Breakdown of Oni zawsze uczą się rano.
oni
they (masculine personal)
zawsze
always
rano
in the morning
uczyć się
to learn
Questions & Answers about Oni zawsze uczą się rano.
How does the reflexive word się change the meaning of uczą?
The verb uczyć on its own means "to teach". When you add the reflexive particle się (literally "oneself"), uczyć się means "to teach oneself", which is how we say "to learn" or "to study" in Polish.
Could I put się in a different place in this sentence?
Yes! Polish word order is quite flexible. You could also say Oni zawsze się uczą rano. The main rule for the particle się is to avoid putting it at the very beginning of a sentence. It usually sounds most natural right next to the verb, either before or after it.
Is there a rule for choosing between oni and one for "they"?
Yes! Use oni if the group of people includes at least one male. If the group is entirely female, or if you are talking about animals or objects, you use one. Because this sentence uses oni, we know there is at least one male in the group studying.
The English translation says "in the morning", so why isn't there a word for "in" before rano?
In Polish, the word rano acts as an adverb that already means "in the morning". You don't need to add a preposition before it to make it match the English phrase.