Breakdown of Pilot mówi, że lot o północy będzie spokojny, bo na niebie nie ma chmur.
być
to be
mieć
to have
nie
not
bo
because
na
in
że
that
mówić
to say
chmura
the cloud
niebo
the sky
lot
the flight
o północy
at midnight
pilot
the pilot
spokojny
calm
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Questions & Answers about Pilot mówi, że lot o północy będzie spokojny, bo na niebie nie ma chmur.
Why is there no article before Pilot?
Polish does not use definite or indefinite articles (like “the” or “a” in English). Nouns stand alone, and context tells you if something is specific or general.
What does mówi, że mean and why is że used here?
mówi means “he says.” że introduces a subordinate clause (a reported statement), equivalent to English “that.” It links what the pilot is saying to the main clause.
Why is lot in the nominative case and not another case?
lot is the subject of the subordinate clause introduced by że. Subjects are in the nominative case. It answers “what will be calm?” => “(the) flight.”
Why is it lot o północy and not lot w północy?
When indicating a specific time (hours, moments of the day), Polish uses the preposition o + locative case. Hence o północy (“at midnight”). w with time would be incorrect here.
What case is północy and why?
północy is the locative form of północ (“midnight”). After o (when talking about time or location), the noun takes the locative case.
How does będzie spokojny express the future tense?
będzie is the third-person singular future tense of być (“to be”). It indicates that the flight “will be” calm. The adjective spokojny (“calm”) agrees with lot in gender (masculine), number (singular), and case (nominative).
Why is the adjective spokojny not inflected further?
Adjectives in Polish agree with nouns in gender, number, and case. Here, lot is masculine singular nominative. The form spokojny matches that—no additional endings are needed.
What is the function of bo in this sentence?
bo means “because.” It introduces a reason clause: “because there are no clouds in the sky.” It’s an informal conjunction equivalent to ponieważ or gdyż, but more common in speech.
Why is it na niebie and not w niebie?
When talking about something in the sky (not “heaven”), Polish uses na + locative: na niebie (“in/at the sky”). w niebie means “in heaven,” so it would change the meaning.
Why is chmur in the genitive plural after nie ma?
The verb nie ma (“there is not/are no”) requires the genitive case for the noun that doesn’t exist. So chmury (nominative plural “clouds”) becomes chmur in the genitive plural after nie ma.
Could you replace nie ma with nie są here?
No. nie ma expresses “there is/are none,” implying absence. nie są would mean “they are not,” which doesn’t convey “there are no clouds”—it sounds odd in Polish. The correct idiom for absence is nie ma + genitive.