Breakdown of Latem słońce świeci mocniej niż jesienią.
słońce
the sun
latem
in the summer
niż
than
jesienią
in autumn
Questions & Answers about Latem słońce świeci mocniej niż jesienią.
Why is it Latem and not Lato at the start of the sentence?
Lato is the basic noun “summer” in the nominative case.
Latem is the instrumental case, and in this context it functions like an adverb of time, meaning “in (the) summer / during summer”.
Polish often uses the instrumental case without a preposition to express time:
- latem – in (the) summer
- zimą – in (the) winter
- nocą – at night
So Latem słońce… is best understood as “In summer, the sun…”.
If you said just Lato słońce świeci…, it would be ungrammatical; the bare nominative lato can’t fill that “when?” role.
Could I say W lecie słońce świeci mocniej… instead of Latem…? Is there a difference?