Learn Hardcore Polish: Wczoraj powiedziano nam, że wykład przeniesiono. - Yesterday we were told that the lecture was moved.

Polish often uses the impersonal -no/-to construction to avoid naming an agent. In Wczoraj powiedziano nam, że wykład przeniesiono, both powiedziano and przeniesiono are impersonal past forms meaning “someone/they did X” or “it was done.” This is natural when the agent is unknown, unimportant, or obvious from context. Rough English equivalents are “We were told…” and “The lecture was moved.”

How can I say the same thing without using the -no/-to form?

Two common options:

Active, unspecified “they”: Wczoraj powiedzieli nam, że przenieśli wykład. (“They told us that they moved the lecture.”)
Periphrastic passive with zostać: Wczoraj powiedzieli nam, że wykład został przeniesiony. (“…that the lecture was moved.”)

What’s the difference between -no and -to? Why do we get powiedziano and przeniesiono, not -to?

The choice reflects the type of passive participle the verb would have:

Verbs with a -ny participle yield -no: powiedziany → powiedziano, przeniesiony → przeniesiono.
Verbs with a -ty participle yield -to: zamknięty → zamknięto, wzięty → wzięto. You don’t inflect -no/-to for gender or number; it’s always neuter singular in form and impersonal in meaning.

Does wczoraj refer to when we were told, or when the lecture was moved?

By default, wczoraj attaches to the main verb powiedziano (we were told yesterday). The sentence does not say when the moving happened. If you want to say the lecture was moved yesterday, put the time phrase inside the subordinate clause: Wczoraj powiedziano nam, że wykład przeniesiono wczoraj.

Is wykład nominative or accusative here?

Accusative. In the -no/-to construction, the direct object stays in the accusative (as in the active voice). For masculine inanimate nouns like wykład, nominative and accusative look the same, so it’s ambiguous in form. Compare:

Książkę przeniesiono. (feminine; accusative shows as -ę)
Studenta aresztowano. (masculine animate; accusative -a)

Can I change the word order?

Yes. Polish word order is flexible and reflects information structure:

Wczoraj powiedziano nam, że wykład przeniesiono. (neutral)
Wczoraj nam powiedziano, że wykład przeniesiono. (puts nam earlier)
Powiedziano nam wczoraj, że przeniesiono wykład. (focuses the object at the end) All are grammatical; position choices mildly affect emphasis/focus.

Where should the pronoun nam go?

Weak pronouns like nam prefer early positions, usually right after the first stressed item:

Wczoraj powiedziano nam…
Wczoraj nam powiedziano…
Powiedziano nam wczoraj… Avoid late placement like Powiedziano wczoraj nam…, which is possible but tends to sound awkward.

Why not say dla nas instead of nam?

Because powiedzieć selects a dative indirect object: powiedzieć komu? → nam. Dla nas means “for us” (beneficiary), not the recipient of speech.

Why is there a comma before że? Can I drop że like in English?

Polish requires a comma before że introducing a subordinate clause, and you cannot omit że in indirect speech. If you want direct speech instead, use a colon and quote: Powiedziano nam: Wykład przeniesiono.

Should I use że, iż, or żeby here?

że = “that” (neutral, most common): Powiedziano nam, że…
iż = “that” (formal/literary): acceptable but stylistically elevated.
żeby = “so that / in order that / that … should,” used for commands/requests/purposes: Powiedziano nam, żebyśmy przenieśli wykład (“we were told to move the lecture”), which changes the meaning.

Why are both verbs perfective (powiedziano, przeniesiono)?

Perfective aspect foregrounds a completed event:

powiedziano = “we were (once) told”
przeniesiono = “(it) was moved (completed move)” Imperfective would suggest ongoing/repeated actions:
Mówiono nam… (“we were being told/people used to tell us…”)
Przenoszono wykład… (“they were moving/used to move the lecture…”)

What’s the difference between -no/-to and the passive with zostać?

Both are impersonal, but:

-no/-to is compact and very common in speech/news when the agent is irrelevant: Wykład przeniesiono.
zostać
- passive participle is slightly more formal and can stress the result: Wykład został przeniesiony. Avoid był przeniesiony for a single event; it describes a state (“was in a moved state”) rather than the event of moving.

How do I express “had been moved” (sequence of tenses)?

Polish doesn’t have a past perfect form. Context handles the sequence: Powiedziano nam, że wykład przeniesiono can translate as “We were told (yesterday) that the lecture had been moved.” To make the “already earlier” nuance explicit, add adverbs or use zostać: Powiedziano nam wczoraj, że wykład już wcześniej został przeniesiony.

How do I negate this?

Main clause: Nie powiedziano nam… (“We were not told…”)
Subordinate clause (two options):
- Neutral: …że wykład nie został przeniesiony.
- With genitive of negation: …że wykładu nie przeniesiono. (the direct object shifts to genitive under negation)

How do I say where/when it was moved to?

Use:

Time: przenieść na + accusative → …że wykład przeniesiono na piątek / na 15:00.
Place: przenieść do + genitive or na + accusative (for venues) → …przeniesiono do innego budynku / na salę 101.

Is przeniesiono the best verb for “rescheduled”? What about przełożono?

Both work, but nuances differ:

przenieść = move/transfer (time or place), quite general.
przełożyć = reschedule (usually time), very common for moving a date/time. So for time changes many speakers prefer: …że wykład przełożono (na poniedziałek).

Is nam required? What changes if I drop it?

It’s optional. Powiedziano nam… is “we were told,” while Powiedziano, że… is “It was said that…” (no recipient specified). Include nam if you want to mark who received the information.

Can I mix active and impersonal in the two clauses?

Yes. For example:

Wczoraj powiedzieli nam, że wykład przeniesiono. (active “they told us” + impersonal “was moved”)
Wczoraj powiedzieli nam, że przenieśli wykład. (both active; implies the same “they” did the moving) Choose based on whether you want to imply the same agents.

How would the sentence look with a plural object?

Exactly the same verb form; only the object changes:

Wczoraj powiedziano nam, że wykłady przeniesiono. (“lectures were moved”) The -no/-to ending stays the same regardless of singular/plural.