Breakdown of Godzina kolacji jest zbyt późna.
być
to be
kolacja
the dinner
późny
late
zbyt
too
godzina
the hour
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Questions & Answers about Godzina kolacji jest zbyt późna.
Why is kolacji in the genitive case instead of the nominative?
In Polish, when one noun specifies or modifies another (like “hour of dinner”), the specifying noun takes the genitive. Here godzina (hour) is described as the hour of kolacja (dinner), so kolacja becomes kolacji (genitive singular).
Why does późna end with –a?
Adjectives in Polish agree with the nouns they describe in gender, number, and case. Godzina is feminine, singular, nominative, so późny (late) changes to późna to match.
What part of speech is zbyt and why is it used here?
Zbyt is an adverb meaning “too” or “excessively.” It modifies the adjective późna to express that the hour is excessively late.
Could you use za instead of zbyt?
Informally, you might hear za (e.g. za późna), but the standard, more formal adverb for “too” with an adjective is zbyt.
Why is the word order Godzina kolacji jest zbyt późna and can it be changed?
This follows the neutral Subject–Verb–Predicate order: Godzina kolacji (subject), jest (verb), zbyt późna (predicate). You can invert it for emphasis—Zbyt późna jest godzina kolacji—but the meaning stays the same.
Why is jest used instead of another verb form?
Jest is the third-person singular present tense of być (to be), which matches the singular subject godzina and links it to its description zbyt późna.
Why is godzina in the nominative case?
Because godzina kolacji functions as the subject of the sentence, and subjects in Polish normally take the nominative case.
How do you pronounce zbyt, and where is the stress in the sentence?
Zbyt is pronounced approximately /zbɨt/ (voiced z, vowel y as /ɨ/). Polish stress is almost always on the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable, so: go-DZI-na ko-LA-cji jest zbyt PÓŻ-na.