Breakdown of Gdzie państwo podróżowali w piątek?
gdzie
where
państwo
ladies and gentlemen / you (formal plural)
w
in / on (a day)
piątek
Friday
podróżować
to travel (make a journey)
Questions & Answers about Gdzie państwo podróżowali w piątek?
The English translation says 'did you travel', so why is the verb podróżowali instead of podróżowaliście?
In Polish, formal pronouns like pan, pani, and the plural państwo take the 3rd-person form of the verb, just like 'he', 'she', or 'they'. So instead of using the 'you all' ending (-ście), we use the 'they' form (podróżowali). Literally, it's like asking 'Where did the ladies and gentlemen travel?'
Why does podróżowali end in -li? What if I was talking to a group of women?
The ending -li is the 'virile' (masculine personal) ending for 'they'. We use it because państwo implies a mixed group containing at least one man. If you were formally addressing a group of only women, you would use panie and the non-virile ending -ły: Gdzie panie podróżowały?
How exactly does the word państwo work here?
Państwo is a very useful word that means 'ladies and gentlemen' or 'Mr. and Mrs.'. Here, it acts as the formal plural 'you' to address a group of people respectfully. It is the plural equivalent of saying pan (sir) or pani (madam).
Why do we say w piątek for 'on Friday'? Does the word piątek change here?
To say 'on' a certain day of the week, Polish uses the preposition w followed by the Accusative case. For masculine inanimate words like piątek, the Accusative case looks exactly the same as the basic dictionary form, so the word does not change visibly here.
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