Przy namiocie rozpalimy małe ognisko.

By the tent we will light a small campfire.

Breakdown of Przy namiocie rozpalimy małe ognisko.

• mały: small
• przy: by
• namiot: the tent
• rozpalić: to light
• ognisko: the campfire

Questions & Answers about Przy namiocie rozpalimy małe ognisko.

What exactly does przy mean here? Is it "at", "by", or "near"?

Przy is usually translated as by, next to, or at the side of.

In Przy namiocie rozpalimy małe ognisko, przy namiocie suggests the fire will be right beside the tent or very close to it.

Approximate English equivalents depending on context:

• by the tent
• next to the tent
• at the tent (in the sense of “at the location of the tent”)

If you just want “somewhere in the area of the tent, not necessarily right up against it”, other prepositions like koło or obok can feel slightly less “tight” than przy.

Why is it namiocie and not namiot or namiotu?

Namiot is the basic (dictionary) form: nominative singular.

After the preposition przy, Polish requires the locative case.
The locative singular of namiot is namiocie.

So:

• nominative: namiot – “a tent / the tent”
• locative (after przy): przy namiocie – “by the tent”

Namiotu is the genitive form, used with other prepositions (e.g. koło namiotu – “near the tent”), but not after przy.

What tense is rozpalimy, and how does it express the future?

Rozpalimy is:

• future tense
• 1st person plural (“we”)
• perfective aspect of the verb rozpalić (“to light (a fire), to kindle”)

In Polish, perfective verbs have a built‑in future meaning in their present forms. So:

• rozpalać (imperfective) – “to be lighting / to light (repeatedly / in progress)”
  
  • future: będziemy rozpalać – “we will be lighting / will (repeatedly) light”
• rozpalić (perfective) – “to light (and complete the action once)”
  
  • future: rozpalimy – “we will light (once, successfully)”

Here, rozpalimy focuses on the single completed act of lighting the campfire in the future.

What’s the difference between rozpalimy, będziemy rozpalać, and rozpalamy in this sentence?

All can be used about the future, but with different nuance:

• Przy namiocie rozpalimy małe ognisko.

  • Neutral, very natural.
  • One-time, complete action in the future: “At the tent, we will (successfully) light a small campfire.”

• Przy namiocie będziemy rozpalać małe ognisko.

  • Imperfective and progressive/iterative: “We will be lighting a small campfire by the tent” / “We’ll be (busy) lighting …” / “We’ll (repeatedly) light …”
  • Sounds more like ongoing activity or repeated action, not just a single event.

• Przy namiocie rozpalamy małe ognisko.

  • Present tense, but in Polish it can also describe a fixed plan / schedule in the future (like English “We’re lighting a small campfire by the tent tonight”).
  • Often used for planned, arranged future actions, especially with a time expression:
    
    • Dziś wieczorem przy namiocie rozpalamy małe ognisko. – “This evening we’re (definitely) having a small campfire by the tent.”

Why is it małe ognisko and not something like mały ogień? What’s the difference between ognisko and ogień?

Both involve “fire”, but they’re used differently:

• Ogień = fire as a phenomenon (flames, burning).

  • Ogień! – “Fire!” (as in an alarm)
  • Ogień się pali. – “The fire is burning.”

• Ognisko = a campfire, bonfire, or fireplace fire – a specific, contained fire you make intentionally, usually outdoors.

  • rozpalić ognisko – to light a campfire
  • siedzieć przy ognisku – to sit by the campfire

In camping context (“We’ll light a small campfire by the tent”), ognisko is the normal word.

As for the adjective:

• ognisko is neuter, so the adjective must also be neuter: małe ognisko (“small campfire”).
• ogień is masculine, so: mały ogień. But that would usually mean just “a small fire” in general, not specifically a campfire you sit around.

What case is małe ognisko in, and how do we know?

Małe ognisko here is in the accusative case, because it’s the direct object of rozpalimy (What will we light? A small campfire).

For neuter nouns like ognisko:

• nominative singular: małe ognisko
• accusative singular: małe ognisko

They look identical in nominative and accusative, so you recognize the case by the function in the sentence, not by the form.

Pattern:

• subject (nominative): Małe ognisko jest przy namiocie. – “The small campfire is by the tent.”
• object (accusative): Rozpalimy małe ognisko. – “We will light a small campfire.”

Could I move the words around? For example, can I say Rozpalimy małe ognisko przy namiocie?

Yes. Polish word order is more flexible than English, especially when the meaning is clear from endings.

All of these are grammatically correct, with only small differences in emphasis:

• Przy namiocie rozpalimy małe ognisko.
• Rozpalimy małe ognisko przy namiocie.
• Małe ognisko rozpalimy przy namiocie.

Rough nuance:

• Putting przy namiocie first slightly emphasizes location.
• Putting małe ognisko first emphasizes what we’ll light.

In everyday speech, Rozpalimy małe ognisko przy namiocie is probably the most neutral, but the given order is also completely natural.

Why is there no word for “we”? Where is the subject in this sentence?

Polish usually omits subject pronouns (like my = “we”) when the person/number is clear from the verb ending.

In rozpalimy:

• the ending -my tells us it’s 1st person plural (“we”).

So:

• My rozpalimy małe ognisko. – “We will light a small campfire.”
• Rozpalimy małe ognisko. – also “We will light a small campfire.”

Adding my is possible but often only done:

• for emphasis: To my rozpalimy małe ognisko. – “It’s us who will light the campfire.”
• for clarity in some contexts.

In your sentence, leaving my out is the natural default.

What’s the difference between przy namiocie, koło namiotu, and obok namiotu?

All three can mean roughly “near the tent”, but with slightly different nuances:

• przy namiocie – very close, “by / right next to the tent”, often almost touching or directly at the side of it.
• koło namiotu – “near the tent / around the tent area”; can be a bit broader in distance, not necessarily immediately next to it.
• obok namiotu – “beside the tent”, generally close, like next to it but not necessarily attached.

In practice:

• Przy namiocie rozpalimy małe ognisko. – emphasizes by the tent, quite close.
• Koło namiotu rozpalimy małe ognisko. – “near the tent” in the general area.
  All are understandable; przy and obok feel most like “right beside”.

How do you pronounce rozpalimy, namiocie, and ognisko? Anything tricky for an English speaker?

Approximate pronunciations (stressed syllable in CAPS):

• rozpalimy – ross-pa-LEE-mih

  • rz sounds like the s in measure / vision.
  • Stress on -li-: roz-pa-LI-my.

• namiocie – na-MYO-cheh

  • nio combines to something like “nyo” (palatal n).
  • cie is roughly “cheh”.
  • Stress on -mio-: na-MIO-cie.

• ognisko – og-NEES-ko

  • gn is pronounced a bit like “gny”, but often just [gɲ].
  • Stress on -ni-: og-NI-sko.

Polish always stresses the second‑to‑last syllable, which helps once you get used to it.