Breakdown of Czy pani jedzie na uniwersytet?
czy
[question particle]
pani
madam / Mrs.
na
on, at / to (motion toward) / for (a meal) / for (waiting for)
jechać
to travel
Questions & Answers about Czy pani jedzie na uniwersytet?
Why use jedzie instead of idzie here?
This lesson is about how Polish splits the English verb 'to go' into going on foot and going by a vehicle. The verb jedzie comes from jechać, which means going by some form of transport (driving, taking a bus, or cycling). If the woman were walking to the university, we would use idzie.
The English translation says 'Are you...', but doesn't pani mean 'Mrs.' or 'lady'?
Yes, but Polish uses pani as the formal word for 'you' when speaking to a woman. Because it comes from a noun meaning 'lady', it pairs with the third-person verb form jedzie (literally 'is the lady riding?') instead of a standard 'you' verb form.
Why do we use the preposition na instead of do to mean 'to'?
Usually, do means going inside a building or to a city. However, Polish has several exceptions that take na for motion towards them. These include open spaces, events, and certain institutions like uniwersytet (university) or poczta (post office).
Why doesn't the word uniwersytet change its ending here?
Because this sentence expresses motion towards a destination, the destination noun must be in the accusative case. Since uniwersytet is a masculine inanimate noun (an object, not a person or animal), its accusative form is exactly the same as its basic dictionary form.