Ja lubię to miasto wieczorem.

I like this city in the evening.

Breakdown of Ja lubię to miasto wieczorem.

• ja: I
• lubić: to like
• to: this
• wieczorem: in the evening
• miasto: the town

Questions & Answers about Ja lubię to miasto wieczorem.

Why do we have Ja here? Can I just say Lubię to miasto wieczorem?

Yes, you can (and usually will) say Lubię to miasto wieczorem.
Polish normally drops subject pronouns, because the verb ending (-ę in lubię) already shows the person:

• Ja lubię = I like (1st person singular is clear from lubię)

You keep Ja mainly for emphasis or contrast, for example:

• Ja lubię to miasto wieczorem, ale ty nie.
  I like this city in the evening, but you don’t.

What is the infinitive of lubię, and how is it conjugated?

The infinitive is lubić (to like). Present tense:

• ja lubię – I like
• ty lubisz – you (sg.) like
• on/ona/ono lubi – he/she/it likes
• my lubimy – we like
• wy lubicie – you (pl.) like
• oni/one lubią – they like

The present tense in Polish also covers general, habitual actions, so lubię can mean I like, not I am liking.

Why is lubię and not something like jestem lubiący, like “I am liking”?

Polish doesn’t form this kind of continuous aspect with być (to be) + participle for simple likes/dislikes.
The verb lubić by itself expresses a stable preference or habit. So:

• Lubię to miasto wieczorem. = I like this city in the evening. (natural)
• A literal jestem lubiący to miasto is ungrammatical/unnatural in Polish.

What’s the difference between lubić, kochać, and podobać się? Could I say Kocham to miasto wieczorem?

• lubić – to like, to be fond of (neutral “like”)
• kochać – to love (very strong: people, sometimes cities, music, etc.)
• podobać się – to appeal to someone’s senses, to be pleasing (visually, aesthetically)

You can say Kocham to miasto wieczorem, but it sounds much stronger and more emotional: I love this city in the evening.
Lubię to miasto wieczorem is the normal, neutral way to say I like this city in the evening.

Why is it to miasto, not something else like ten miasto?

Miasto is a neuter noun. The demonstratives must agree in gender, so:

• ten – masculine
• ta – feminine
• to – neuter

Therefore, to miasto = this city.
Ten miasto is incorrect because ten is masculine, but miasto is neuter.

The city is the object here. Why is it still to miasto and not some changed form?

The noun is in the accusative case as the direct object of lubić, but for neuter inanimate nouns, nominative and accusative have the same form:

• nominative sg.: to miasto – this city (subject)
• accusative sg.: to miasto – this city (object)

So, even though the case changes, the visible form stays to miasto.

Could I say Ja lubię tego miasta wieczorem?

No, not in the affirmative sentence.
Lubić normally takes the accusative, so you need to miasto, not tego miasta (genitive).

However, with negation the object changes to genitive:

• Nie lubię tego miasta wieczorem. – I don’t like this city in the evening.

So:

• (+) Lubię to miasto. (accusative)
• (–) Nie lubię tego miasta. (genitive)

Why is there no preposition with wieczorem? Why not w wieczorze?

Time expressions like rano (in the morning), wieczorem (in the evening), nocą (at night), zimą (in winter) often appear without a preposition.

Wieczorem is the instrumental form of wieczór and by itself means in the evening.
Using w wieczorze would be very unusual and wrong in this sense of “in the evening” (it might only work in rare, abstract uses).

Does wieczorem mean one specific evening or evenings in general?

Polish wieczorem can mean both:

• a general, habitual meaning: in the evenings
• a more specific meaning in context: in the evening (tonight)

So Lubię to miasto wieczorem is usually understood as a general preference: I like this city in the evenings.
If you really needed to stress “every evening”, you could say każdego wieczoru, but it’s not necessary for a generic statement.

Can I change the word order? For example, Wieczorem lubię to miasto or To miasto lubię wieczorem?

Yes, Polish word order is quite flexible. All of these are correct:

• Lubię to miasto wieczorem. (neutral)
• Wieczorem lubię to miasto. (emphasis on in the evening)
• To miasto lubię wieczorem. (emphasis on this city in contrast to others)

The basic information doesn’t change; different orders mainly change what is emphasized or contrasted.

If pronouns are usually dropped, is Ja lubię to miasto wieczorem wrong or too strong?

It’s not wrong, but it does sound emphatic.
You’d typically use Ja lubię… when you want to contrast yourself with someone else or stress that it’s you who likes it:

• Ja lubię to miasto wieczorem, ale moja siostra woli rano.
  I like this city in the evening, but my sister prefers it in the morning.

In a neutral statement, most speakers would simply say Lubię to miasto wieczorem.

How would I say “I don’t like this city in the evening” in Polish, and what changes compared to the original sentence?

You say:

• Nie lubię tego miasta wieczorem.

Changes compared to Lubię to miasto wieczorem:

1. Add nie before the verb: nie lubię.
2. The object changes from accusative to miasto to genitive tego miasta, because direct objects after negation normally take the genitive in Polish.

Is miasto “city” or “town”? Does Polish distinguish between them?

Miasto can mean both city and town.
Polish doesn’t have a strict everyday distinction like English; miasto is any settlement with official city/town status.
Context or size (big vs small) will tell you whether to translate it as city or town in English.