Breakdown of Główny plac przed ratuszem jest bezpieczny nawet wieczorem.
być
to be
wieczorem
in the evening
przed
in front of
główny
main
plac
the square
ratusz
the town hall
bezpieczny
safe
nawet
even
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Questions & Answers about Główny plac przed ratuszem jest bezpieczny nawet wieczorem.
How do I pronounce Główny plac przed ratuszem jest bezpieczny nawet wieczorem?
A helpful phonetic rendering is:
GŁÓW-ny plah-ts pshehd rah-TOOS-zhem yest beh-SHPEH-tchnih NAH-vet vyeh-CHOH-rem.
Or in IPA: [ɡˈwufnɨ ˈplats pʂɛt raˈtus͡ʂɛm jɛst bɛsˈpjɛt͡ʂnɨ ˈnavɛt vʲɛˈt͡ʂɔrɛm].
What does główny mean, and why is it in this form?
Główny means “main.” It’s an adjective describing plac (square). In Polish adjectives must agree with the noun’s gender, number and case. Here plac is masculine singular nominative, so główny takes its masculine singular nominative ending -y.
Why is przed followed by ratuszem (instrumental case) and not another case?
The preposition przed (“in front of”) requires the instrumental case when indicating location. The base form is ratusz (“town hall”), whose instrumental singular is ratuszem. Hence przed ratuszem = “in front of the town hall.”
Why is bezpieczny an adjective here instead of the adverb bezpiecznie?
Bezpieczny is an adjective meaning “safe,” used with the copula jest (“is”) to form a predicate adjective: “is safe.” Bezpiecznie is an adverb meaning “safely,” which would modify a verb (e.g. chodzę bezpiecznie = “I walk safely”), so it doesn’t work as the main description of plac.
Why is the time expression wieczorem in the instrumental case?
Polish often uses the instrumental case to express “in the evening,” “in the morning,” etc. So wieczór (evening) becomes wieczorem to indicate the time frame when something happens.
What nuance does nawet add in nawet wieczorem?
Nawet means “even” and expresses surprise or emphasis. Here it highlights that the square remains safe at a time (in the evening) when you might expect it to be less safe.
Why are there no words for “the” or “a” in this sentence?
Polish does not have articles like the or a/an. Definiteness and indefiniteness are conveyed through context or word order, so you simply say główny plac, not the main square or a main square with extra words.
Can I move nawet wieczorem to the front: Nawet wieczorem główny plac przed ratuszem jest bezpieczny? Does it change anything?
Yes, you can front nawet wieczorem for emphasis. The sentence still means the same, but starting with Nawet wieczorem puts stronger focus on the time (“Even in the evening…”).
Is it possible to drop jest and say Główny plac przed ratuszem bezpieczny nawet wieczorem?
In very informal speech or in headlines you might omit jest (this is called a “zero copula”). In standard spoken and written Polish you should keep jest; dropping it can sound stilted or overly telegraphic outside of headlines.