Breakdown of Mój dom został odnowiony w zeszłym miesiącu.
dom
the house
mój
my
zostać odnowiony
to be renovated
w zeszłym miesiącu
last month
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Questions & Answers about Mój dom został odnowiony w zeszłym miesiącu.
Why is został odnowiony used instead of the active form odnowiłem?
The sentence is in the passive voice. Został odnowiony literally means “was renovated,” focusing on the house (the receiver of the action) rather than on who did it. If you said Odnowiłem dom, you would be using the active voice (“I renovated the house”), which emphasizes the doer (you).
How do you form the passive voice in Polish, and why is zostać used here instead of być?
Polish passive is commonly built with the auxiliary zostać + past passive participle (e.g. został odnowiony). You can also use być (e.g. był odnowiony), but zostać often implies a completed action or change of state. Zostać + participle tends to be more dynamic (“ended up being…”) and is more idiomatic for reports of completed events.
Why is it został and not zostało?
Polish verbs agree in gender and number with the subject. Here the subject is dom (house), which is masculine singular, so you use został (masculine singular past). If the subject were feminine (e.g. kobieta), you’d say została; if neuter (e.g. mieszkanie), zostało.
What about odnowiony? Does it change form?
Yes. Odnowiony is a past passive participle, and it agrees with the subject in gender, number and case. For example:
- masculine singular: odnowiony
- feminine singular: odnowiona
- neuter singular: odnowione
- plural (all genders): odnowieni / odnowione depending on gender-mixed groups.
Why do we say w zeszłym miesiącu and not just zeszły miesiąc?
When specifying time in Polish you usually use the preposition w + locative case. Here miesiąc becomes miesiącu (locative), and the adjective zeszły becomes zeszłym. So w zeszłym miesiącu = “in last month” = “last month.” Without w, you’d say just zeszły miesiąc as a subject or object, not as a time adverbial.
Can I omit mój and just say Dom został odnowiony w zeszłym miesiącu?
Yes. Dropping mój makes the sentence more general (“The house was renovated last month”). Including mój emphasizes that it’s your house. Grammatically both are correct.
What’s the difference between odnowić, remontować, and wyremontować?
- Odnowić – to refurbish, restore, give a fresh look (often cosmetic).
- Remontować – to renovate, repair, usually implying ongoing work (imperfective).
- Wyremontować – perfective of remontować, meaning to complete a renovation.
In your sentence odnowiony suggests a restoration or cosmetic update. If you meant structural repairs, został wyremontowany might be more precise.
Could you also say Mój dom odnowiono w zeszłym miesiącu?
Yes, that’s the impersonal passive: odnowiono (3rd person singular impersonally) + object mój dom. It’s grammatically fine and often used in news or reports. The nuance is slightly more formal or detached than został odnowiony.