Learn Hardcore Polish: W weekend planujemy wykorzystać każdy wolny moment na odpoczynek na tarasie. - At the weekend we plan to use every free moment to rest on the terrace.

So weekend behaves like a day name here and stays in the accusative, which for masculine inanimate nouns is the same form as the nominative (weekend).

w weekendzie sounds odd or non‑standard to most speakers.
w weekendy means on weekends / at weekends (habitual, plural), not this coming weekend.

So:

W weekend planujemy… – This coming weekend we plan…
W weekendy planujemy… – On weekends we (generally) plan…

Is planujemy present or future here? How do Poles express future plans?

Planujemy is present tense, 1st person plural (we plan / we are planning).

However, in Polish the present tense is very often used to talk about future arrangements and scheduled plans, especially with verbs like:

planujemy – we plan
zamierzamy – we intend
lecimy jutro – we’re flying tomorrow

So W weekend planujemy… literally is We are planning for the weekend…, but it naturally means We plan to do this at the weekend / We’re going to do this at the weekend.

Why is it planujemy wykorzystać and not planujemy wykorzystujemy?

In Polish, verbs like planować, chcieć, lubić, musieć are typically followed by an infinitive, not a conjugated verb:

planujemy wykorzystać – we plan to use
chcemy odpocząć – we want to rest
muszę iść – I have to go

So the pattern is:

[conjugated verb] + [infinitive]
planujemy + wykorzystać

Using planujemy wykorzystujemy would be ungrammatical in this context; you don’t put two finite (conjugated) verbs together like that here.

Why is the verb wykorzystać (perfective) used instead of wykorzystywać (imperfective)?

Wykorzystać is perfective – it focuses on completion and result.
Wykorzystywać is imperfective – it focuses on process or repeated/habitual action.

Here, they are talking about one specific upcoming weekend and the idea of using up every free moment completely. That’s a perfective, “completed action” perspective:

planujemy wykorzystać każdy wolny moment
– we plan to use up every free moment (none will be wasted)

If you said:

planujemy wykorzystywać każdy wolny moment

it would sound more like a general habit or long‑term policy: “we (in general) plan to make use of every free moment (whenever we have one).”

What case is każdy wolny moment, and how do the words agree?

Każdy wolny moment is in the accusative singular, functioning as the direct object of wykorzystać.

moment – masculine inanimate noun
Accusative singular of masculine inanimate = same form as nominative: moment
każdy and wolny must agree with moment in gender, number, and case:
- masculine, singular, accusative → każdy, wolny, moment

So grammatically it’s:
każdy (masc sg acc) + wolny (masc sg acc) + moment (masc sg acc).

Could we say każdą wolną chwilę instead of każdy wolny moment? Is there a nuance difference?

Yes, both are correct, but the tone is slightly different.

każdy wolny moment – literally every free moment
każdą wolną chwilę – literally every free (little) while / every free moment

Chwila often feels a bit more colloquial and idiomatic in this phrase:

W weekend planujemy wykorzystać każdą wolną chwilę na odpoczynek…
feels very natural in everyday speech.

Moment is perfectly correct and maybe a touch more neutral or “bookish,” but both versions sound fine and mean almost the same thing.

Why is the preposition na used in na odpoczynek, and why is odpoczynek in the accusative?

Here na + accusative expresses purpose / intended use:

pieniądze na jedzenie – money for food
idę na spacer – I’m going for a walk
czas na naukę – time for studying

So:

wykorzystać każdy wolny moment na odpoczynek
= use every free moment for rest

Odpoczynek is a masculine noun in the accusative singular, because na + accusative is triggered by the “for/purpose” meaning.

Compare:

na odpoczynek – for rest (purpose)
na obiad – for lunch
na urlop – for vacation

Why na odpoczynek (a noun) instead of something with a verb, like żeby odpocząć?

Both are correct; they’re just two different but common ways to express purpose:

Noun phrase with na
- na odpoczynek – for rest
  This treats “rest” as a thing / activity you allocate time for.
Clause with żeby
- infinitive
- żeby odpocząć – (in order) to rest
  This focuses on the action more directly.

You could say:

W weekend planujemy wykorzystać każdy wolny moment, żeby odpocząć na tarasie.

This sounds slightly more conversational and explicit (“in order to rest”), but the meaning is almost the same as with na odpoczynek.

Why is it na tarasie and not na taras or w tarasie? What case is tarasie?

Tarasie is the locative singular of taras (terrace):

nominative: taras
locative: tarasie

With na:

na + locative → location: on / at something
- na tarasie – on the terrace (static location)
- na stole – on the table
- na dworcu – at the station
na + accusative → direction or purpose: onto / to / for
- na taras – (going) onto the terrace
- na plażę – to the beach
- na obiad – for lunch

In your sentence, the resting is taking place on the terrace (no movement), so we use na tarasie (locative = static location), not na taras (movement onto).

W tarasie would be “in the terrace,” which doesn’t make sense spatially.

Why does na take different cases in na odpoczynek and na tarasie?

The preposition na can govern two different cases, with two different core meanings:

na + accusative → direction or purpose
- na taras – onto the terrace (direction)
- na odpoczynek – for rest (purpose)
- iść na spacer – go for a walk
na + locative → location
- na tarasie – on the terrace
- na stole – on the table
- na plaży – on the beach

So in the sentence:

na odpoczynek (accusative) = purpose: “for rest”
na tarasie (locative) = location: “on the terrace”

How flexible is the word order in this sentence? What other versions would sound natural?

Polish word order is quite flexible, especially once the context is clear. Your original:

W weekend planujemy wykorzystać każdy wolny moment na odpoczynek na tarasie.

Other natural variants (with slightly different emphasis) could be:

W weekend planujemy na tarasie wykorzystać każdy wolny moment na odpoczynek.
– more emphasis on on the terrace.
Planujemy w weekend wykorzystać każdy wolny moment na odpoczynek na tarasie.
– starts with we plan, then adds when and how.
W weekend każdy wolny moment planujemy wykorzystać na odpoczynek na tarasie.
– stronger focus on every free moment.

What usually stays together as a block is:

wykorzystać każdy wolny moment (na coś) – “use every free moment (for something)”

Breaking that group in strange places, or separating na odpoczynek far from wykorzystać, can start to feel unnatural or confusing.