Learn Hardcore Polish: Kiedy siedzę długo w biurze, jest mi smutno i myślę o wakacjach. - When I sit in the office for a long time, I feel sad and think about holidays.

Jest mi smutno.
- Literally: It is sad to me.
- Structure:
  - jest – it is (impersonal)
  - mi – to me (dative case of ja)
  - smutno – adverb/adjectival form sad
- This focuses on how you feel in that moment. Very natural for emotions, physical states, etc.
Jestem smutny / Jestem smutna.
- Literally: I am sad.
- Jestem – I am
- smutny/smutna – adjective agreeing with the speaker’s gender
- This sounds more like describing your state or personality right now.

In this sentence, „jest mi smutno” matches the idea of a passing emotional reaction to sitting in the office too long. It sounds a bit softer and more “felt” than „jestem smutny”. Both are correct, but here „jest mi smutno” is more idiomatic.

What case is „mi” in „jest mi smutno”, and why do we use it?

Mi is the dative form of ja (I).

Nominative: ja (I)
Dative: mi / mnie (to me)

The dative is used to mark the experiencer of a feeling or state in many impersonal expressions:

Jest mi zimno. – I’m cold. (Literally: It is cold to me.)
Było mu źle. – He felt bad. (Literally: It was bad to him.)
Będzie nam nudno. – We will be bored. (Literally: It will be boring to us.)

So in „jest mi smutno”, mi marks the person who experiences the sadness.

Why is it „smutno” and not „smutny/smutna” in „jest mi smutno”?

Smutno here is an impersonal predicative form (looks like an adverb), often used with jest to describe how someone feels:

jest mi smutno – I feel sad
jest mi wesoło – I feel cheerful
jest mi zimno – I feel cold
jest mi przykro – I’m sorry / I feel bad

These forms:

do not agree with gender or number,
stay the same whether the speaker is male or female, singular or plural.

If you say „jestem smutny/smutna”, then smutny/smutna is a normal adjective that must agree with your gender. In „jest mi smutno” we don’t describe “what I am”, we describe “how it is to me”, so we use this special -o form.

What tense and aspect is „siedzę”, and why is it used here?

Siedzę is:

Present tense
1st person singular
Imperfective aspect
From the verb siedzieć – to sit.

Polish uses the present imperfective for:

actions happening right now, or
repeated / typical actions in the present.

Here, the sentence means roughly Whenever I sit for a long time in the office…, so present imperfective is exactly what you want to express this general / habitual situation.

Why do we use „długo” instead of an adjective like „długi”?

Długo is an adverb meaning for a long time / long.

In Polish (as in English), you use:

Adjectives to describe nouns:
- długi dzień – a long day
Adverbs to describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs:
- siedzę długo – I sit for a long time
- bardzo długo – very long

Because „długo” describes how long you sit (it modifies the verb siedzę), it must be an adverb, not an adjective. That’s why „długo”, not „długi”.

What case is „w biurze”, and why do we use it?

Biurze is in the locative case.

Nominative: biuro – office
Locative: (o) biurze, w biurze – in the office / about the office

We use the locative because:

The preposition w (in) requires:
- locative for location: w biurze – in the office
- accusative for movement into: w biuro (rare, but in principle into the office)

Here, you are located in the office (not moving into it), so w biurze (locative) is correct.

What case is „wakacjach” in „myślę o wakacjach”, and why?

Wakacjach is also locative.

The noun wakacje (vacation, holidays) is only used in the plural:

Nominative plural: wakacje – holidays
Locative plural: wakacjach – (about) holidays

The preposition o (about) requires the locative case when it means “about (a topic)”:

myślę o tobie – I think about you
mówimy o pracy – we talk about work
czytam o historii – I read about history
marzę o podróżach – I dream about travels

So: myślę o wakacjach – I think about holidays, with wakacjach in the locative.

Could I say „myślę o urlopie” instead of „myślę o wakacjach”? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can, but there is a nuance:

wakacje – holidays, usually school or long vacation (summer holidays, winter holidays). More general, can be just “time off”, especially for students/pupils.
urlop – leave from work: paid vacation, official time off as an employee.

So:

myślę o wakacjach – I think about holidays (could be summer break, traveling, just being off in general).
myślę o urlopie – I think about taking time off from my job / about my paid leave.

In an office context, „myślę o urlopie” would sound very natural if you mean “I’m thinking about taking vacation leave from work.”

Can I change the word order in „jest mi smutno” to something like „mi jest smutno” or „smutno mi jest”?

Yes, Polish word order is quite flexible here, but the neutral, most common version is:

Jest mi smutno.

Other possible orders:

Mi jest smutno. – puts a bit more emphasis on mi (to me): “I am the one who feels sad.”
Smutno mi jest. – emphasises smutno more, can sound a bit more emotional or poetic.
Mi smutno jest. – possible, but sounds unusual or stylised.

In everyday speech, stick with „jest mi smutno” as the standard form.

Is the comma after „Kiedy siedzę długo w biurze” necessary?

Yes. In Polish, you normally must use a comma between a subordinate clause and the main clause.

Kiedy siedzę długo w biurze, jest mi smutno i myślę o wakacjach.

Here:

Kiedy siedzę długo w biurze – subordinate time clause (introduced by kiedy)
jest mi smutno i myślę o wakacjach – main clause

Subordinate clause + main clause → comma is required.

What’s the difference between „kiedy” and „gdy” here? Could we say „Gdy siedzę długo w biurze…”?

Yes, you can say:

Kiedy siedzę długo w biurze, jest mi smutno…
Gdy siedzę długo w biurze, jest mi smutno…

Both mean When I sit for a long time in the office….

Differences:

kiedy – very common, neutral in both spoken and written Polish.
gdy – slightly more formal or literary in some contexts, but still perfectly normal; often interchangeable with kiedy.

In this everyday-style sentence, kiedy and gdy are practically equivalent.

Does „kiedy siedzę długo w biurze” mean right now or generally (habitually)?

In Polish, present tense of an imperfective verb (like siedzieć) can mean:

Right now:
- Siedzę w biurze. – I’m sitting in the office (currently).
Habitual/general:
- Kiedy siedzę długo w biurze, jest mi smutno.
  – Whenever I sit for a long time in the office, I feel sad.

Here, the structure kiedy + present tense usually expresses a general condition / repeated situation, not one single event. Context makes it clear that this is about a typical pattern, not just “today”.