Breakdown of Po południu sprawdzam kolory świateł na lotnisku.
na
at
po południu
in the afternoon
lotnisko
the airport
światło
the light
kolor
the color
sprawdzać
to check
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Questions & Answers about Po południu sprawdzam kolory świateł na lotnisku.
What does Po południu mean in this sentence?
Po południu literally means “after noon,” but idiomatically it’s used as “in the afternoon.” It’s a time expression telling us when the checking happens.
Why is the noun południe in the form południu?
After the preposition po (when talking about time), Polish uses the locative case. The locative of the neuter noun południe is formed by dropping the final -e and adding -u, giving południu.
Couldn’t we say po południe (without the -u)?
No—when po expresses “after” or “in” (time), it always takes the locative: po + locative. Leaving it as po południe would be ungrammatical.
Why is the verb sprawdzam used here, and not a different form?
Sprawdzam is 1st person singular present tense of the imperfective verb sprawdzać (“to check”). The imperfective aspect indicates an ongoing or habitual action (“I check” or “I’m checking”). If you said sprawdzę (perfective future), it would mean “I will check (once).”
In kolory świateł, why is kolory accusative plural and świateł genitive plural?
Kolory is the direct object of sprawdzam, so it takes the accusative plural (which for inanimate nouns looks identical to the nominative plural).
Świateł is genitive plural of światło (“light”) because we’re describing “the colors of the lights.” In Polish, the “X of Y” relationship uses genitive for Y.
Why do we say na lotnisku instead of w lotnisku?
Certain locations use na plus the locative to mean “at” (e.g. na dworcu, na uniwersytecie, na lotnisku). It’s idiomatic—w lotnisku would stress being inside the building, which is uncommon when describing general airport operations.
What case is lotnisku, and why?
Lotnisku is the locative singular of the neuter noun lotnisko. After na (when indicating location, not direction), Polish uses the locative case: na + locative = “at the airport.”
How do you pronounce świateł?
Phonetically it’s [ˈɕfʲa.tɛw]:
- ś = soft “sh” ([ɕ])
- w after ś = [fʲ]
- ia = [ja]
- te = [tɛ]
- ł = [w]
So you get something like “SHVYA-tew.”
Can you move Po południu to another place in the sentence?
Yes. Polish word order is flexible. You could say:
- Sprawdzam kolory świateł na lotnisku po południu.
- Kolory świateł na lotnisku sprawdzam po południu.
The basic meaning stays the same; only the emphasis shifts slightly.
What’s the difference between w południe and po południu?
W południe means “at noon” (around 12 PM). Po południu means “in the afternoon” (any time after noon). They’re two distinct time expressions.