:

  • Nauczyciel poprawi każdy błąd w zeszycie. – The teacher will correct every mistake in the notebook.
  • Nauczyciel poprawił każdy błąd w zeszycie. – The teacher (has) corrected every mistake.
What’s the difference between poprawia and naprawia? Both seem to mean “correct/fix”.

They’re related but used differently:

  • poprawiać (here: poprawia) – to correct something that is wrong in terms of content, form, language, accuracy:

    • poprawiać błędy – correct mistakes (in writing, speech)
    • poprawiać wypracowanie – correct an essay

  • naprawiać – to repair physical objects or systems, or sometimes situations:

    • naprawiać samochód – repair a car
    • naprawiać kran – fix a tap
    • naprawiać szkody – repair damage

For mistakes in a notebook, the natural verb is poprawia.

Why is it w zeszycie (with -e at the end), not just w zeszyt?

Because w (in) requires the locative case when it answers “where?” (in what? where?).

  • Base form (nominative): zeszyt – notebook
  • Locative singular: w zeszycie – in the notebook

So:

  • Gdzie? – Where?
    • w zeszycie – in the notebook
    • w domu – at home
    • w klasie – in the classroom

Using w zeszyt would be ungrammatical in this context.

What is the difference between w zeszycie and do zeszytu?

Both are common with zeszyt, but they mean different things:

  • w zeszycie – in the notebook
    Describes location:

    • Nauczyciel poprawia każdy błąd w zeszycie.
      The teacher corrects every mistake in the notebook.

  • do zeszytu – into the notebook
    Describes direction / target of writing:

    • Zapisz to do zeszytu. – Write it in your notebook. (literally: into the notebook)
    • Przepisz notatki do zeszytu. – Copy the notes into the notebook.

In your sentence we describe where the mistakes are, so w zeszycie (in the notebook) is correct.

Could I say Nauczyciel poprawia wszystkie błędy w zeszycie instead of każdy błąd? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can, and both are grammatical, but there’s a nuance:

  • każdy błąd – every mistake, each individual mistake
    Focus on individual items, one by one.
  • wszystkie błędy – all the mistakes
    Focus on the whole group as a set.

In many contexts they overlap:

  • Nauczyciel poprawia każdy błąd w zeszycie.
  • Nauczyciel poprawia wszystkie błędy w zeszycie.

Both suggest the teacher doesn’t leave any mistakes uncorrected. Każdy błąd feels a bit more “one by one, without exception.”

Why is the word order Nauczyciel poprawia każdy błąd w zeszycie and not, for example, Nauczyciel każdy błąd poprawia w zeszycie?

Polish word order is flexible, but the default neutral order is:

Subject – Verb – (Objects / Adverbials)

So:

  • Nauczyciel (subject)
  • poprawia (verb)
  • każdy błąd (direct object)
  • w zeszycie (adverbial phrase of place)

→ Nauczyciel poprawia każdy błąd w zeszycie. – a neutral, natural sentence.

Other orders (like Nauczyciel każdy błąd poprawia w zeszycie) are possible but often add emphasis or sound more stylistically marked. For a basic textbook example, the neutral S–V–O–(where) order is used.

How do I say this in the past tense and the future tense?

Imperfective verb poprawiać in 3rd person singular:

  • Present:

    • On/ona poprawia – he/she corrects, is correcting

  • Past:

    • On poprawiał – he was correcting / used to correct
    • Ona poprawiała – she was correcting / used to correct

  • Future (imperfective, “will be correcting / will correct habitually”):

    • On będzie poprawiał
    • Ona będzie poprawiała

Perfective poprawić for a single completed event:

  • Future (perfective, “will correct (once, completely)”):
    • On poprawi
    • Ona poprawi

Examples:

  • Nauczyciel poprawiał każdy błąd w zeszycie. – The teacher was correcting / used to correct every mistake.
  • Nauczyciel poprawi każdy błąd w zeszycie. – The teacher will correct every mistake (and finish).
How would this sentence change if I wanted to say “Teachers correct every mistake in the notebook”?

