Okrągły stół w kuchni pachnie świeżym chlebem, co sprawia, że weekend zaczyna się miło.

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Questions & Answers about Okrągły stół w kuchni pachnie świeżym chlebem, co sprawia, że weekend zaczyna się miło.

Why is Okrągły stół in the nominative case here?
Because it’s the subject of the main clause. In Polish, the subject of a sentence appears in the nominative case, so “the round table” is Okrągły stół (nominative masculine singular).
Why is there no article (“the” or “a”) before Okrągły stół?
Polish does not use articles. Definiteness or indefiniteness is understood from context, so you simply say Okrągły stół without “the” or “a.”
What function does w kuchni serve, and why is kuchni in that case?
w kuchni means “in the kitchen.” The preposition w (“in”) requires the locative case to indicate location. The noun kuchnia (kitchen) becomes kuchni in the locative singular.
Why is świeżym chlebem in the instrumental case?
Because the verb pachnie (“smells of” or “gives off a scent”) takes its object in the instrumental. Thus świeży chleb (fresh bread) becomes świeżym chlebem.
What’s the difference between pachnie and wąchać?
  • pachnie = “it smells of” (i.e. it emits an aroma)
  • wąchać = “to smell” as an action, like sniffing something.
    So Stół pachnie chlebem means “The table gives off the smell of bread,” whereas On wącha chleb would mean “He is smelling (sniffing) the bread.”
Why is there a comma before co?
In Polish, a comma precedes a subordinate or relative clause. Here co (“which”) introduces a clause referring to the entire preceding idea, so you separate it with a comma.
What does co sprawia, że mean?
Literally co = “which,” sprawia = “causes/makes,” że = “that.” Together it means “which causes that” or “which makes it so that.”
Why is zaczyna się reflexive, and what does it mean?
zaczynać się is the reflexive form meaning “to begin” or “to get started” on its own. The -się indicates that the weekend is starting by itself. Without -się, zaczynać means “to start something” (transitive).
What part of speech is miło, and why not miły?
miło is an adverb meaning “pleasantly.” It tells us how the weekend begins. miły would be an adjective (“nice”) and wouldn’t correctly modify the verb zaczyna się.