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W pobliżu rynku jest apteka i poczta.

W pobliżu rynku jest apteka i poczta.
Near the market there is a pharmacy and a post office.
FromLesson 7inHardcore Polish
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Questions & Answers about W pobliżu rynku jest apteka i poczta.

Why is rynku in the genitive case?
Because the preposition w pobliżu always governs the genitive. It expresses proximity, and rynek (nominative) changes to rynku in the genitive singular.
Could we use other Polish expressions for “near” instead of w pobliżu?

Yes. Common synonyms include:

  • blisko (e.g. blisko rynku) – genitive
  • obok (e.g. obok rynku) – genitive
  • niedaleko (e.g. niedaleko rynku) – genitive
  • przy (e.g. przy rynku) – locative

Nuance: przy often means “right next to,” while w pobliżu, blisko and niedaleko are more vague, and obok is “beside.”

Why are apteka and poczta in the nominative case?
They function as the subjects in an existential sentence (“there is/there are”). In Polish existential constructions the items that exist stand in the nominative.
Why is the verb jest in the singular, even though it lists two places (apteka and poczta)?

Existential jest/są agrees with the number of the noun phrases:

  • Use jest (3rd person singular) when each mentioned noun is singular (here, one pharmacy and one post office).
  • You’d use są (3rd person plural) if the noun itself were plural, e.g. są apteki (“there are pharmacies”).

Since apteka and poczta are each singular, we use jest.

Why isn't there an article like “a” or “the” before apteka or poczta?
Polish has no definite or indefinite articles. You simply use the noun; specificity can be added with demonstratives or numerals (e.g. ta apteka – “this pharmacy”) if needed.
Could we reorder the sentence to Apteka i poczta są w pobliżu rynku? Would that still work?

Yes. It’s grammatical and shifts the emphasis:
• Original: location first, then what’s there
• Reordered: what’s there first, then the location
Both mean “The pharmacy and the post office are near the market square.”

What stress pattern does W pobliżu rynku jest apteka i poczta follow?

Polish words almost always stress the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable:

  • po-BLI-żU
  • RYN-ku
  • ap-TE-ka
  • POCZ-ta

You string those word-level stresses together in a normal Polish intonation.

What does rynek refer to in this sentence?
Here rynek means the town square or market square (the central plaza). It’s not a grocery market—that would be sklep or targowisko.

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