On zakłada wygodne spodnie, kiedy wraca z pracy do domu.

He puts on comfortable trousers when he comes home from work.

Breakdown of On zakłada wygodne spodnie, kiedy wraca z pracy do domu.

• on: he
• dom: the house
• do: to
• wracać: to return
• kiedy: when
• wygodny: comfortable
• praca: the work
• z: from
• zakładać: to put on
• spodnie: the trousers

Questions & Answers about On zakłada wygodne spodnie, kiedy wraca z pracy do domu.

Why does the sentence start with On? Can you leave On out?

Polish is a “pro‑drop” language: subject pronouns like on (he), ona (she), oni (they) are often omitted because the verb ending already shows the person.

• On zakłada wygodne spodnie… = He puts on comfortable trousers…
• Zakłada wygodne spodnie… = He puts on comfortable trousers… (subject understood from context)

You typically include On:

• when you introduce a person for the first time;
• when you want to emphasize he as opposed to someone else.

In many natural contexts, people would just say:

• Zakłada wygodne spodnie, kiedy wraca z pracy do domu.

What exactly does zakłada mean? How is it different from other “clothes verbs” like ubiera or nosi?

Zakładać (imperfective) / założyć (perfective) means “to put on (clothes, shoes, etc.)” – the action of starting to wear them.

• On zakłada spodnie. = He is putting on / he puts on trousers.

Compare with other verbs:

• ubierać (się) / ubrać (się)

  • Ubierać się = to get dressed (in general).
    
    • On się ubiera. = He is getting dressed.
  • With a direct object (ubiera spodnie) many speakers use it, but grammar sticklers prefer:
    • On zakłada spodnie. (puts on trousers)
    • On ubiera się w spodnie. (dresses himself in trousers)

• nosić (imperfective) = “to wear regularly / to have on”, not the act of putting them on.

  • On nosi wygodne spodnie. = He wears comfortable trousers (as a habit).

So in the sentence, zakłada focuses on the moment of changing clothes, not on generally wearing them.

Why is it wygodne spodnie and not something like wygodny spodnie or wygodna spodnie?

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

• spodnie is grammatically plural, and specifically non‑masculine personal plural (used for objects, animals, women, mixed groups without emphasis on men, etc.).

The nominative/accusative plural form of adjectives for non‑masculine personal nouns ends in ‑e:

• wygodne spodnie – comfortable trousers
• nowe buty – new shoes
• drogie ubrania – expensive clothes

Some forms side by side:

• singular:
  • wygodny sweter (masc.)
  • wygodna kurtka (fem.)
  • wygodne łóżko (neuter)
• plural:
  • wygodni koledzy (masc. personal)
  • wygodne spodnie / buty / krzesła (non‑masc. personal)

So wygodne spodnie is the correct agreement pattern.

Why is spodnie plural? Is there a singular form like “one trouser” in Polish?

Spodnie (trousers / pants) is a plural‑only noun – in grammar terms, pluralia tantum. Polish treats it similarly to English “pants” or “scissors”:

• Te spodnie są wygodne. = These trousers are comfortable.
  (verb and adjective also in plural)

There is no normal singular form meaning “one pair of trousers.” If you really have to talk about parts, you might say:

• jedna nogawka – one pant leg
• para spodni – a pair of trousers

But in everyday speech you just use spodnie in the plural, even for one pair.

Why is there a comma before kiedy? In English we usually don’t put a comma before “when” in a similar sentence.

Polish comma rules are stricter than English ones.

You must put a comma before conjunctions that introduce a subordinate clause, such as:

• kiedy (when)
• gdy (when/while)
• bo (because)
• że (that)
• chociaż (although)

So we get:

• On zakłada wygodne spodnie, kiedy wraca z pracy do domu.

Even if the kiedy‑clause comes first, you still separate the clauses with a comma:

• Kiedy wraca z pracy do domu, on zakłada wygodne spodnie.

In this respect, Polish does not mirror English punctuation.

Can I change the word order? For example, can I say Kiedy wraca z pracy do domu, zakłada on wygodne spodnie?

Yes. Polish word order is relatively flexible, and your example is grammatically correct, though slightly more formal or emphatic.

Possible variants (all correct):

• On zakłada wygodne spodnie, kiedy wraca z pracy do domu. (neutral)
• Zakłada wygodne spodnie, kiedy wraca z pracy do domu. (no pronoun, very natural)
• Kiedy wraca z pracy do domu, on zakłada wygodne spodnie. (emphasis on the time clause)
• Kiedy wraca z pracy do domu, zakłada wygodne spodnie.
• On, kiedy wraca z pracy do domu, zakłada wygodne spodnie. (stronger emphasis on he)

Changing word order usually changes emphasis or style, not core meaning. In simple sentences, the default is similar to English: Subject – Verb – Object – (other info).

