Po odebraniu kluczy od właściciela od razu zobaczyłyśmy kuchnię i łazienkę.

After picking up the keys from the owner, we immediately saw the kitchen and the bathroom.

Breakdown of Po odebraniu kluczy od właściciela od razu zobaczyłyśmy kuchnię i łazienkę.

• i: and
• kuchnia: the kitchen
• klucz: the key
• my: we

Questions & Answers about Po odebraniu kluczy od właściciela od razu zobaczyłyśmy kuchnię i łazienkę.

Why does the sentence start with po odebraniu? What exactly does that mean?

Po odebraniu means after picking up / after receiving.

This is a very common Polish structure:

• po
  • verbal noun
• it often means after doing something

Here:

• odebraniu comes from the verb odebrać = to pick up, collect, receive
• so po odebraniu kluczy literally means after the picking up of the keys

A more expanded version would be:

• Po tym, jak odebrałyśmy klucze... = After we picked up the keys...

So the sentence uses a compact, natural Polish structure instead of a full clause.

Why is it odebraniu, not odebrać?

Because after po in this meaning, Polish uses a noun-like form rather than the infinitive.

So:

• odebrać = infinitive, to pick up
• odebranie = verbal noun, the picking up / receiving
• po odebraniu = after picking up

This form is in the locative case, because po here requires the locative.

You can compare:

• po obiedzie = after dinner
• po pracy = after work
• po odebraniu kluczy = after picking up the keys

So odebraniu is the locative singular form of odebranie.

Why is it kluczy and not ?