Breakdown of Pociąg z Warszawy przyjeżdża kwadrans po trzeciej.
pociąg
train
Warszawa
Warsaw
trzeci
third
po
after; for (to fetch)
z
from (+ Genitive)
przyjeżdżać
to arrive (by vehicle, imperfective)
kwadrans
quarter of an hour
Questions & Answers about Pociąg z Warszawy przyjeżdża kwadrans po trzeciej.
Why is the hour written as trzeciej here instead of trzecia?
When telling time, the preposition po (past or after) requires the Locative case. Hours in Polish act like feminine ordinal numbers, so the base form trzecia (third) changes to its Locative form, trzeciej.
What does kwadrans mean, and can I just say 15 minutes instead?
kwadrans specifically means a quarter of an hour. It is very commonly used in Polish time-telling, just like saying a quarter past in English. You can also perfectly well say piętnaście po trzeciej (fifteen past three), but recognizing kwadrans is very important for everyday conversations!
Why does the ending of Warsaw change in z Warszawy?
The preposition z when meaning from always triggers the Genitive case. Because the base city name Warszawa is a feminine noun ending in -a, its Genitive ending becomes -y, making it Warszawy.
Why does the sentence use przyjeżdża instead of a basic motion verb like jedzie?
While jedzie means a vehicle is simply moving or traveling, the prefix przy- adds the specific meaning of arriving at a destination. Therefore, przyjeżdża means arrives by vehicle, which is the exact word needed for a train finishing its journey.
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