Breakdown of Kiedy śpię, oddycham wolniej i ciszej.
i
and
spać
to sleep
cicho
quietly
wolno
slowly
kiedy
when
oddychać
to breathe
Questions & Answers about Kiedy śpię, oddycham wolniej i ciszej.
How do we build the comparative adverbs wolniej and ciszej from their basic forms?
The basic adverbs are wolno (slowly) and cicho (quietly). To make them comparative, we drop the -o. For wolno, we add the standard comparative ending -iej to get wolniej (more slowly). For cicho, the ch sound changes to sz before adding -ej, resulting in ciszej (more quietly).
Both verbs mean I do something, so why does śpię end in -ę but oddycham ends in -am?
Polish verbs belong to different conjugation groups. Oddychać (to breathe) belongs to a very regular group, taking -am for the I form (oddycham). Spać (to sleep) belongs to a different group and changes its stem, taking the -ę ending for the I form (śpię).
Since wolno can also mean it is allowed, does wolniej sometimes mean more allowed?
No, the comparative wolniej strictly means more slowly. When wolno is used as an impersonal word meaning it is allowed, it does not have a comparative form.
Do I need to include the pronoun ja (I) before the verbs in this sentence?
No, it is much more natural to leave it out. The verb endings in śpię and oddycham already make it perfectly clear that I am the one sleeping and breathing. You would only add ja if you wanted to emphasize that YOU breathe slower compared to someone else.
Learn Kiedy śpię, oddycham wolniej i ciszej and more in Polish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free