Breakdown of Jeśli nadal będziesz kaszleć i kichać jutro rano, zostań w domu i zadzwoń do przychodni.
Questions & Answers about Jeśli nadal będziesz kaszleć i kichać jutro rano, zostań w domu i zadzwoń do przychodni.
Why is będziesz kaszleć i kichać used here? Isn’t that a future tense?
Yes — it is the future tense.
In Polish, many imperfective verbs form the future with:
będę / będziesz / będzie... + infinitive
So:
- będziesz kaszleć = you will be coughing / you will cough
- będziesz kichać = you will be sneezing / you will sneeze
This structure is especially common when talking about an ongoing or repeated activity, which fits symptoms like coughing and sneezing.
Why are kaszleć and kichać in the infinitive after będziesz?
Because with imperfective verbs, Polish often builds the future with być in the future + the infinitive.
So:
- będziesz kaszleć
- będziesz kichać
That is a normal pattern.
There is also another possible future structure with some verbs:
- będziesz kaszlał / będziesz kaszlała
That version shows the speaker’s gender. The infinitive version, będziesz kaszleć, avoids gender marking, so it is very convenient in general statements like this one.
Why is there no word for you in the sentence?
Because Polish usually omits subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb form.
Here, będziesz, zostań, and zadzwoń all clearly refer to you.
So Polish normally says:
- Jeśli nadal będziesz... not
- Jeśli ty nadal będziesz...
Using ty is possible, but it usually adds emphasis, contrast, or emotion.
What exactly does nadal mean here?
Nadal means still.
So Jeśli nadal będziesz kaszleć i kichać jutro rano... means:
If you are still coughing and sneezing tomorrow morning...
It suggests that the symptoms have already started and may continue.
A similar word is wciąż, which can often mean the same thing.
Why is jutro rano placed there? Could it go somewhere else?
Yes, Polish word order is fairly flexible, so jutro rano could be moved.
The sentence means the same overall:
- Jeśli nadal będziesz kaszleć i kichać jutro rano...
- Jeśli jutro rano nadal będziesz kaszleć i kichać...
Both are natural.
The version in your sentence puts jutro rano after the two verbs, which is completely fine. Polish often moves time expressions around for rhythm or emphasis more freely than English does.
Why are kaszleć and kichać imperfective?
Because the sentence refers to ongoing symptoms, not one completed action.
- kaszleć = to cough, to be coughing
- kichać = to sneeze, to be sneezing
These are the natural choices when you mean someone is continuing to have those symptoms.
Polish aspect is very important:
- imperfective = ongoing, repeated, habitual, incomplete
- perfective = completed, one whole event
Here, ongoing/repeated action is exactly what is meant.
Why does the sentence use zostań and zadzwoń instead of forms with będziesz?
Because those are imperatives — commands or instructions.
- zostań = stay
- zadzwoń = call / give a call
The sentence first gives a condition:
- If you are still coughing and sneezing tomorrow morning...
Then it gives instructions:
- stay home
- call the clinic
That is why the second part switches to the imperative.
Why is it zostań w domu, not zostań do domu?
Because w domu means at home / in the house, which expresses location.
- w domu = in/at home
Do domu means to home / homeward, and it is used with movement toward home:
- Idź do domu = Go home
But here there is no movement. The meaning is remain at home, so Polish uses:
- zostań w domu
What case is domu in?
In w domu, domu is in the locative case.
The basic form is:
- dom = house / home
After w meaning in/at, Polish normally uses the locative:
- w domu = in/at home
So this is a very useful pattern:
- w szkole = at school
- w pracy = at work
- w domu = at home
Why is it zadzwoń do przychodni and not just zadzwoń przychodnię?
Because the verb dzwonić / zadzwonić normally takes do + genitive when you mean call someone/somewhere.
So Polish says literally:
- call to the clinic
That gives:
- zadzwoń do przychodni
This is different from English, where call usually takes a direct object.
Compare:
- zadzwonić do lekarza = call the doctor
- zadzwonić do mamy = call mom
- zadzwonić do przychodni = call the clinic
What case is przychodni in?
It is the genitive singular of przychodnia.
Dictionary form:
- przychodnia = clinic, medical center, outpatient clinic
After do, Polish usually uses the genitive:
- do przychodni = to the clinic / to the medical center
So:
- przychodnia → do przychodni
What does przychodnia mean exactly? Is it the same as hospital?
Not exactly.
Przychodnia is usually a clinic, medical center, or doctor’s office / outpatient facility. It is where you go for appointments, checkups, or basic treatment.
It is not the same as:
- szpital = hospital
So zadzwoń do przychodni means call the clinic / medical center, not call the hospital.
Why is there a comma after jutro rano?
Because the sentence begins with a conditional clause introduced by Jeśli = if.
The first part is:
- Jeśli nadal będziesz kaszleć i kichać jutro rano
The second part is the main clause:
- zostań w domu i zadzwoń do przychodni
In Polish, when a subordinate clause comes first, it is normally separated from the main clause by a comma.
So the comma here is standard punctuation.
Could the sentence start with Gdy or Jeżeli instead of Jeśli?
Yes, with some differences.
- jeśli = if
- jeżeli = if, slightly more formal or explicit
- gdy = when / if, depending on context
In this sentence, jeśli is the most natural everyday choice.
You could also say:
- Jeżeli nadal będziesz kaszleć i kichać jutro rano...
That sounds fine, just a little more formal or careful.
Is this sentence formal or informal?
It is mostly neutral, but the verb forms show it is addressed to one person in the informal singular:
- będziesz
- zostań
- zadzwoń
So it is suitable for speaking to:
- a friend
- a child
- a family member
- one person you address as ty
If you wanted a formal version for Pan/Pani, you would need different wording, for example:
- Jeśli nadal będzie Pan / będzie Pani kaszleć i kichać jutro rano, proszę zostać w domu i zadzwonić do przychodni.
Why does Polish use i twice: once between the two symptoms and once between the two instructions?
Because i simply means and.
So the sentence has two coordinated pairs:
kaszleć i kichać
= to cough and sneezezostań w domu i zadzwoń do przychodni
= stay home and call the clinic
This is very normal and works just like English.
Could nadal be moved to another place in the sentence?
Yes. Polish allows some flexibility.
For example:
- Jeśli nadal będziesz kaszleć i kichać jutro rano...
- Jeśli będziesz nadal kaszleć i kichać jutro rano...
- Jeśli jutro rano nadal będziesz kaszleć i kichać...
All of these are understandable and natural enough. The differences are mostly about emphasis and rhythm, not basic meaning.
The original version is perfectly good and idiomatic.
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