What tense is zakłada and wraca? It looks like present tense, but in English we might translate it as a habit (“He puts on…”).

Both zakłada and wraca are present‑tense, 3rd person singular forms of imperfective verbs:

• (on) zakłada – he puts on / is putting on
• (on) wraca – he returns / is returning

In Polish, the present tense of imperfective verbs covers:

1. Current, ongoing action
   
   • On teraz wraca z pracy. – He is coming back from work now.
2. Regular, habitual action (like English present simple)
   
   • On wraca z pracy o piątej. – He comes back from work at five.

In your sentence the context (“when he comes back from work to home”) suggests a habitual interpretation:

• He puts on comfortable trousers when he comes back home from work.

Why do we use wraca, not wróci? And zakłada, not założy?

This is about aspect – a key feature of Polish verbs.

Each pair:

• wracać (imperfective) / wrócić (perfective)
• zakładać (imperfective) / założyć (perfective)

Imperfective (wraca, zakłada) is used for:

• ongoing processes
• repeated / habitual actions
• general statements

Perfective (wróci, założy) is used for:

• a single, completed action
• often with future meaning in the present form

Compare:

• On zakłada wygodne spodnie, kiedy wraca z pracy do domu.
  = He (usually / whenever he) comes back from work, he puts on comfortable trousers. (habit)

• On założy wygodne spodnie, kiedy wróci z pracy do domu.
  = He will put on comfortable trousers when he gets back from work (on that one occasion).

For general habits and routines, Polish prefers the imperfective forms zakłada and wraca.

Why is it z pracy and not z praca or z pracę?

The preposition z (from) usually takes the genitive case when it means “from (inside / from within)” a place or situation.

• praca (work) – nominative
• pracy – genitive

So:

• z pracy = from work (correct; genitive)
• z praca – wrong (nominative after z)
• z pracę – wrong (accusative after z in this meaning)

Other examples with z + genitive:

• z domu – from home
• z kuchni – from the kitchen
• z lasu – from the forest

So wraca z pracy literally = he returns from work.

Why is it do domu? What case is that, and how does dom change?

The preposition do (to, into, towards) normally takes the genitive case when it expresses movement towards something.

• dom – house / home (nominative)
• domu – genitive

So:

• do domu = to (the) house / home

Compare:

• w domu – in the house / at home (w
  • locative)
• z domu – from the house / from home (z
  • genitive)
• przed domem – in front of the house (przed
  • instrumental here)

In your sentence, wraca z pracy do domu expresses movement from one place (z pracy) to another (do domu).

How do we know the trousers are his trousers? Why isn’t there a word like “his” (jego) in the sentence?

Polish often omits possessive pronouns (mój, twój, jego, jej, nasz, ich) when the owner is obvious from context, especially with:

• body parts
• family members
• personal belongings and clothes already associated with the subject

So:

• On zakłada wygodne spodnie…
  is naturally understood as: He puts on *his comfortable trousers…*

You could say:

• On zakłada swoje wygodne spodnie.

This adds a bit of emphasis that they are his own, as opposed to, for example, borrowed ones. But in most neutral contexts, swoje / jego here is unnecessary and sounds heavier.

Could we use gdy or jak instead of kiedy? Do they mean the same thing?

All three can introduce a time clause, but they differ in style and usage:

• kiedy – the most neutral and common:

  • On zakłada wygodne spodnie, kiedy wraca z pracy do domu.

• gdy – close in meaning to kiedy, but a bit more formal/literary in many contexts:

  • On zakłada wygodne spodnie, gdy wraca z pracy do domu.

• jak – in many dialects and informal speech, jak is also used to mean “when”. It’s more colloquial/regionally marked:

  • On zakłada wygodne spodnie, jak wraca z pracy do domu.
    (natural in speech in some regions, less standard in writing)

For standard, neutral Polish, kiedy (or gdy) is safest in this kind of sentence.

Can we change the order of z pracy and do domu? For example, wraca do domu z pracy?

Yes, both orders are correct:

• wraca z pracy do domu
• wraca do domu z pracy

The meaning is the same: he returns home from work.

Subtle difference in feel:

• z pracy do domu – slightly more “from A to B” in that order.
• do domu z pracy – emphasizes going home, with z pracy as extra information.

Both are completely natural; Polish freely moves such prepositional phrases around for rhythm or emphasis.