Chcemy zdobyć nagrodę.

Chcemy is the 1st person plural present tense form of chcieć (to want).

So:

• chcę = I want
• chcesz = you want
• chce = he/she/it wants
• chcemy = we want
• chcecie = you all want
• chcą = they want

In this sentence, chcemy already tells you the subject is we, so Polish does not need a separate word for we.

Because the verb ending already shows the subject.

• chcemy = we want

In Polish, subject pronouns like ja, ty, my are often omitted unless you want to add emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

So:

• Chcemy zdobyć nagrodę. = neutral, normal
• My chcemy zdobyć nagrodę. = we want to win the prize (maybe not someone else)

After chcieć (to want), Polish normally uses an infinitive:

• chcemy zdobyć = we want to win/get

This is similar to English want to do something, but Polish does not use a separate word like English to. The infinitive itself does that job.

So:

• chcemy + infinitive
• chcemy zdobyć
• chcemy zobaczyć
• chcemy iść

Because the sentence means we want to win/get, not we are winning/getting.

• zdobyć = infinitive, used after chcemy
• zdobywamy = present tense, we are getting / we get

Compare:

• Chcemy zdobyć nagrodę. = We want to win the prize.
• Zdobywamy nagrodę. = We are winning / getting the prize.

So the infinitive is required by the structure of the sentence.

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

• zdobyć = perfective
• zdobywać = imperfective

In simple terms:

• zdobyć focuses on getting something successfully, as a completed result
• zdobywać focuses on the process, repetition, or ongoing effort

So:

• Chcemy zdobyć nagrodę. = We want to win/get the prize.
• Chcemy zdobywać nagrody. = We want to keep winning prizes / win prizes regularly.

In this sentence, zdobyć fits well because winning a prize is seen as a completed achievement.

Because nagrodę is in the accusative case, which is used here for the direct object of the verb.

Base form:

• nagroda = prize, award

In the sentence, the prize is the thing being won/obtained, so it becomes the direct object:

• zdobyć nagrodę

For many feminine nouns ending in -a, the accusative singular changes to -ę:

• nagroda → nagrodę
• książka → książkę
• kobieta → kobietę

It can mean either, depending on context.

Polish has no articles like English a/an/the, so the sentence by itself does not force one reading.

So nagrodę could be:

• a prize
• the prize
• an award
• the award

The surrounding context tells you which English translation fits best.

No, Polish word order is fairly flexible, because endings show grammatical roles.

The most neutral order here is:

• Chcemy zdobyć nagrodę.

But you could also say:

• Nagrodę chcemy zdobyć.
• Zdobyć nagrodę chcemy.

These alternatives are more marked and usually change the focus or emphasis.

Very roughly:

• Chcemy zdobyć nagrodę. = neutral
• Nagrodę chcemy zdobyć. = It’s the prize that we want to win
• Zdobyć nagrodę chcemy. = stronger emphasis on winning the prize

For a learner, the original order is the safest and most natural.

A rough guide is:

• Chcemy ≈ H-TSEH-mih
• zdobyć ≈ zDO-bych (with a very soft final consonant)
• nagrodę ≈ na-GRO-deh

A few important points:

• ch sounds like the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch, not like English ch in chair
• cz and ć are different sounds; here the final ć in zdobyć is a soft sound
• y in chcemy and zdobyć is not the English ee sound
• final ę is often pronounced less strongly nasal in normal speech, often close to e/eh before a pause

If pronunciation is your focus, chcemy is often the trickiest part because of the consonant cluster at the beginning.

Yes, but the meaning may shift slightly.

Common alternatives include:

• wygrać nagrodę = to win a prize
• otrzymać nagrodę = to receive a prize
• dostać nagrodę = to get a prize
• zdobyć nagrodę = to obtain/earn/win a prize

So zdobyć is a very natural choice, especially when the prize is seen as something earned or achieved.

It is a normal verb, but in practice it behaves somewhat like a modal verb in English because it is often followed by an infinitive:

• Chcę iść. = I want to go.
• Chcemy zdobyć nagrodę. = We want to win the prize.

So it is not a true Polish modal in the same way English has can, must, should, but learners often find it helpful to think of chcieć + infinitive as a very common pattern meaning want to do something.