Mam dziś odebrać paczkę z paczkomatu po pracy.

Yes, mam literally means I have, but in this sentence it is part of the pattern mam + infinitive, which often means I am supposed to, I have to, or I am meant to do something.

So:

• Mam dziś odebrać paczkę = I’m supposed to pick up the package today
• It is not mainly about possession here.

This structure can sound like:

• a plan
• an obligation
• an instruction
• something expected of the speaker

It is slightly different from a plain future like Odbiorę paczkę dziś, which simply means I will pick up the package today.

Because mam odebrać adds the idea of obligation or expectation.

Compare:

• Odbiorę paczkę dziś. = I will pick up the package today.
• Mam dziś odebrać paczkę. = I’m supposed to pick up the package today.

So mam + infinitive is not just future tense. It suggests that this is something on your schedule, something arranged, or something you are expected to do.

A native English speaker might hear it as closer to:

• I have to pick up the package today
• I’m meant to pick up the package today
• I’m supposed to pick up the package today

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

• odebrać = perfective
• odbierać = imperfective

In this sentence, odebrać is used because it refers to one completed action: collecting the parcel successfully.

So:

• mam odebrać = I am supposed to collect it / complete the pickup
• mam odbierać would sound more like a repeated, ongoing, or habitual action, or sometimes a process rather than a single completed event

Because picking up one parcel from a parcel locker is a single completed action, perfective odebrać is the natural choice.

Paczkę is in the accusative singular.

The base form is:

• paczka = package / parcel

After many verbs, the direct object goes into the accusative case. Here, the direct object is the thing being picked up:

• odebrać co? → paczkę

So:

• nominative: paczka
• accusative: paczkę

This is very common in Polish:

• mam książkę = I have a book
• czytam książkę = I am reading a book
• odbieram paczkę = I am picking up a package

Paczkomatu is in the genitive singular.

The preposition z often means from, and when it means from, it usually requires the genitive.

So:

• paczkomat = parcel locker
• z paczkomatu = from the parcel locker

You can think of it as answering:

• skąd? = from where?
• z paczkomatu = from the parcel locker

So the pattern is:

• z + genitive when it means from

Examples:

• z domu = from home
• z pracy = from work
• z paczkomatu = from the parcel locker

A paczkomat is a parcel locker machine, very common in Poland. It is a set of lockers where delivered packages are stored, and you collect them yourself, usually by entering a code or using an app.

So odebrać paczkę z paczkomatu means:

• to pick up a parcel from a parcel locker

This word is extremely common in modern Polish, especially because parcel lockers are used so widely in Poland.

Po pracy means after work.

This uses the preposition po, which often takes the locative case.

Here:

• praca = work
• locative singular = pracy
• po pracy = after work

This is a fixed and very common expression.

Examples:

• Spotkamy się po pracy. = We’ll meet after work.
• Idę na zakupy po pracy. = I’m going shopping after work.

Because po commonly takes the locative case when it means after.

So:

• base form: praca
• locative: pracy

That is why you get:

• po pracy

This is one of those preposition + case combinations that learners need to memorize.

A few similar examples:

• po obiedzie = after lunch
• po szkole = after school
• po spotkaniu = after the meeting

Yes, the word order can change, because Polish word order is more flexible than English word order.

In Mam dziś odebrać paczkę z paczkomatu po pracy, dziś appears early because it naturally highlights today as part of the plan.

Other possible word orders include:

• Dziś mam odebrać paczkę z paczkomatu po pracy.
• Mam odebrać dziś paczkę z paczkomatu po pracy.

These all mean basically the same thing, but the emphasis shifts slightly.

The version you were given sounds natural and neutral:

• Mam dziś odebrać... = Today I’m supposed to pick up...

Polish often moves words around for rhythm, focus, or emphasis rather than because of strict word-order rules.

Yes, but only a small one.

• dziś = today
• dzisiaj = today

They mean the same thing. Dziś is simply a shorter form. In everyday speech, both are very common.

Roughly speaking:

• dziś can feel a little shorter, brisker, or slightly more compact
• dzisiaj can feel a bit fuller or more conversational in some contexts

But in most situations, they are interchangeable.

So you could also say:

• Mam dzisiaj odebrać paczkę z paczkomatu po pracy.

Because in Polish, the verb form already shows the subject.

• mam = I have / I am supposed to
• so the subject ja = I is usually unnecessary

Polish often drops subject pronouns unless they are needed for emphasis or contrast.

So:

• Mam dziś odebrać paczkę... = I’m supposed to pick up the package today...
• Ja mam dziś odebrać paczkę... would sound more emphatic, like I am the one who is supposed to pick it up

This is very normal in Polish.

Yes. Mam odebrać can cover several English ideas, depending on context:

• I have to pick up
• I’m supposed to pick up
• I’m meant to pick up
• sometimes even I’m to pick up

The exact nuance depends on the situation.

For example:

• If it is an obligation, it may feel like I have to
• If it is a plan or instruction, it may feel like I’m supposed to

Without more context, the Polish sentence leaves some room for interpretation.

No. In this sentence, po pracy means after work, not from work.

If you wanted to say from work, you would normally use:

• z pracy

Compare:

• po pracy = after work
• z pracy = from work

So:

• Mam dziś odebrać paczkę z paczkomatu po pracy. = I’m supposed to pick up the package from the parcel locker after work.
• not: from work

It means that you will pick it up after work.

The phrase po pracy attaches naturally to the action odebrać:

• odebrać ... po pracy = pick up ... after work

So the timing applies to the pickup, not to the parcel locker and not to the package itself.

In other words:

• z paczkomatu tells you where from
• po pracy tells you when

Yes, very natural.

Everything in it is common everyday Polish:

• mam + infinitive for a planned or expected action
• dziś for time
• odebrać paczkę for collecting a parcel
• z paczkomatu because parcel lockers are very common in Poland
• po pracy as a standard expression meaning after work

A Polish speaker would find this sentence completely normal in daily conversation.