Question 1

The translation uses "but also", but the Polish says ale i. Does i mean "also" here?

Accepted Answer

Exactly. In the structure nie tylko ..., ale i ..., the word i functions as an intensifier meaning "also" or "too". You could easily swap ale i with ale także or ale też without changing the meaning of the sentence at all.

Question 2

Why use the phrase co rano instead of każdego ranka to mean "every morning"?

Accepted Answer

Both are completely correct and interchangeable, but co rano is an established, highly natural idiom in Polish. The word co followed by a time unit often translates to "every" or "each", just like you see in co tydzień (every week) or co chwila (every moment).

Question 3

Could we change the word order to Ten sportowiec nie tylko co rano biega...?

Accepted Answer

You could, but it shifts the focus. The phrase nie tylko directly modifies whatever comes immediately after it. By placing it right before biega, the sentence specifically contrasts the two actions: running and swimming. If you placed it before co rano, the listener would expect a contrast in time, such as "not only every morning, but also every evening."

Question 4

Is the word sportowiec exclusively masculine? How would this sentence look for a female athlete?

Accepted Answer

Yes, sportowiec is a grammatically masculine noun. If you were talking about a female athlete, you would use its feminine counterpart and say: Ta sportsmenka co rano nie tylko biega, ale i pływa.

Ten sportowiec co rano nie tylko biega, ale i pływa.

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