You need a plural subject and usually a plural verb:

  • Nauczyciele poprawiają każdy błąd w zeszycie.

Breakdown:

  • nauczyciele – teachers (nominative plural)
  • poprawiają – they correct (3rd person plural, imperfective)
  • każdy błąd – every mistake (still singular because “every” is inherently singular)
  • w zeszycie – in the notebook

If you mean each student’s own notebook generically, the Polish sentence stays the same; context handles that part, just like in English.

Is nauczyciel always masculine? How do I refer to a female teacher?

Traditionally:

  • nauczyciel – male teacher (or grammatically masculine role)
  • nauczycielka – female teacher

The verb form for 3rd person singular present is the same:

  • Nauczyciel poprawia każdy błąd w zeszycie. – The (male) teacher corrects every mistake…
  • Nauczycielka poprawia każdy błąd w zeszycie. – The (female) teacher corrects every mistake…

In many texts, nauczyciel can also be used generically, but if you specifically mean a woman, nauczycielka is more precise.

Why is każdy błąd in the same form here as in “Każdy błąd boli”? Isn’t the case different?

Good observation: in Polish, some forms look the same in different cases.

  • Każdy błąd boli. – Every mistake hurts.

    • każdy błąd is nominative (subject).

  • Nauczyciel poprawia każdy błąd. – The teacher corrects every mistake.

    • każdy błąd is accusative (object).

For masculine inanimate nouns like błąd, stół, dom, nominative and accusative have identical forms:

  • Nom. sing.: błąd
  • Acc. sing.: błąd

The agreement pattern (with każdy) also gives the same surface forms in nominative and accusative masculine singular.

Could I say w swoim zeszycie instead of w zeszycie? What would that change?

Yes:

  • Nauczyciel poprawia każdy błąd w swoim zeszycie.

This means:

  • The teacher corrects every mistake in his own notebook.

The reflexive possessive swój/swoja/swoje/swoje... refers back to the subject of the sentence (here: nauczyciel).

Difference:

  • w zeszycie – in the notebook (context decides whose: often the student’s)
  • w swoim zeszycie – specifically in the teacher’s own notebook

In the original school context, w zeszycie usually means “in the (student’s) exercise book,” so swój would change the meaning.

How do you pronounce błąd and what’s going on with that ą?

Błąd is pronounced roughly like:

  • [bwont] (with a nasalized vowel)

Details:

  • bł – close to English bl, but with lips rounded because of the following ą.
  • ą – a nasal vowel, here pronounced similar to on in French “bon” or like o plus a nasal n.
  • d – final d is often slightly devoiced, so it can sound a bit like t.

So a good approximation for learners is bwont (with a short nasal vowel), not bwand.

Could I also say Nauczyciel w zeszycie poprawia każdy błąd? Does that sound natural?

Yes, this is grammatically correct:

  • Nauczyciel w zeszycie poprawia każdy błąd.

By putting w zeszycie earlier, you slightly highlight where the corrections happen. It can sound like you’re contrasting it with some other place (e.g., on the board versus in the notebook), depending on context.

Neutral, textbook-style order is still:

  • Nauczyciel poprawia każdy błąd w zeszycie.

but moving w zeszycie is acceptable and used in real speech and writing.

What is zeszyt exactly? Is it “notebook”, “exercise book”, or “copybook”?

Zeszyt is the standard word for a paper notebook used at school—usually lined or squared pages where students write notes or do exercises.

Common translations:

  • notebook
  • exercise book
  • copybook

In a school context, “exercise book” is often the most precise, but in everyday English people usually just say “notebook.” The Polish word zeszyt does not mean a laptop; for that you’d say laptop or notebook (as an English loanword in specific tech contexts).