Powoli schodzę po schodach.

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Breakdown of Powoli schodzę po schodach.

• powoli: slowly
• schody: the stairs
• schodzić: to go down

Questions & Answers about Powoli schodzę po schodach.

What does powoli mean, and why is it at the beginning of the sentence?

Powoli means slowly. It is an adverb, so it describes how the action is done.

It appears at the beginning because Polish word order is fairly flexible. Putting powoli first gives a little emphasis to the manner of the action:

• Powoli schodzę po schodach. = I’m going down the stairs slowly.
• Schodzę powoli po schodach. = same basic meaning, just a different emphasis

Both are natural.

What exactly is schodzę?

Schodzę is the 1st person singular present tense form of the verb schodzić, which means to go down, to come down, or to descend.

So:

• schodzić = infinitive
• schodzę = I go down / I am going down

The ending -ę tells you the subject is I.

Why use schodzić here instead of iść or chodzić?

Because schodzić specifically includes the idea of moving downward.

Compare:

• iść = to go, to be going
• chodzić = to go/walk habitually or repeatedly
• schodzić = to go down, descend

So if you want to say I am going down the stairs, schodzić is the natural choice, because the downward direction is important.