Learn Hardcore Polish: W lipcu chodzimy boso po trawie i patrzymy na górski krajobraz. - In July we walk barefoot on the grass and look at the mountain landscape.

iść (idę, idziesz...) – going on foot in one direction right now
chodzić (chodzę, chodzisz...) – going on foot in general / habitually / repeatedly

In „W lipcu chodzimy boso po trawie…”, the idea is habitual:
In July we (usually) walk barefoot on the grass…

If you said:

„W lipcu idziemy boso po trawie” – it would sound like This July, we are (now) going barefoot on the grass (one specific occasion / single movement), not a general habit.

Why is the present tense „chodzimy / patrzymy” used if this seems like a repeated, habitual action (like English “we walk / we watch”)?

Polish present tense regularly covers:

present continuous: we are walking
present simple / habitual: we walk (as a habit)

There’s no tense change like in English. Context (here: „W lipcu”) makes it clear that we’re talking about a habit every July. So:

„chodzimy boso po trawie” = we walk barefoot on the grass (habitually / generally)
„patrzymy na górski krajobraz” = we look at / we watch the mountain landscape (as something we do then)

Where is the subject “we”? Why is there no „my”?

Polish very often drops subject pronouns (ja, ty, my, wy, on, ona, etc.) because the verb ending already shows the person:

chodzimy, patrzymy → 1st person plural → my (we)

So:

„W lipcu chodzimy boso…”
literally: In July we-walk barefoot…

You only add my if you want to emphasize it:

„To my w lipcu chodzimy boso po trawie.”
It’s us who walk barefoot on the grass in July.

What exactly is „boso”? Why not a form that looks like an adjective?

„Boso” is an adverb meaning “barefoot” (literally “barefootedly” if that existed in English).

Compare:

bosy (adj., masc. sg.) – barefoot (man)
bosa (adj., fem. sg.) – barefoot (woman)
boso (adverb) – barefoot, describing how we walk

In „chodzimy boso”, we describe the manner of walking (how we walk), so an adverb is appropriate.

You can say:

„chodzimy boso po trawie” – we walk barefoot on the grass
„chodzimy bosymi stopami po trawie” – we walk with bare feet on the grass

The second is longer and more explicit; „boso” is the natural, short way.

Why is it „po trawie” and not „po trawa” or „po trawę”?

The preposition „po” usually takes the locative case when it means on / over (a surface), around / across:

po + locative → movement or location on / along something

So:

trawa (nominative) → trawie (locative)
„po trawie” = on the grass / across the grass

Other examples:

po ulicy – in/along the street
po plaży – on the beach
po stole – on the table (surface)

„po trawa / po trawę” would be wrong here.

Could this sentence also mean “we are walking on the grass right now,” or is it only “we (generally) walk in July”?

The default reading with „W lipcu chodzimy…” is habitual:
In July, we (tend to) walk barefoot on the grass…

If you strongly stress this particular July and use context like „w tym lipcu” (this July), it might be interpreted as describing what is happening this season, but still as something repeated, not a single walk.

For one specific action right now, you’d more likely say:

„Teraz idziemy boso po trawie i patrzymy na górski krajobraz.”
Now we are going barefoot on the grass and looking at the mountain landscape.

Why is it „górski krajobraz” and not „górskie krajobraz” or something else?

The noun:

krajobraz – landscape
- masculine, singular: ten krajobraz

The adjective „górski” (mountain / mountainous) has to agree with the noun in:

gender (masculine)
number (singular)
case (accusative here, because of „patrzymy na…”)

For a masculine inanimate noun like krajobraz:

nominative: górski krajobraz
accusative: górski krajobraz (same form)

So „górski krajobraz” is the correct agreement.
„górskie krajobraz” is incorrect because górskie is a neuter/plural form that doesn’t match krajobraz.

Can I change the word order to „W lipcu boso chodzimy po trawie…” or „W lipcu patrzymy na krajobraz górski”?

Yes. Polish has fairly flexible word order, especially for adjectives and adverbs.

Adverb position
- „W lipcu chodzimy boso po trawie…”
- „W lipcu boso chodzimy po trawie…”
Both are correct. „Boso chodzimy” slightly emphasizes being barefoot more, but the difference is subtle in everyday speech.
Adjective position
- „górski krajobraz” (adjective before noun – neutral, most common)
- „krajobraz górski” (adjective after noun – can sound a bit more descriptive or poetic here)

So:

„…patrzymy na górski krajobraz.”
„…patrzymy na krajobraz górski.”

Both are grammatical. The first sounds more neutral and typical.

Why is the adjective „górski” not in any special case after „na”? Isn’t „na” followed by different cases?

The preposition „na” can take:

locative → location (where?)
- na stole – on the table
- na plaży – on the beach
accusative → direction (where to?) / or an object of perception
- na stół – onto the table
- patrzeć na coś – to look at something

In this sentence, we have the verb „patrzymy na…”.
This verb always uses:

„patrzeć na + accusative” = to look at (something)

So:

na krajobraz (accusative) → górski krajobraz (adjective matches accusative masculine inanimate, which looks like nominative)

Could the sentence also be „W lipcu chodzimy po trawie boso”? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, „W lipcu chodzimy po trawie boso” is also correct.

All of these are grammatical:

W lipcu chodzimy boso po trawie…
W lipcu boso chodzimy po trawie…
W lipcu chodzimy po trawie boso…

The meaning is the same: we walk barefoot on the grass.
Polish allows adverbs like „boso” to move around in the sentence; the differences are very small and mostly about rhythm or slight emphasis, not about core meaning.

How would the meaning change if I used „i oglądamy górski krajobraz” instead of „i patrzymy na górski krajobraz”?

patrzeć na – to look at (neutral: using your eyes, directing your gaze)
oglądać – to watch / to look at something more attentively or as a whole

So:

„…patrzymy na górski krajobraz”
– we are looking at the mountain landscape (just directing our eyes there)
„…oglądamy górski krajobraz”
– we are viewing / admiring the mountain landscape (implies more active, maybe longer, observation)

Both are natural; „patrzeć na” is a bit more neutral; „oglądać” can sound like taking in the view more intentionally.

Is there any special reason the sentence starts with „W lipcu”? Could it go at the end?

Yes, you can move „w lipcu”:

„W lipcu chodzimy boso po trawie i patrzymy na górski krajobraz.”
„Chodzimy boso po trawie i patrzymy na górski krajobraz w lipcu.”

Both are grammatical. Starting with „W lipcu”:

sets the time frame first (In July, …)
is very natural in Polish for giving time → action

Putting „w lipcu” at the end is possible but feels less neutral and sometimes slightly more marked or contrastive in emphasis. In everyday speech/writing, the original order is more typical.