Breakdown of Twarde krzesło sprawia, że pięć minut wydaje się godziną.
krzesło
the chair
że
that
sprawiać
to make
pięć
five
minuta
the minute
twardy
hard
wydawać się
to seem
godzina
the hour
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Polish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Twarde krzesło sprawia, że pięć minut wydaje się godziną.
Why is there no article (like a or the) before twarde krzesło?
Polish does not have articles. Definiteness and indefiniteness are inferred from context or word order, so twarde krzesło can mean either “a hard chair” or “the hard chair” depending on the situation.
What does sprawia, że mean and why is it used?
Sprawia comes from sprawiać, meaning “to cause” or “to make happen.” The conjunction że introduces a subordinate clause, so together sprawia, że literally means “causes that,” equivalent to English “makes it so that….”
Can we omit że, as English sometimes drops “that” after verbs like “makes”?
No. In Polish, że is mandatory when linking a verb like sprawiać with a full clause. You cannot say sprawia pięć minut… without że.
Why is pięć minut in this form and what case is minut?
After numerals greater than four, Polish uses the genitive plural for the counted noun. Here, minut is the genitive plural of minuta, so pięć minut means “five minutes.”
Why is godziną in the instrumental case?
The verb wydawać się (“to seem”) takes its complement in the instrumental case. Thus godzina becomes godziną, literally “seems (to be) an hour.”
Could we say jak godzina instead of godziną to form a comparison?
Yes. You can say wydaje się jak godzina (“seems like an hour”) to emphasize a simile. However, the more idiomatic construction with wydaje się uses the instrumental case (godziną) without jak.
Why is the present tense sprawia used here instead of past or future?
The sentence expresses a general truth or habitual effect: a hard chair always makes five minutes feel like an hour. Polish uses the present tense for such timeless or habitual statements.
Could the word order be changed, for example: Pięć minut na twardym krześle wydaje się godziną?
Yes. Polish has flexible word order. That variant is grammatically correct and shifts the emphasis (starting with Pięć minut highlights the duration).