Learn Hardcore Polish: Na koncercie na scenę wychodzą aktor i aktorka, a publiczność cicho czeka. - At the concert an actor and an actress walk onto the stage, and the audience waits quietly.

Using w koncercie would sound wrong here. W is used more with enclosed spaces or physical interiors (e.g. w sklepie, w domu, w kinie). A concert is viewed as an event, not a container, so Polish uses na.

What case is koncercie and why is that case used?

Koncercie is in the locative singular case.

The preposition na can take:

locative when it means on/at (location)
accusative when it means onto (movement)

Here, na koncercie means at the concert (a static location), so na requires the locative case:

koncert (nominative) → koncercie (locative)
na koncercie = at the concert

Why is it na scenę and not na scenie?

Both exist, but they are used differently:

na scenę – accusative, used with movement towards the stage
- wychodzą na scenę – they go (out) onto the stage
na scenie – locative, used for being located on the stage
- stoją na scenie – they are standing on the stage

In the sentence, the actors are going onto the stage, so Polish uses na scenę (movement → accusative).

What is the difference between wychodzić and wyjść, and why is it wychodzą here?

Polish verbs come in aspect pairs: imperfective vs perfective.

wychodzić – imperfective (process, repeated action, no focus on completion)
- wychodzą – they go out / are going out / walk out
wyjść – perfective (single, completed action, result)
- wyszli – they went out / they came out (and it’s done)

In Na koncercie na scenę wychodzą aktor i aktorka, the speaker:

describes what is currently happening in the scene, in a kind of “live commentary” or narrative present
focuses on the action in progress, not on the fact it has finished

That’s why the imperfective present form wychodzą is natural here. A perfective past like wyszli would sound more like a finished event in a storyline: “they (have) came out onto the stage.”

Why is the verb wychodzą plural if we have aktor i aktorka, both in singular?

In Polish, when two singular nouns are joined by i (and), they form a compound subject, and the verb agrees with them in the plural.

aktor = he
aktorka = she
aktor i aktorka = they

So the verb must be plural:

Aktor i aktorka wychodzą na scenę. – The actor and the actress go onto the stage.

If there were only one actor, it would be:

Aktor wychodzi na scenę. – The actor goes onto the stage.

Why say aktor i aktorka instead of just aktorzy?

Both are correct, but they have different nuances:

aktorzy – actors (plural, usually masculine-personal; can mean a mixed-gender group)
- Na scenę wychodzą aktorzy. – Actors come onto the stage.
aktor i aktorka – explicitly one male actor and one female actor
- This form highlights that there are two specific people and gives their genders.

So aktor i aktorka is more specific and visual: you can imagine exactly one man and one woman entering.

What part of speech is publiczność, and why does the verb stay singular (czeka)?

Publiczność is a singular, feminine noun meaning the audience.

It is a collective noun: one word that refers to a group of many people. In Polish, such nouns take singular verb agreement:

publiczność czeka – the audience waits / is waiting
policja szuka – the police is looking for
młodzież protestuje – the youth is protesting

So publiczność cicho czeka uses czeka (3rd person singular) correctly, matching publiczność in number and person.

If you wanted a clearly plural subject, you could say, for example:

Ludzie z publiczności czekają. – The people in the audience are waiting.

Why is the adverb order cicho czeka and not czeka cicho? Are both possible?

Both cicho czeka and czeka cicho are grammatically correct. The difference is minor and mostly about style and rhythm.

cicho czeka – adverb first (very natural, neutral word order)
czeka cicho – adverb after the verb (possible; can sound slightly more marked or expressive, depending on context)

In Polish, adverbs often appear before the verb:

wolno mówi – he/she speaks slowly
głośno śpiewa – he/she sings loudly

So publiczność cicho czeka is the most typical-sounding variant, but publiczność czeka cicho is also fine.

What does the conjunction a do here, and how is it different from i or ale?

Polish has several similar conjunctions:

i – basic and, joins similar things, neutral:
- Aktor i aktorka wychodzą na scenę.
a – can also mean and, but often:
- contrasts two parts slightly
- marks a change of focus (“while / whereas / and meanwhile”)
ale – but, marks a clear contrast or opposition.

In Aktor i aktorka wychodzą na scenę, a publiczność cicho czeka, a:

links two related actions
slightly contrasts them or sets them side by side:
- “The actor and actress go onto the stage, and (meanwhile) the audience waits quietly.”

Using i here is possible, but a better captures that it’s a second, slightly contrasting scene (stage vs audience).

Why does publiczność have no ending change in this sentence? Which case is it?

In publiczność cicho czeka, publiczność is the subject, so it is in the nominative singular.

The basic dictionary form of the noun (nominative) for many feminine nouns ends in -ść, like:

młodość – youth
radość – joy
publiczność – audience

So you see the base form publiczność unchanged, because it’s in nominative and acting as the subject of czeka.

What are the cases of koncercie, scenę, aktor, aktorka, and publiczność in this sentence?

In the sentence:

Na koncercie na scenę wychodzą aktor i aktorka, a publiczność cicho czeka.

we have:

koncercie – locative singular (after na meaning at):
- na koncercie – at the concert
scenę – accusative singular (after na with motion onto):
- na scenę – onto the stage
aktor – nominative singular, part of the compound subject:
- aktor i aktorka – the actor and the actress
aktorka – nominative singular, also part of the subject:
- together they take wychodzą (3rd person plural)
publiczność – nominative singular, subject of czeka:
- publiczność cicho czeka – the audience waits quietly

Is the word order Na koncercie na scenę wychodzą aktor i aktorka fixed, or can it be changed?

Polish word order is relatively flexible. You can change it to emphasize different elements while keeping the same basic meaning. For example:

Aktor i aktorka wychodzą na scenę na koncercie.
Na scenę wychodzą aktor i aktorka na koncercie.
Na koncercie aktor i aktorka wychodzą na scenę.

The original:

Na koncercie na scenę wychodzą aktor i aktorka…

puts context first:

Na koncercie – where? (at the concert)
na scenę – where to? (onto the stage)
wychodzą – what’s happening (they are coming out)
aktor i aktorka – who?

This sounds natural in storytelling, gradually setting the scene before revealing who appears.

Why is there no word for “the” or “a” (articles) in this sentence?

Polish has no articles like English a/an or the.

aktor can mean an actor or the actor, depending on context.
publiczność can mean an audience or the audience.

Polish relies on:

context
word order
pronouns (like ten, ta, to)
to express definiteness when needed:
ten aktor – this/the actor
ta publiczność – this/the audience

But in most simple sentences, you just use the bare noun, as in the example.