Talking About the Weather | Polish Grammar

Weather is small-talk fuel everywhere, but in Polish it's also a clean window onto two grammar systems: subjectless (impersonal) sentences and the bare instrumental of time. The headline for an English speaker is that Polish weather has no dummy "it". "It's raining" is just Pada — one word, no subject. "It's cold" is Jest zimno — an impersonal jest plus an adverb, again with nothing playing the role of English "it". This page is the phrase bank for talking about the weather and the seasons, and a gentle first contact with the impersonal sentence.

Jaka jest pogoda? — "What's the weather like?"

The standard opener is Jaka jest pogoda? ("what's the weather like?"). Pogoda ("weather") is feminine, so the question word is jaka (feminine). A common variant is Jaka pogoda? (dropping jest) or, looking ahead, Jaka będzie jutro pogoda? ("what will the weather be like tomorrow?").

Jaka jest dzisiaj pogoda? — Piękna, słońce świeci.

What's the weather like today? — Beautiful, the sun is shining.

Jaka będzie pogoda na weekend?

What's the weather going to be like at the weekend?

Pada — the subjectless weather verbs

This is the core insight. The most common weather verbs in Polish are subjectless — they appear in the bare third-person singular with no "it" and often no noun at all:

Pada — it's raining / it's snowing (from padać, "to fall")
Grzmi — it's thundering
Błyska się — there's lightning
Mży — it's drizzling

Weź parasol, na dworze pada.

Take an umbrella, it's raining out. (just 'pada' — no 'it')

Całą noc grzmiało i błyskało się.

It thundered and there was lightning all night.

Pada by itself defaults to rain, but you can name what's falling — and then the falling thing is the subject: pada deszcz ("rain is falling" = it's raining), pada śnieg ("snow is falling" = it's snowing), pada grad (it's hailing).

Od rana pada deszcz, ulice są mokre.

It's been raining since morning, the streets are wet.

Zimą często pada śnieg i robi się biało.

In winter it often snows and everything turns white.

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Pada = "it's raining", with no Polish word for "it". Polish has no dummy subject pronoun (no equivalent of English "it" in "it's raining" or French il pleut). The verb simply stands alone in the 3rd-person singular. You can add the falling noun (pada deszcz / śnieg) for precision, but bare Pada is the most natural everyday form. For how Polish builds sentences with no subject at all, see impersonal sentences.

Świeci słońce, Wieje wiatr — natural-force verbs

Some weather phrases do have a noun subject, but the word order usually puts the verb first: Świeci słońce ("the sun is shining", lit. "shines the sun") and Wieje wiatr ("the wind is blowing"). This verb-first order is the natural, idiomatic pattern for these announcements of the weather.

Świeci słońce, chodźmy na spacer.

The sun's shining, let's go for a walk.

Wieje silny wiatr, trzymaj czapkę.

A strong wind is blowing, hold onto your hat.

Jest mgła, więc jedź ostrożnie.

There's fog, so drive carefully.

Jest zimno / ciepło / gorąco — the impersonal "it's cold"

To say how it feels outside, Polish uses jest + an adverb: Jest zimno ("it's cold"), Jest ciepło ("it's warm"), Jest gorąco ("it's hot"), Jest chłodno ("it's chilly"), Jest słonecznie ("it's sunny"), Jest pochmurno ("it's cloudy"). These are impersonal — there is no subject, and the word after jest is an adverb (zimno, ciepło), not an adjective. This is exactly the same impersonal frame as Jest późno ("it's late") and Jest miło ("it's nice").

Dziś jest naprawdę zimno, weź ciepłą kurtkę.

It's really cold today, take a warm jacket.

Latem często jest gorąco i parno.

In summer it's often hot and muggy.

Jest pochmurno, ale przynajmniej nie pada.

It's cloudy, but at least it's not raining.

