Czy tamten pociąg odjeżdża z trzeciego toru?

Czy marks a yes/no question. It does not mean a separate English word by itself; it signals that the whole sentence is a question like Is... ?, Does... ?, Are... ?

So:

• Tamten pociąg odjeżdża z trzeciego toru. = That train is departing from the third track.
• Czy tamten pociąg odjeżdża z trzeciego toru? = Is that train departing from the third track?

In everyday speech, Polish speakers can sometimes ask a yes/no question with intonation alone, but czy is very common and clear.

Both ten and tamten can mean that, but they are used a little differently.

• ten = this / that one near me / the one we are focusing on
• tamten = that one over there / that one farther away

So tamten pociąg suggests that train over there, not the one close to the speaker.

Pociąg is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative case.

The basic dictionary form is:

• pociąg = train

Here it stays in that form because it is the thing doing the action:

• pociąg odjeżdża = the train is departing

Odjeżdża is the 3rd person singular present tense of odjeżdżać.

Breakdown:

• odjeżdżać = to depart / to leave (by vehicle)
• odjeżdża = he/she/it leaves, is leaving, or sometimes departs

Because pociąg is grammatically singular, you use odjeżdża.

In Polish, the present tense of an imperfective verb is often used for a scheduled future, especially with transport:

• Pociąg odjeżdża o szóstej. = The train leaves at six.

So even though the form is present, the meaning can be future in context.

The preposition z meaning from requires the genitive case.

So both words after z must change:

• trzeci tor = third track (nominative)
• z trzeciego toru = from the third track (genitive)

The changes are:

• trzeci → trzeciego
• tor → toru

This is normal adjective-noun agreement: the adjective changes to match the noun in case, gender, and number.

Because z can take different cases depending on meaning.

• z + genitive = from
• z + instrumental = with

Here the meaning is from, so you need the genitive:

• z toru = from the track

If you saw torze, that would be a different case and would not fit this sentence.

Also, don’t confuse it with na torze:

• na torze = on the track
• z toru = from the track

Literally, tor means track or rail line, not platform.

At a station:

• tor = track
• peron = platform

But in natural English, people often ask Which platform does the train leave from? even when the Polish wording uses tor. So the best translation may depend on the station context.

Strictly speaking, this sentence says:

• from the third track

But in practical travel English, it may correspond to:

• from platform 3

depending on how that station labels departures.

Yes. This is very common.

In Polish, the present tense is often used for:

• timetables
• schedules
• planned departures
• fixed events

So:

• Pociąg odjeżdża za pięć minut. = The train leaves in five minutes.

This sounds natural in Polish, just as The train leaves at 8:10 sounds natural in English.

The neutral order is:

• Czy tamten pociąg odjeżdża z trzeciego toru?

Polish word order is more flexible than English, so other orders are possible, especially for emphasis. For example:

• Czy z trzeciego toru odjeżdża tamten pociąg?

This might emphasize from the third track.

But for a learner, the original sentence is the most straightforward and natural neutral pattern.

A rough guide is:

• po = like po in Poland
• cią = roughly chyong / chyą
• g = hard g

A more careful approximation is something like PO-chyongk, though no English spelling matches it perfectly.

A few important points:

• ci before a vowel often sounds like a soft ć-type sound
• ą is a nasal vowel; before g it is often pronounced more like ong/on
• the final g stays hard

So pociąg is often heard approximately as PO-chyongk.

Yes, sometimes.

You can ask with intonation alone:

• Tamten pociąg odjeżdża z trzeciego toru?

This is possible in speech and can sound conversational, especially if you are checking something you think might be true.

But czy is clearer and is usually the safest choice for learners:

• Czy tamten pociąg odjeżdża z trzeciego toru?

They can overlap, but they are not always the same.

• odjeżdżać = to depart, especially for vehicles leaving a place
• wyjeżdżać = to leave/go out, often emphasizing going away from a city, country, or place in a broader sense

For trains, buses, and trams, odjeżdżać is the most natural verb for scheduled departure:

• Pociąg odjeżdża o 10:00.

If you used wyjeżdża, it would usually sound less standard in this station-departure context.

You would usually say:

• z trzeciego peronu

So compare:

• z trzeciego toru = from the third track
• z trzeciego peronu = from the third platform

Both use the genitive after z.