On będzie gotowy dopiero wieczorem.

He will only be ready in the evening.

Breakdown of On będzie gotowy dopiero wieczorem.

• być: to be
• on: he
• wieczorem: in the evening
• gotowy: ready
• dopiero: only

Questions & Answers about On będzie gotowy dopiero wieczorem.

What nuance does dopiero add here? Is it just “only”?

Dopiero means “not until,” implying a delay compared to what someone might expect. It denies any earlier time.

• On będzie gotowy dopiero wieczorem = he won’t be ready before evening (later than expected).
• Tylko means “only” in the sense of exclusivity. On będzie gotowy tylko wieczorem says the evening is the sole time, but doesn’t carry the “later than expected” feel. In many contexts, dopiero sounds much more natural here.

Can I omit On and/or change the word order?

Yes. Polish often drops subject pronouns and allows flexible word order to adjust emphasis:

• Będzie gotowy dopiero wieczorem. (neutral)
• Dopiero wieczorem będzie gotowy. (strong focus on the time)
• On dopiero wieczorem będzie gotowy. (contrastive focus on “he”)
• Gotowy będzie dopiero wieczorem. (slightly formal/literary) Avoid overly split placements like On będzie dopiero wieczorem gotowy unless you want very marked spoken emphasis.

Which case is wieczorem, and how do I express other time relations like “by/until/toward evening”?

Wieczorem is the instrumental singular of wieczór, used adverbially to mean “in the evening.”

• “until evening”: do wieczora / do wieczoru
• “by/for the evening” (deadline/target): na wieczór
• “toward evening”: pod wieczór
• “that evening”: tego wieczoru
• “this evening”: dziś wieczorem / dzisiaj wieczorem

Why gotowy and not gotów? Do they mean the same? How do they agree with gender/number?

Gotowy and gotów both mean “ready.” Gotów is a short predicative form; it’s a bit more formal and is common before an infinitive (willingness/availability).

• Gender/number agreement:
  • he: będzie gotowy / gotów
  • she: będzie gotowa
  • it: będzie gotowe
  • they (masc. personal): będą gotowi
  • they (non-masc. personal): będą gotowe Example with infinitive: Jestem gotów zapłacić (also common today: Jestem gotowa/gotowy zapłacić).

How is będzie conjugated for other persons?

Future of być:

• ja: będę
• ty: będziesz
• on/ona/ono: będzie
• my: będziemy
• wy: będziecie
• oni/one: będą Example: Będziemy gotowi dopiero wieczorem.

How do I pronounce the sentence?

• będzie [ˈbɛnd͡ʑɛ] (the dz
  • ie gives a soft “dźe” sound)
• gotowy [gɔˈtɔvɨ] (final y is a hard “ɨ,” not like English “ee”)
• dopiero [dɔˈpjɛrɔ] (cluster pj as in “p–y”)
• wieczorem [vjɛˈt͡ʂɔrɛm] (w = “v”; cz = “ch” in “church” but harder) Stress is on the next-to-last syllable of each word and of the sentence’s rhythmic groups.

Do I need a preposition before wieczorem? And what about articles like “the evening”?

No preposition is needed: wieczorem already means “in the evening.” Polish has no articles. If you need specificity, use demonstratives or time words:

• dziś wieczorem (this evening/tonight)
• tego wieczoru (that evening)

How do I say “tonight” or “this evening”?

• Dziś wieczorem / Dzisiaj wieczorem = this evening/tonight (evening part)
• More formal/literary: Dzisiejszego wieczoru
• For the late-night period: dziś w nocy

How do I turn this into a yes/no question?

• Neutral/polite: Czy on będzie gotowy dopiero wieczorem?
• Colloquial with rising intonation: On będzie gotowy dopiero wieczorem?

What’s the difference between dopiero and już here?

They’re near-opposites in feel:

• On będzie gotowy dopiero wieczorem = not until evening (later than expected).
• On będzie gotowy już wieczorem = as early as the evening (earlier than expected).

Is On będzie gotowy do wieczora correct if I mean “by evening”?

Better avoid that with gotowy. Do wieczora means “until evening” and fits actions that last up to a point (e.g., pracuję do wieczora). To express a deadline/result:

• Use wieczorem (ready in the evening): Będzie gotowy wieczorem.
• Or target/deadline: Będzie gotowy na wieczór.
• Or “at the latest”: Najpóźniej wieczorem będzie gotowy.

Can I drop będzie and say On gotowy dopiero wieczorem?

In normal speech/writing, keep będzie. Omitting the future być sounds elliptical (note-like, headline style): Gotowy dopiero wieczorem might appear in schedules or labels but is not a full neutral sentence.

How do I say “ready to do something” or “ready for something”?

• Ready to do (action as a plan/state): gotów + infinitive or commonly gotowy + infinitive
  Example: Jestem gotów/gotowa zapłacić.
• Ready to perform/commence: gotowy do + genitive
  Example: gotowy do wyjścia (ready to leave).
• Ready for an event/situation: gotowy na + accusative
  Example: gotowy na egzamin (ready for the exam).

Does dopiero ever mean “just” as in “just now”?

Yes, with co: dopiero co = “just (a moment ago).”
Example: On dopiero co przyszedł (He just arrived). That’s different from future timing in przyjdzie dopiero wieczorem (He won’t come until the evening).

Where else can I place dopiero in this sentence?

Common, natural options:

• Będzie gotowy dopiero wieczorem. (neutral)
• Dopiero wieczorem będzie gotowy. (focus on time)
• On dopiero wieczorem będzie gotowy. (contrastive “he”) You can also say On dopiero będzie gotowy wieczorem, but this split is less common and used for strong spoken emphasis.