Breakdown of Poniedziałek jest pierwszym dniem tygodnia.
Questions & Answers about Poniedziałek jest pierwszym dniem tygodnia.
Why is Poniedziałek capitalized?
Why is dniem in the instrumental case?
After the verb jest (to be), when you state what something is (role, attribute, classification), Polish uses the instrumental case for the predicate noun.
Example:
• On jest lekarzem. (He is a doctor.)
• Poniedziałek jest pierwszym dniem tygodnia.
Why is pierwszym in that form?
Why is tygodnia in the genitive case?
The phrase “day of the week” is a partitive or “of-” construction. In Polish the second noun in such phrases takes the genitive case:
• dzień tygodnia = “a day of the week.”
Here tydzień becomes tygodnia (genitive singular).
Can I use to instead of jest?
Yes. A very common alternative is:
• Poniedziałek to pierwszy dzień tygodnia.
When you use to as the linking word, both parts remain in the nominative case (poniedziałek, pierwszy dzień tygodnia).
How would I say “the first day of the week” by itself in Polish?
How do I ask “What day of the week is Monday?” in Polish?
Two natural ways are:
1) Using jest and instrumental:
Którym dniem tygodnia jest poniedziałek?
2) Using to and nominative:
Poniedziałek to który dzień tygodnia?
Can I invert the sentence for emphasis?
Yes. Depending on which element you front, the cases remain the same:
• Pierwszym dniem tygodnia jest poniedziałek. (instrumental)
• Pierwszy dzień tygodnia to poniedziałek. (nominative with to)
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