Mama poprawia poduszkę na łóżku.

Here, poprawia means something like adjusts, straightens, fixes up, or repositions.

So Mama poprawia poduszkę na łóżku suggests that Mom is making the pillow sit properly on the bed, not repairing a broken pillow.

This verb can have slightly different shades depending on context:

• adjust
• straighten
• tidy up
• correct/improve

In this sentence, adjusts/straightens the pillow is the most natural idea.

Because poduszkę is the accusative singular form of poduszka.

The pillow is the direct object of the verb — it is the thing being adjusted. In Polish, direct objects often take the accusative case.

• nominative: poduszka = pillow
• accusative: poduszkę = pillow (as the object of the action)

This is a very common pattern for feminine nouns ending in -a:

• książka → książkę
• herbata → herbatę
• poduszka → poduszkę

Because na łóżku expresses location: on the bed.

After na, Polish uses different cases depending on meaning:

• na + locative = location, being on something
• na + accusative = movement onto something

So:

• na łóżku = on the bed
• na łóżko = onto the bed

In your sentence, the pillow is being adjusted on the bed, so Polish uses the locative:

• łóżko → łóżku

Łóżku is the locative singular form of łóżko.

The base form is:

• łóżko = bed

After the preposition na when it means location, Polish requires the locative:

• na łóżku = on the bed

So:

• nominative: łóżko
• locative: łóżku

Yes. Poprawia is 3rd person singular present tense of the imperfective verb poprawiać.

It means:

• she is adjusting
• she adjusts
• she’s straightening

Polish present tense can cover both:

• an action happening now
• a habitual action

So this sentence could mean either:

• Mom is adjusting the pillow on the bed or
• Mom adjusts the pillow on the bed

Context tells you which is meant.

Because Polish does not have articles like English a/an/the.

So:

• Mama can mean Mom or the mom, depending on context
• poduszkę can mean a pillow or the pillow
• na łóżku can mean on a bed or on the bed

Polish relies on context much more than English does for this.

Mama is more like mom or mum, not the formal mother.

Compare:

• mama = mom / mum
• matka = mother

So this sentence sounds natural and everyday, not formal.

Also, family words like mama, tata, babcia are often used without a possessive in Polish when the meaning is obvious:

• Mama gotuje. = Mom is cooking.
• not necessarily Moja mama gotuje, unless you specifically want to say my mom

It is often capitalized when used like a name, especially in learner examples or when referring to one’s own mother in a personal way.

So:

• Mama poprawia poduszkę na łóżku. = Mom is adjusting the pillow on the bed.

But in ordinary running text, you may also see mama with a lowercase m, depending on style and context.

So capitalization here is not really a grammar issue; it is more a matter of usage and style.

The dictionary form is poprawiać.

That is the imperfective infinitive.

Some useful related forms:

• poprawiać = to adjust / correct / improve / straighten
• poprawia = he/she/it adjusts, is adjusting
• poprawić = the perfective partner, roughly to adjust/fix completely or to make right

This is a very common Polish verb pair:

• imperfective: poprawiać
• perfective: poprawić

This is a question about aspect, which is very important in Polish.

• poprawiać is imperfective
• poprawić is perfective

Very roughly:

• poprawiać focuses on the process, repetition, or ongoing action
• poprawić focuses on completing the action

Examples:

• Mama poprawia poduszkę. = Mom is adjusting the pillow / Mom adjusts the pillow.
• Mama poprawi poduszkę. = Mom will adjust the pillow / Mom will fix the pillow into the right position.

Notice something important: the present-tense-looking forms of a perfective verb usually refer to the future:

• poprawi = will adjust, not is adjusting

Yes. Polish word order is more flexible than English word order because cases show grammatical roles.

The neutral order here is:

• Mama poprawia poduszkę na łóżku.

But you could also hear:

• Na łóżku mama poprawia poduszkę.
• Poduszkę mama poprawia na łóżku.

These versions may sound more marked or emphasize different parts of the sentence.

For example:

• Na łóżku at the front may emphasize location: On the bed, Mom is adjusting the pillow.
• Poduszkę at the front may emphasize the object: It’s the pillow that Mom is adjusting on the bed.

So the original sentence is the most straightforward and neutral.

In normal interpretation, na łóżku most naturally describes where the pillow is being adjusted — effectively, the pillow on the bed or the action taking place on the bed.

So the sentence is understood as:

• Mom is adjusting the pillow that is on the bed.

In practice, Polish often leaves this kind of attachment to context. Here the meaning is clear enough.

A rough English-style guide:

• poduszkę ≈ po-DOOSH-keng
• łóżku ≈ WOOSH-koo

A few useful sound notes:

• ł sounds like English w
• ó sounds like u in rule
• sz sounds like sh
• ż sounds like the s in measure, but before k it is effectively devoiced and sounds closer to sh
• ę is a nasal vowel; before some consonants it is often pronounced in a way that sounds a bit like eng/en

So:

• łóżku is not pronounced with an English l
• poduszkę ends with a nasal sound, not a plain e

They are:

• Mama → base form mama
• poprawia → dictionary form poprawiać
• poduszkę → base form poduszka
• łóżku → base form łóżko

So the sentence breaks down like this:

• Mama = Mom
• poprawia = is adjusting / adjusts
• poduszkę = pillow (accusative)
• na łóżku = on the bed

Yes, it is natural and simple Polish.

It sounds like a normal descriptive sentence you might see in a textbook or hear in everyday speech:

• Mama poprawia poduszkę na łóżku.

A native speaker might also say something slightly more specific depending on context, for example:

• Mama poprawia poduszkę na łóżku w sypialni. = Mom is adjusting the pillow on the bed in the bedroom.
• Mama poprawia poduszkę na kanapie. = Mom is adjusting the pillow on the sofa.

But as it stands, your sentence is completely normal.