Learn Hardcore Polish: Każda sekunda jest ważna.

Because sekunda (“second”) is a feminine noun in Polish. Adjectives and pronouns must agree with the noun’s gender, number, and case. The masculine form is każdy, and the feminine form is każda, so we say każda sekunda.

Why is sekunda in the nominative case?

In this sentence sekunda is the subject. The verb jest (“is”) requires the subject to stay in the nominative case. That’s why we use sekunda rather than an accusative or other form.

Why is ważna and not ważny?

Ważna is the feminine singular nominative form of the adjective ważny (“important”). Since sekunda is feminine singular nominative, the adjective must match: ważna sekunda would also be correct word order, but here the predicate is ważna describing sekunda.

Why isn’t there any word for “the” or “a” in the sentence?

Polish doesn’t use articles (no the or a/an). Definiteness or indefiniteness is generally understood from context or conveyed by other words (like każda = “every”).

Could you omit jest and just say Każda sekunda ważna?

Informally or in headlines you might see Każda sekunda ważna, but in normal Polish you include the copula jest to form a complete sentence: Każda sekunda jest ważna.

Is there a way to say “every second matters” differently in Polish?

Yes. A common alternative is Każda sekunda ma znaczenie, literally “every second has significance.” Both sentences convey the idea that no moment should be wasted.

Where do you put the stress when pronouncing Każda sekunda jest ważna?

Polish words are stressed on the penultimate (second‐to‐last) syllable:

Każda: KAZH-da
sekunda: se-KUN-da
ważna: VAZH-na
The word jest is monosyllabic, so it’s pronounced simply as “yest.”