Breakdown of Oni jadą na lotnisko.
oni
they (masculine personal)
na
on, at / to (motion toward) / for (a meal) / for (waiting for)
jechać
to travel
lotnisko
airport (n)
Questions & Answers about Oni jadą na lotnisko.
Why do we use jadą here instead of idą?
Jadą is a form of jechać, which means "to go by vehicle" (like driving, riding a bus, or taking a train). Idą (from iść) means "to go on foot." Since an airport is usually far away, we assume they are using some form of transport rather than walking.
Jadą is from the verb jechać. Why isn't it spelled "jechają"?
Jechać is an irregular verb in the present tense. The ch in the dictionary form changes to a d for all present tense forms (for example, jadę for "I am going" and jedziesz for "you are going"). For "they", the correct form is jadą.
Doesn't na usually mean "on"? Why is it used for "to the airport" instead of do?
Yes, na generally means "on". However, Polish uses na instead of do to mean "to" for certain specific destinations. These usually include open spaces, islands, and events. An airport (lotnisko) is one of these traditional exceptions, so you always go na lotnisko.
What case is lotnisko in here, and why didn't its ending change?
It is in the accusative case because it follows the preposition na to show the destination of a motion. It doesn't change its ending because lotnisko is a neuter noun (it ends in -o). In Polish, neuter nouns look exactly the same in the accusative case as they do in the basic dictionary form.