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Jest zimno, not Jest zimne. After impersonal jest you use the adverb (zimno, ciepło, gorąco, słonecznie), not the adjective. The adjective form (zimny dzień "a cold day") only appears when it modifies a real noun. The impersonal jest + adverb describes the situation, with no thing being "cold". To express the past, use było: Wczoraj było zimno ("it was cold yesterday").

The past and future of these use było ("it was") and będzie ("it will be"):

Wczoraj było ciepło, a dziś jest zimno.

Yesterday it was warm, and today it's cold.

Jutro będzie słonecznie, ale wieczorem może padać.

Tomorrow it'll be sunny, but it might rain in the evening.

Latem, zimą — seasons in the bare instrumental

To say in [a season], Polish uses the bare instrumental of the season noun — no preposition needed. This is the same "instrumental of time" that gives rano its cousins; the season itself, put in the instrumental, means "during that season":

Season (nominative)	"in [season]" (instrumental)
wiosna (spring)	wiosną
lato (summer)	latem
jesień (autumn)	jesienią
zima (winter)	zimą

Latem jeździmy nad morze, a zimą w góry.

In summer we go to the seaside, and in winter to the mountains.

Wiosną wszystko kwitnie i robi się cieplej.

In spring everything blooms and it gets warmer.

Jesienią często pada i wcześnie robi się ciemno.

In autumn it often rains and it gets dark early.

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latem, zimą — no preposition. Where English says "in summer / in winter", Polish puts the bare season noun into the instrumental: latem, zimą, wiosną, jesienią. Don't add w — w lecie exists but sounds heavier and more regional; the bare instrumental is the clean standard form. For the broader pattern, see the instrumental of time and manner.

For a relaxed weather chat with grammar notes, see the weather small-talk dialogue.

Common Mistakes

Inventing a dummy subject for the weather. Polish has no "it"; Ono pada or To pada is wrong. Just Pada.

❌ Ono pada. / To pada deszcz.

Incorrect — Polish has no dummy 'it'; just Pada / Pada deszcz.

✅ Pada. / Pada deszcz.

It's raining.

Using the adjective after impersonal jest. "It's cold" needs the adverb zimno, not the adjective zimny / zimne.

❌ Jest zimne na dworze.

Incorrect — needs the adverb: Jest zimno.

✅ Jest zimno na dworze.

It's cold outside.

Adding a preposition to seasons. "In summer" is the bare instrumental latem, not w latem or na lato.

❌ W latem jest gorąco.

Incorrect — the season goes in the bare instrumental: Latem.

✅ Latem jest gorąco.

In summer it's hot.

Dropping diacritics on the season and weather words. It's śnieg, zimą, jesienią, wiośnie/wiosną, gorąco, słońce — each with its marks.

❌ snieg, zima (in summer), goraco, slonce

Incorrect spelling — missing ś, ą, ł, ó, ń.

✅ śnieg, zimą, gorąco, słońce

snow, in winter, hot, sun (correct).

Calquing "the weather is good/bad" with an adjective on pogoda. You can say Pogoda jest dobra, but the idiomatic short form is ładna / brzydka pogoda ("nice / nasty weather") — and feelings of cold/heat are impersonal (Jest zimno), not Pogoda jest zimna.

❌ Pogoda jest zimna.

Awkward — for 'it's cold' use the impersonal Jest zimno.

✅ Jest zimno. / Mamy brzydką pogodę.

It's cold. / We've got nasty weather.

Key Takeaways

Ask Jaka jest pogoda?; weather verbs are subjectless — Pada ("it's raining"), Grzmi, Mży — with no Polish "it".
Name the falling thing if you like: pada deszcz / śnieg / grad; force verbs go verb-first: Świeci słońce, Wieje wiatr.
"It's cold/warm/hot" is impersonal Jest + adverb: Jest zimno / ciepło / gorąco (past było, future będzie) — never the adjective.
Seasons use the bare instrumental: wiosną, latem, jesienią, zimą — no preposition.

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