Learn Hardcore Polish: Chcę poprawić mój plan na jutro. - I want to improve my plan for tomorrow.

Even though it's present tense, with an infinitive like poprawić it very often refers to the (near) future intention, just like in English: I want to improve… (usually something you will do later).

Why is there no word for “to” before poprawić, like in English “to improve”?

In Polish, the infinitive itself carries the meaning of English “to + verb”.

English: to improve
Polish infinitive: poprawić

So chcę poprawić literally is I want improve, but because poprawić is an infinitive, it already means to improve, so Polish does not need a separate word for to here.

What is the difference between poprawić and poprawiać?

They are two aspects of the same verb:

poprawić – perfective
- one-time, completed improvement
- focus on the result: to improve (so that it’s done) / to correct
poprawiać – imperfective
- ongoing, repeated, or habitual action
- focus on the process: to be improving, to keep improving

In this sentence, chcę poprawić suggests you want to make a concrete improvement and get it done (e.g. adjust the plan once so it’s better).
Chcę poprawiać mój plan na jutro would sound strange: it would mean something like I want to be in the habit of improving my plan for tomorrow (as a general activity).

Does poprawić mean “improve” or “correct / fix”?

Poprawić can mean both, depending on context:

correct / fix:
- Poprawić błędy – to correct mistakes
- Poprawić literówkę – to fix a typo
improve / make better:
- Poprawić wyniki – to improve results
- Poprawić nastrój – to improve (someone’s) mood

For plan, both shades overlap: you can be fixing mistakes in it and making it generally better. The exact nuance depends on context, but poprawić plan is very natural.

Do I really need mój here, or can I say Chcę poprawić plan na jutro?

You can absolutely say:

Chcę poprawić plan na jutro.

In Polish, when it’s obvious the object belongs to the subject, the possessive (like mój) is often omitted. Without mój, native speakers will still normally assume it’s your plan, unless the context suggests otherwise.

Including mój adds a bit of emphasis that it’s my plan specifically:

Chcę poprawić mój plan na jutro. – I want to improve my plan for tomorrow (not someone else’s).

Both versions are correct; the one without mój is slightly more neutral and often more natural in everyday speech.

Should it be mój or swój – which is more natural?

Because the subject (I) and the owner of the plan are the same person, standard Polish actually prefers the reflexive possessive swój:

Chcę poprawić swój plan na jutro.

Rules in brief:

Use swój / swoją / swoje / swojego… when the possessor is the subject of the sentence.
Use mój / twój / jego / jej etc. when the possessor is someone else or you want a contrast.

Examples:

Chcę poprawić swój plan. – I want to improve my own plan.
Chcę poprawić twój plan. – I want to improve your plan.
Chcę poprawić mój plan, a nie twój. – I want to improve my plan, not yours (contrast, so mój is fine).

Your sentence with mój is understandable and not “wrong”, but swój is usually more idiomatic when there’s no contrast intended.

Why doesn’t plan change its form? What case is it in?

Plan is in the accusative case, because it’s the direct object of the verb poprawić (you are improving something).

Who is doing the action? – ja (I) – subject
What is being improved? – plan – direct object → accusative

For masculine inanimate nouns like plan, the nominative (dictionary form) and accusative are usually identical:

Nominative: plan – (Ten) plan jest dobry. – This plan is good.
Accusative: Widzę plan. – I see a plan.
Accusative here: Chcę poprawić (mój) plan.

So the word doesn’t visibly change, but grammatically the role is accusative.

What exactly does na jutro mean here? Why not just jutro?

Na jutro literally means “for tomorrow” and it modifies the plan, not the verb:

plan na jutro – a plan for tomorrow (the content of the plan concerns tomorrow)

If you used just jutro after the verb, it would usually be an adverb of time:

Chcę poprawić mój plan jutro. – I want to improve my plan tomorrow (time when you will improve it).

This is different from:

Chcę poprawić mój plan na jutro. – I want to improve my plan for tomorrow (the plan is about tomorrow; you might improve it now, today, etc.).

So:

na jutro → describes what the plan is about (for which day)
jutro (alone) → usually describes when the action happens (when you improve it)

Can I say jutrzejszy plan instead of plan na jutro?

Yes, both are correct:

Chcę poprawić mój plan na jutro.
Chcę poprawić mój jutrzejszy plan.

Differences:

plan na jutro – very common, neutral, used all the time in speech.
jutrzejszy plan – a bit more compact and slightly more formal or “written style”, but still perfectly natural.

In everyday conversation, plan na jutro is probably the more frequent choice.

Is chcę polite enough, or should I say something softer like “I would like”?

Chcę is straightforward “I want”. It’s neutral, but in some situations it can sound a bit direct, especially in requests.

For a softer, more polite tone (similar to “I would like to…”), Polish often uses the conditional forms:

Chciałbym poprawić mój plan na jutro. – I (male speaker) would like to improve my plan for tomorrow.
Chciałabym poprawić mój plan na jutro. – I (female speaker) would like to improve my plan for tomorrow.

So:

With friends / informal: Chcę poprawić… is fine.
In polite, formal, or service situations: Chciałbym / Chciałabym poprawić… sounds more courteous.

Would this sentence change if a woman says it instead of a man?

In the exact form you gave:

Chcę poprawić mój plan na jutro.

— nothing changes. Chcę is the same for male and female speakers in the present tense.

Gender shows up elsewhere:

Past tense:
- Chciałem poprawić… – said by a man
- Chciałam poprawić… – said by a woman
Polite conditional:
- Chciałbym poprawić… – man
- Chciałabym poprawić… – woman

But for chcę poprawić, the form does not depend on gender.

How flexible is the word order here? Can I move na jutro or other parts around?

Polish word order is quite flexible. All of these are grammatically correct, but slightly different in emphasis:

Chcę poprawić mój plan na jutro. – neutral, very natural.
Chcę poprawić na jutro mój plan. – unusual; sounds a bit clumsy.
Mój plan na jutro chcę poprawić. – puts emphasis on mój plan na jutro (contrastive or stylistic).
Na jutro chcę poprawić mój plan. – emphasizes na jutro, maybe in contrast to na dziś.

The most natural everyday version is the original: Chcę poprawić (swój/mój) plan na jutro. Other orders are used for stylistic or contrastive reasons.

How do I pronounce Chcę poprawić mój plan na jutro naturally?

Some key points:

chcę – [h-tsɛ̃]
- ch is like the ch in German Bach, Scottish loch.
- ę at the end is a nasal vowel; in normal speech it often sounds close to e with a light nasal touch.
poprawić – [pɔ-ˈpra-vit͡ɕ]
- Stress is on the second-to-last syllable: po-PRA-wić.
- Final -ić is like -eech (soft ch), but short.
mój – like English moy (rhymes with boy), but with a clear m and j sound.
plan – basically like English plan (short a, not plaan).
na – like English nah, short.
jutro – JU-tro, stress on JU: JU-tro.
- j is like English y in you: [ju-tro].

Main rhythm (stress always on second-to-last syllable of each word):
chcĘ poPRAwić MÓJ PLAN na JUtro.