Wiosną warzywa są tańsze na rynku.

to be

Breakdown of Wiosną warzywa są tańsze na rynku.

• na: at
• rynek: the market
• warzywo: the vegetable

Questions & Answers about Wiosną warzywa są tańsze na rynku.

What case is wiosną, and why is it used here to mean “in spring”?

wiosną is the instrumental singular of wiosna (“spring”). In Polish the instrumental case is commonly used to express a time period when something happens (“in spring”, w lecie, jesienią, zimą).

Why is warzywa in the plural, and what is its grammatical gender?

warzywa is the nominative plural of warzywo (“vegetable”), which is a neuter noun. We use the plural because we’re talking about vegetables in general. Adjectives and verbs agree with the noun’s number and gender (here: non-masculine-personal plural).

What is the role of są, and can it ever be omitted?

są is the 3rd person plural present form of the verb być (“to be”), linking the subject warzywa with the adjective tańsze. In standard Polish you normally include it. In very informal speech you might drop it (“Warzywa tańsze na rynku.”), but that feels colloquial.

Why do we use tańsze instead of taniej?

tańsze is the comparative form of the adjective tani (“cheap”), agreeing with warzywa (plural, non-masculine-personal). taniej is an adverb (“more cheaply”) and would modify a verb, not a noun. Since we describe warzywa, we need the adjective tańsze.