Breakdown of Ten koleś ciągle się spóźnia.
ten
this (m)
spóźniać się
to be late (imperfective)
ciągle
constantly, continually
koleś
guy, dude (colloquial)
Questions & Answers about Ten koleś ciągle się spóźnia.
The translation says "always", but doesn't "always" usually translate to zawsze?
You're right that zawsze is the direct translation for "always". However, ciągle literally means "continually" or "constantly". Using ciągle here emphasizes that the action is an ongoing, often annoying habit, similar to saying "this guy is constantly late" or "he keeps being late" in English.
Is the word koleś formal or slang?
Koleś is a very common colloquial word that translates to "guy", "dude", or "mate". You will hear it constantly in casual, everyday Polish, but you definitely shouldn't use it in formal situations or official writing.
Why is there a się in się spóźnia?
The verb for "to be late" in Polish is inherently reflexive: spóźniać się (imperfective) or spóźnić się (perfective). Even though being late doesn't feel like an action you do to yourself in English, you cannot drop the się in Polish.
Why do we use the imperfective verb spóźniać się here?
Because the sentence describes a repeated, habitual action. The word ciągle (constantly) is a major clue. In Polish, recurring habits always require the imperfective aspect. If you were talking about him being late for one specific meeting, you would use a perfective form, like spóźnił się (he was late) or spóźni się (he will be late).
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