Learn Hardcore Polish: On wysyła mi krótki SMS, kiedy spóźnia się na spotkanie. - He sends me a short text message when he is late for a meeting.

Emphasis/contrast:
- On wysyła mi krótki SMS… – He sends me a short text (not someone else).
Clarity in context:
If the previous sentence mentioned several people, adding on can clarify who you’re talking about.

In a neutral, context-free example sentence, you’d probably more often see it without the pronoun:

Wysyła mi krótki SMS, kiedy spóźnia się na spotkanie.

Why is it “mi” and not “mnie”? What’s the difference between these two?

Both mi and mnie mean “to me” / “me” (1st person singular, dative or accusative). The difference is mostly about stress and position, not about meaning.

mi
- Unstressed, “short” form (a clitic).
- Very common in everyday speech.
- Typically appears inside the sentence:
  - On mi wysyła krótki SMS.
  - Wysyła mi krótki SMS.
mnie
- Stressed, “full” form.
- Used when you want to emphasize me:
  - On mnie zawsze powiadamia. – He always informs *me (not others).*
- Also preferred:
  - After prepositions: do mnie, dla mnie, ode mnie
  - At the beginning of a sentence for emphasis:
    Mnie zawsze wysyła SMS, a innym nie.

In your sentence:

On wysyła mi krótki SMS… – completely natural, neutral.
On wysyła mnie krótki SMS… – incorrect (you can’t use mnie here like that).

So: same person, same case, but mi is the normal, unstressed inside-the-sentence form.

Can I change the position of “mi”? For example: “On mi wysyła krótki SMS” or “On wysyła mi krótki SMS”?

Yes, both are possible and common, but they feel slightly different in rhythm and emphasis.

Most typical patterns:

On mi wysyła krótki SMS…
Very natural, quite neutral. Many speakers instinctively put mi right after the subject or at least near the beginning of the verb phrase.
On wysyła mi krótki SMS…
Also correct; mi is now just after the verb. This is fine too.

Less natural:

On wysyła krótki SMS mi…
Grammatically possible but sounds awkward; clitics like mi usually don’t go at the very end.

General rule: the short form mi tends to attach early in the sentence, often after the first stressed element (subject or verb). Both “On mi wysyła…” and “On wysyła mi…” are good; the difference is very subtle and often just stylistic.

Why is it “krótki SMS” and not something like “krótkiego SMS-a”?

The direct object SMS here is masculine inanimate, and it’s in the accusative singular (because it’s what is being sent). For such nouns:

Nominative = Accusative:
- nominative: krótki SMS
- accusative: krótki SMS (same form)

The adjective krótki agrees with the noun in gender, number, and case. For masculine inanimate accusative, the adjective form krótki stays the same as in nominative.

About the “-a” ending:

Some style guides recommend declining the abbreviation:
- (wysyła) krótki SMS-a
In everyday writing and speech, people very often keep SMS indeclinable:
- krótki SMS (as in your sentence)

Both versions are understood; “krótki SMS” is extremely common and perfectly acceptable in informal contexts.

Could I also say “esemes” instead of “SMS”?

Yes. esemes is the phonetic, fully Polish version of SMS. It declines like a regular masculine noun:

nominative: esemes
accusative: esemes

So your sentence could also be:

On wysyła mi krótki esemes, kiedy spóźnia się na spotkanie.

This sounds a bit more casual/colloquial than SMS, but it’s very common in speech.

Why is the clause “kiedy spóźnia się na spotkanie” in the present tense and not future (“kiedy się spóźni”)?

Polish often uses the present tense to talk about repeated / habitual situations, even if in English we might say when he’s late or when he is running late (which can include the future).

On wysyła mi krótki SMS, kiedy spóźnia się na spotkanie.
– He sends me a short text whenever he is late for a meeting (habitually, as a rule).

If you say:

On wyśle mi krótki SMS, kiedy się spóźni na spotkanie.
– He will send me a short text when he is late for the meeting (one specific future situation).

So:

spóźnia się (imperfective, present) → general rule, repeated behavior.
spóźni się (perfective, future) → one completed future event.

Your original sentence describes a habit, so the present tense is exactly right.

What’s the difference between “spóźnia się” and “spóźnia”? Why do we need “się”?

“Spóźniać się” is a reflexive verb and it means “to be late”:

On się spóźnia. – He is late / He is running late.

Without “się”, spóźniać can mean “to delay (something)”, but this non‑reflexive usage is rare and more formal/literary. In everyday language, when talking about a person being late, you must use the reflexive form:

✔ On spóźnia się na spotkanie. – He is late for a meeting.
✖ On spóźnia na spotkanie. – Incorrect if you mean he is late.

So “się” is essential here; it’s part of the normal verb form “to be late”.

Where should “się” go? Can I say “kiedy się spóźnia na spotkanie” instead of “kiedy spóźnia się na spotkanie”?

Yes, both positions are possible:

kiedy spóźnia się na spotkanie
kiedy się spóźnia na spotkanie

In practice:

Many speakers prefer “kiedy się spóźnia…” – this is slightly more typical in everyday speech.
“kiedy spóźnia się…” is also correct; the placement of się can vary and often depends on rhythm and emphasis.

General tendency: się (like mi) is a clitic and usually sits close to the verb, often just before or just after it. Both versions are acceptable and understood as the same thing.

Why is it “na spotkanie” and not “do spotkania”?

The choice of preposition is mostly lexical:

na + accusative is commonly used for events, activities, gatherings:
- na spotkanie – to a meeting
- na koncert – to a concert
- na lekcję – to a lesson
- na imprezę – to a party
do + genitive is used for destinations/places, and for movement into something:
- do sklepu – to the shop
- do domu – home
- do szkoły – to school (as a place, institution)

A meeting is treated as an event, so Polish uses na:

spóźnia się na spotkanie – he is late for the meeting.

“do spotkania” exists, but it means something different, like “until (the) meeting” in some contexts (e.g. do następnego spotkania – until the next meeting).

Could I start the sentence with the “when” clause, like: “Kiedy spóźnia się na spotkanie, on wysyła mi krótki SMS”?

Yes, that’s perfectly correct and very natural:

Kiedy spóźnia się na spotkanie, on wysyła mi krótki SMS.

The meaning doesn’t change. Only the information flow changes a bit:

On wysyła mi krótki SMS, kiedy spóźnia się na spotkanie.
– Focus starts with what he does (he sends an SMS).
Kiedy spóźnia się na spotkanie, on wysyła mi krótki SMS.
– Focus starts with under what condition (when he’s late).

Note the comma: in Polish, a comma is required before a kiedy‑clause, regardless of order.

What’s the difference between “wysyła” and “wyśle” here?

They are different aspects and tenses of the verb:

wysyłać (imperfective) → wysyła (present)
wysłać (perfective) → wyśle (future)

In your sentence:

On wysyła mi krótki SMS, kiedy spóźnia się na spotkanie.
– He sends me a short text (as a habit / regularly).

If you say:

On wyśle mi krótki SMS, kiedy się spóźni na spotkanie.
– He will send me a short text when he is late for the meeting (one future event).

So:

wysyła → general, repeated, ongoing actions (habit, routine).
wyśle → single, completed future action.

Your original sentence uses wysyła because it describes a regular rule: whenever he’s late, he sends a text.