Learn Hardcore Polish: Test z lektury był trudny, ale ciekawy. - The test on the assigned reading was difficult but interesting.

Z lektury literally means “from the reading / from the set text”, but in natural English it’s usually translated as “on the reading” (as in a test on the book we had to read).

test z lektury = a test on the assigned reading / set book
lektura in school context = a book or text that students are required to read (a set text), not “the act of reading” in general.

So test z lektury is a standard phrase in Polish school language: a test checking how well you know/understood a specific assigned text.

Why is it z lektury and not o lekturze?

Both z and o can be translated as about, but they’re used in different patterns:

test z czegoś – a test on something
- test z lektury – a test on the reading
- test z historii – a history test
- test z gramatyki – a grammar test
rozmawiać o czymś – to talk about something
- rozmawiać o lekturze – to talk about the reading
- dyskusja o lekturze – a discussion about the reading

So:

z lektury is the normal, fixed way to say “a test on the reading”
o lekturze would sound like “talk/discuss about the reading”, not like the name of a test.

What grammatical case is lektury, and why is it used?

Lektury here is in the genitive singular.

The base noun is lektura (nominative singular). Its forms include:

nominative: lektura – the reading / set text
genitive: lektury – of the reading / of the set text

The preposition z (in the sense “in the area of / in the subject of”) typically requires the genitive:

test z lektury – a test of the reading
test z matematyki – a test of mathematics
test z biologii – a biology test

So z + lektury = “(a test) of the reading”, which in English becomes “a test on the reading”.

Why is it był and not jest?

Był is the past tense of być (to be) for he/it (masculine, singular):

jest – is (present tense)
był – was (past tense, masculine singular)

In the sentence, the speaker is talking about a test that already happened:

Test z lektury był trudny, ale ciekawy.
→ The test on the reading *was difficult but interesting.*

If you were talking about an ongoing or just-given test and describing it right now, you might say:

Ten test z lektury jest trudny, ale ciekawy.
→ This test on the reading *is difficult but interesting.*

Why are był, trudny, and ciekawy masculine? Why not feminine forms like była, trudna, ciekawa?

In Polish, the verb in the past tense and adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

The noun test is:

masculine, singular, inanimate.

So everything referring to test must be masculine singular:

był – past tense of być for he/it (masc. sing.)
trudny – masculine singular form of difficult
ciekawy – masculine singular form of interesting

If the noun were feminine, the forms would change:

klasa była trudna, ale ciekawa. – The class was difficult but interesting.
- klasa – feminine
- była, trudna, ciekawa – feminine singular forms

But with test (masculine), you need: był trudny, ale ciekawy.

Can I say “Test z lektury był trudny, ale był ciekawy”? Is that wrong?

It’s grammatically correct, but it sounds a bit heavy and redundant in normal speech.

In Polish (as in English), you often omit a repeated verb when the meaning is clear:

Test z lektury był trudny, ale ciekawy.
→ The test on the reading was difficult but interesting.

If you add the second był:

Test z lektury był trudny, ale był ciekawy.

it’s like saying in English:
“The test on the reading was difficult, but it was interesting.” – still correct, just a bit more formal/emphatic.

So:

It’s not wrong.
The version without the second był is more natural in everyday Polish.

Why is there a comma before ale?

In Polish, there is always a comma before the conjunction ale (but), no matter what it connects:

Był trudny, ale ciekawy.
Chcę iść, ale nie mogę.
To jest tanie, ale dobre.

This is a fixed punctuation rule in Polish:
zawsze przecinek przed “ale” – always a comma before “ale”.

In English, you sometimes see “difficult but interesting” with no comma. In Polish, you must write:

trudny, ale ciekawy – the comma is obligatory.

Can I change the word order, like “Test był trudny, ale ciekawy z lektury”?

No, “Test był trudny, ale ciekawy z lektury” is unnatural and confusing in Polish.

Z lektury specifically describes what the test is about, so it needs to stay next to “test”, not at the very end where it could seem to modify ciekawy.

Natural word orders include:

Test z lektury był trudny, ale ciekawy.
Ten test z lektury był trudny, ale ciekawy.
(more marked, but still possible) Z lektury był test, trudny, ale ciekawy. – with special emphasis.

But generally, keep it as:

Test z lektury był trudny, ale ciekawy.

What’s the difference between test and egzamin in Polish?

Both involve checking knowledge, but they’re used a bit differently:

test
- usually shorter, more specific
- often written, with questions, multiple choice, etc.
- used at school for quizzes, short tests, etc.
egzamin
- more formal, often more important
- e.g. egzamin maturalny (the final high-school exam), egzamin na studia (entrance exam)
- can be written and/or oral

So test z lektury is a regular school test on an assigned book or text, not a big official exam.

Is there a difference between trudny and ciężki when talking about a test?

Both can translate as “difficult / hard”, but there’s a nuance:

trudny – the neutral, standard word for difficult
- trudny test, trudne zadanie, trudna lektura
ciężki – literally heavy; colloquially also “tough” / “hard to get through”
- ciężki test – can sound like a really tough, exhausting test
- often with emotional/physical weight: ciężki dzień, ciężka praca, ciężka rozmowa

In a neutral sentence like:

Test z lektury był trudny, ale ciekawy.

trudny is the most natural choice. ciężki would sound more colloquial and emphasize how tiring or overwhelming the test felt.