Latem wolę wakacje na wsi niż w mieście.

In the summer I prefer vacation in the countryside rather than in the city.

Breakdown of Latem wolę wakacje na wsi niż w mieście.

• ja: I
• w: in
• niż: rather than
• na: in
• wieś: the countryside
• miasto: the city
• latem: in the summer
• woleć: to prefer
• wakacje: the holiday

Questions & Answers about Latem wolę wakacje na wsi niż w mieście.

What exactly does Latem mean, and why is it not w lato?

Latem means in (the) summer.
Grammatically, it is the instrumental singular of lato, used adverbially to express time.

You normally don’t say w lato. The natural options are:

• Latem – most common, very natural.
• W lecie – also correct, slightly more formal/neutral.

So:

• Latem wolę wakacje… = W lecie wolę wakacje…
  Both mean: In summer I prefer holidays…

Why is there no word for I in the sentence? Where is the subject?

In Polish the personal pronoun is often dropped because the verb ending shows the person.

• Wolę is 1st person singular (I).
• If you wanted to emphasise it, you could say: Ja wolę wakacje na wsi…, but Ja is not required.

So the subject “I” is understood from the form wolę.

What is the difference between wolę and lubię?

Both relate to likes, but:

• lubię = I like
  
  • neutral liking: Lubię kawę. – I like coffee.
• wolę = I prefer
  
  • choosing one thing over another: Wolę kawę niż herbatę. – I prefer coffee to tea.

In Latem wolę wakacje na wsi niż w mieście, the verb must be wolę, because the sentence expresses a preference, not just liking.

How is the verb woleć conjugated? What are the other forms?

Present tense of woleć (to prefer):

• ja wolę – I prefer
• ty wolisz – you prefer (singular)
• on / ona / ono woli – he / she / it prefers
• my wolimy – we prefer
• wy wolicie – you prefer (plural)
• oni / one wolą – they prefer

So wolę clearly shows 1st person singular.

What form is wakacje, and why is it plural?

Wakacje means holidays / vacation and is usually plural only in normal usage (pluralia tantum), like scissors in English.

Here:

• wolę (co?) wakacje → wakacje is accusative plural, the direct object of wolę.

Basic forms:

• Nominative plural: wakacje
• Accusative plural: wakacje (same shape)

If you say Jedne wakacje that can mean one set/period of holidays, but day-to-day you just say wakacje for “holidays” in general.

Why is it na wsi and not something like w wsi? What case is wsi?

Na wsi is a fixed, very common phrase meaning in the countryside.

• Nominative: wieś – a village / countryside
• Locative singular: wsi

With the preposition:

• na wsi = (being) in the countryside (location, static).

You wouldn’t say w wsi in standard Polish. You might say:

• w wiosce – in (a) village (more literally a village as a small settlement)
  But to mean in the countryside (generally), use na wsi.

When do I use na and when w for places, like na wsi vs w mieście?

There are general patterns and many idiomatic exceptions:

• w is often “in/inside”:
  • w mieście – in the city
  • w domu – at home / in the house
• na often suggests:
  • surfaces, open areas: na plaży (on the beach)
  • institutions/events: na uniwersytecie (at the university), na koncercie (at a concert)
  • and some fixed idioms: na wsi (in the countryside), na poczcie (at the post office)

Here:

• na wsi – idiomatic expression for in the countryside
• w mieście – literally in the city

What is the difference between na wsi and na wieś?

The case changes the meaning:

• na wsi – locative → location, where:
  • Mieszkam na wsi. – I live in the countryside.
• na wieś – accusative → motion towards, where to:
  • Jadę na wieś. – I’m going to the countryside.

In your sentence we’re talking about where the holidays are spent (on the countryside, in the city), so we need the locative: na wsi.

What form is w mieście? How does miasto decline?

W mieście means in the city and uses the locative singular of miasto.

Basic singular forms of miasto (a city):

• Nominative: miasto – the city
• Genitive: miasta
• Dative: miastu
• Accusative: miasto
• Instrumental: miastem
• Locative: mieście

With w + locative (for location):

• w mieście – in the city

Why is niż used here, and can I use od instead?

Niż is a conjunction used in comparisons, similar to than:

• Wolę wakacje na wsi niż w mieście. – I prefer holidays in the countryside to in the city.

You will also hear od used in this structure:

• Wolę wakacje na wsi od wakacji w mieście.

Differences:

• With adjectives/adverbs you normally use niż:
  • Ładniejszy niż ona. – more beautiful than her.
• With verbs of preference (like wolę) both niż and od are possible, but:
  • niż is often simpler and more natural in speech here.
  • If you use od, you more often repeat the noun: od wakacji w mieście.

Why is wakacje not repeated after niż? Is something omitted?

Yes, this is an example of ellipsis (omitting repeated words that are obvious from context).

Full form:

• Latem wolę wakacje na wsi niż wakacje w mieście.

Because wakacje would appear twice, it is normally dropped in the second part:

• Latem wolę wakacje na wsi niż w mieście.

Polish frequently omits repeated nouns like this if the meaning is clear.

Is the word order fixed? Can I move latem or other elements around?

The word order is fairly flexible in Polish, though some variants sound more natural than others.

Possible versions:

• Latem wolę wakacje na wsi niż w mieście. – very natural.
• Wolę latem wakacje na wsi niż w mieście. – also possible.
• Wolę wakacje na wsi latem, a zimą w mieście. – adding contrast with winter, etc.

Generally, Latem at the beginning is a common, neutral way to set the time frame, similar to English “In summer, I prefer…”.