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Wieczorem opowiadamy żarty w kuchni.

Wieczorem opowiadamy żarty w kuchni.
In the evening we tell jokes in the kitchen.
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Questions & Answers about Wieczorem opowiadamy żarty w kuchni.

Why is Wieczorem at the beginning, and can I put it somewhere else? Do I need a comma?

Starting with a time word is very common in Polish to set the scene. You can move it without changing the basic meaning:

  • Wieczorem opowiadamy żarty w kuchni.
  • Opowiadamy żarty w kuchni wieczorem.
  • Wieczorem w kuchni opowiadamy żarty.
  • W kuchni wieczorem opowiadamy żarty. No comma is needed after Wieczorem here.
What form is Wieczorem, and why not w wieczorem?
Wieczorem is the instrumental case of wieczór (“evening”) used adverbially to mean “in the evening.” You do not add a preposition. w wieczorem is incorrect. (Archaic Polish had w wieczór, but not in modern usage.)
How do I say “in the evenings (habitually)” vs “this evening/tonight”?
  • Habitual: Wieczorami opowiadamy… (“in the evenings, we (usually) tell…”)
  • This evening/tonight: Dziś/Dzisiaj wieczorem opowiadamy…
Why use opowiadamy rather than mówimy or żartujemy?
  • opowiadać (co?) is the idiomatic verb for telling stories/jokes: opowiadać żarty/dowcipy.
  • mówić = “to say/speak”; mówić żarty is possible but much less natural.
  • żartować = “to joke/kid (around)” and doesn’t take a direct object: Żartujemy w kuchni = “We’re joking around in the kitchen,” not “telling jokes.”
What does opowiadamy tell me about the subject? Do I need the pronoun my?
The ending -my marks 1st person plural (“we”). Polish usually drops subject pronouns, so my is optional and used only for emphasis/contrast: My opowiadamy… (“We (as opposed to others) tell…”).
Is the sentence about a habitual action or about right now/tonight?

Present tense in Polish can be habitual or “right now/this evening,” depending on context. If you want a one-off, completed future event, use perfective:

  • One-off future: Wieczorem opowiemy żarty. For ongoing/repeated future, use the future of the imperfective:
  • Ongoing/repeated future: Wieczorem będziemy opowiadać żarty.
What case is żarty, and how does it change with negation and numbers?

żarty is accusative plural (direct object) of masculine inanimate żart.

  • Under negation, the object goes to genitive: Nie opowiadamy żartów.
  • With numbers: dwa/trzy/cztery żarty, but pięć (i więcej) żartów; after kilka also genitive: kilka żartów.
Is opowiadać żarty idiomatic? What about dowcipy or kawały?

Yes. All are fine:

  • opowiadać żarty / opowiadać dowcipy (very common)
  • opowiadać kawały (colloquial; kawał = a joke/gag) For pranks, use other verbs: robić/stroić żarty, robić komuś kawał.
Why w kuchni and not w kuchnię?
Static location takes w + locative: w kuchni = “in the kitchen.” Movement into takes w + accusative in some contexts, but for rooms you typically say do + genitive: do kuchni = “to (into) the kitchen.”
Why w and not na?
w = “in/inside” a space (a room). na = “on/at,” used for surfaces and certain set places (e.g., na uniwersytecie). Also note kuchnia can mean “stove/cooker,” so na kuchni could be interpreted as “on the stove,” not “in the kitchen.” Standard for the room is w kuchni.
What case is kuchni, and how do I say to/from the kitchen?

kuchni is locative singular of kuchnia. For motion:

  • To the kitchen: do kuchni (genitive)
  • From the kitchen: z kuchni (genitive)
Any pronunciation tips for this sentence?
  • wieczorem: cz like ch in “church”; stress on the second syllable.
  • opowiadamy: w sounds like English “v”; wia is like “vya.”
  • żarty: ż is like the “s” in “measure.”
  • w kuchni: w often devoices to an [f]-like sound before the voiceless k (you may hear something like “fkuh…”); ch is a hard “h” (German “Bach”); ni yields a soft “ny” sound.
Where is the stress?

Polish stress is (almost always) on the penultimate syllable:

  • wie-CZO-rem
  • o-po-wia-DA-my
  • ŻAR-ty
  • KUCH-ni
Polish has no articles. How do I say “some jokes” or “the jokes”?

Use determiners when you need that nuance:

  • “some jokes”: jakieś żarty / parę żartów / kilka żartów
  • “the/these jokes”: te żarty
Can I change the word order for emphasis?

Yes. Polish word order is flexible. For example:

  • Żarty opowiadamy wieczorem w kuchni. (emphasizes that it’s jokes, not something else)
  • W kuchni opowiadamy żarty wieczorem. (emphasizes place) The neutral, easy-flowing option is the original or Opowiadamy żarty w kuchni wieczorem.