Wiosną w ogrodzie rosną kwiaty.

In spring, flowers grow in the garden.

Breakdown of Wiosną w ogrodzie rosną kwiaty.

• w: in
• wiosną: in spring
• ogród: the garden
• kwiat: the flower
• rosnąć: to grow

Questions & Answers about Wiosną w ogrodzie rosną kwiaty.

Why is there no article before kwiaty? How does Polish express “a” and “the”?

Polish doesn’t have articles like a, an or the. Nouns stand alone, and context tells you if they’re definite or indefinite. To add specificity, Polish uses:

• Demonstratives: te kwiaty (“those flowers”), te konkretne kwiaty (“these particular flowers”)
• Quantifiers: kilka kwiatów (“a few flowers”), wszystkie kwiaty (“all the flowers”)
  Otherwise, just kwiaty can mean “flowers” in general or “the flowers,” depending on context.

What case is wiosną, and why is it used here?

Wiosną is the instrumental case of wiosna (“spring”). In Polish, the instrumental often serves as a temporal adverbial to answer “when?”

• wiosną – “in spring” (habitual or descriptive timing)
  Other examples: zimą (“in winter”), latem (“in the summer”).

What case is ogrodzie in w ogrodzie, and why?

Ogrodzie is the locative case of ogród (“garden”). After certain prepositions like w (“in”), Polish uses the locative to show location:

• w ogrodzie – “in the garden”
  Without a preposition, the locative does not exist in modern Polish; it’s always tied to a preposition.

What is the subject of this sentence? Why is kwiaty in the nominative and not the accusative?

The verb rosną (“grow”) is intransitive, so it doesn’t take a direct object. Instead, kwiaty (“flowers”) are the doers of the action—i.e. the subject—so they appear in the nominative case. In Polish, subjects of intransitive verbs are always nominative.

What form is the verb rosną? Which tense, person and number?

Rosną is:

• Present tense
• Third person
• Plural
  It agrees with the plural subject kwiaty. The infinitive is rosnąć (“to grow”).

Can I change the word order? What effect does that have?

Polish word order is quite flexible. The original order is time → place → verb → subject:
Wiosną (when) w ogrodzie (where) rosną (what do) kwiaty (subject)
You can also say:
• W ogrodzie wiosną rosną kwiaty
• Kwiaty rosną wiosną w ogrodzie
All are correct; starting with a different element shifts the emphasis—for example, beginning with kwiaty highlights the flowers.

What’s the difference between wiosną and na wiosnę?

Both translate as “in spring” but with a subtle nuance:

• Wiosną (instrumental) describes a general or habitual time: “Every spring…”
• Na wiosnę (accusative) often points to a specific upcoming time or plan: “This coming spring…”
  Example:
  • Wiosną kwiaty rosną w ogrodzie. (Every spring flowers grow in the garden.)
  • Na wiosnę posadzę kwiaty w ogrodzie. (I will plant flowers this coming spring.)

How do I pronounce Wiosną w ogrodzie rosną kwiaty? Where is the stress?

Polish stress almost always falls on the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable:
• wi-OS-ną
• w og-RO-dzie
• ROS-ną
• kwi-A-ty
Pronunciation tips:

• ą is nasal [ɔ̃], like French “on.”
• rz in rosną is [ʐ], like the “s” in “leisure.”
• w ogrodzie sounds [v ɔˈɡrɔ.d͡ʑɛ], with the “dzi” pronounced [d͡ʑ].