Wieczorem dziadek rozpalił ognisko w ogrodzie.

In the evening grandpa lit a campfire in the garden.

Breakdown of Wieczorem dziadek rozpalił ognisko w ogrodzie.

• w: in
• wieczorem: in the evening
• ogród: the garden
• dziadek: the grandpa
• rozpalić: to light
• ognisko: the campfire

Questions & Answers about Wieczorem dziadek rozpalił ognisko w ogrodzie.

Why is it wieczorem and not wieczór if the meaning is “in the evening”?

Wieczorem is the instrumental case of wieczór (evening).

Polish often uses the instrumental to express when something happens, especially with parts of the day:

• rano – in the morning
• po południu – in the afternoon
• wieczorem – in the evening
• nocą – at night

So Wieczorem dziadek… literally feels like “(Doing this) in the evening, grandpa…”.

You would use wieczór (nominative) mainly when evening is the subject or object:

• Wieczór był chłodny. – The evening was cold.
• Lubię wieczór. – I like the evening.

What case is wieczorem, and do I need a preposition like w here?

Wieczorem is instrumental singular.

For time expressions like this you do not use a preposition:

• Wieczorem czytam książki. – I read books in the evening.
• Rano piję kawę. – I drink coffee in the morning.

Using w wieczór is not idiomatic in modern Polish for this meaning. You simply put the time word in the right form (here: wieczorem) at the beginning or elsewhere in the sentence.

Why is it dziadek and not something like dziadka?

Dziadek is in the nominative case, because he is the subject of the sentence – the one doing the action.

• Kto rozpalił ognisko? – Who lit the fire?
  – Dziadek.

Forms you might see in other roles:

• Widzę dziadka. – I see grandpa. (accusative)
• Idę do dziadka. – I am going to grandpa. (genitive after do)

Here we are saying who did the action, so we need the nominative: dziadek.

What exactly does rozpalił mean, and what is its infinitive?

The infinitive is rozpalić – to light (a fire), to kindle.

Rozpalił is:

• past tense
• masculine singular
• perfective aspect

So rozpalił means “he lit” or “he started (a fire)” as a completed action.

What’s the difference between rozpalił and something like palił or rozpalał?

Polish has aspect:

• Perfective – completed action: rozpalić → rozpalił (he lit, he started the fire – focus on the result)
• Imperfective – ongoing / repeated:
  
  • palić → palił (he was burning / he used to burn)
  • rozpalać → rozpalał (he was in the process of lighting, he was lighting)

So:

• Dziadek rozpalił ognisko. – Grandpa lit a fire (and it got lit).
• Dziadek rozpalał ognisko. – Grandpa was (in the middle of) lighting a fire.
• Dziadek palił ognisko. – Grandpa was keeping the fire burning / was burning the fire.

Why does rozpalił end with -ł, and how would it change with different subjects?

The ending -ł marks masculine singular in the past tense. With rozpalić, the past forms are:

• ja rozpaliłem / rozpaliłam – I lit (m / f)
• ty rozpaliłeś / rozpaliłaś – you lit (m / f, singular)
• on rozpalił – he lit
• ona rozpaliła – she lit
• ono rozpaliło – it lit
• my rozpaliliśmy / rozpaliłyśmy – we lit (group with at least one man / group of only women)

So with dziadek (male), you must use rozpalił.

If you had babcia (grandma), you would say:

• Wieczorem babcia rozpaliła ognisko w ogrodzie.

What is the difference between ognisko and ogień?

Both relate to “fire”, but they are used differently:

• ognisko – a campfire, bonfire, a controlled fire made on purpose (e.g. in the garden, in the forest)
• ogień – fire as a phenomenon; also used for uncontrolled or general fire

Examples:

• rozpalić ognisko – to light a campfire
• Pożar to niebezpieczny ogień. – A blaze is a dangerous fire.
• Ogień! – Fire! (as a warning)

In the sentence, ognisko fits because grandpa lights a campfire-like fire in the garden.

What case is ognisko here, and why does it look like the basic form?

Ognisko is neuter.

In the sentence it is the direct object (what grandpa lit), so it is in the accusative case. For neuter nouns, the accusative singular is the same as the nominative singular:

• nominative: ognisko – (an) ognisko
• accusative: ognisko – (he lit) an ognisko

So the form doesn’t change, but its role in the sentence is accusative object.

Why is it w ogrodzie and not w ogród? What case is used after w here?

After w you normally have two possibilities:

• w
  • accusative – when there is movement into something (where to?)
• w
  • locative – when it is location (where?)

In w ogrodzie, we are talking about location (in the garden), so we use locative:

• ogród (nominative) → w ogrodzie (locative) – in the garden

Examples:

• Jestem w ogrodzie. – I am in the garden. (locative)
• Wchodzę w ogród. – I am entering the garden. (accusative, movement into – though in practice, people more often say wchodzę do ogrodu).

Can I say na ogrodzie instead of w ogrodzie?

Na ogrodzie is not standard for in the garden.

Standard usage:

• w ogrodzie – in the garden (inside that area)

You will hear na ogrodzie in some regional or informal speech, but if you want correct, neutral Polish, use w ogrodzie.

Contrast with places that typically take na:

• na podwórku – in the yard
• na balkonie – on the balcony
• na plaży – on the beach

Is the word order fixed, or can I move wieczorem or w ogrodzie around?

Polish word order is more flexible than English. You can move time and place phrases to change focus or style, while the meaning stays almost the same. For example:

• Wieczorem dziadek rozpalił ognisko w ogrodzie.
• Dziadek wieczorem rozpalił ognisko w ogrodzie.
• Dziadek rozpalił wieczorem ognisko w ogrodzie.
• Dziadek rozpalił ognisko wieczorem w ogrodzie.

All are understandable. The default, neutral word order is usually: time – subject – verb – object – place, which is what you see in the original sentence.

How do you pronounce wieczorem and dziadek?

Stress in Polish is almost always on the second-to-last syllable.

• wieczorem → wie-CZO-rem

  • w – like v in English vet
  • ie – like “ye” in yes
  • cz – like ch in church
  • o – short o, like in not
  • r – rolled/trilled r
  • em – like em in them

• dziadek → DZIA-dek

  • dzi – soft “j-dzh” sound, like English j in jeans, but a bit softer
  • a – like a in father
  • dek – as written, with e like in bet, k like in skin

Together: wie-CZO-rem DZIA-dek.

Could I drop dziadek and just say Wieczorem rozpalił ognisko w ogrodzie?

Yes, grammatically you can drop the noun or pronoun if the context already makes it clear who he is.

Polish often omits subject pronouns because the verb endings show person and (in the past) gender:

• (On) rozpalił ognisko. – He lit a fire.

But if you remove dziadek, the sentence only tells you that some male person lit the fire. You would rely on previous sentences or context to know that it’s grandpa. In an isolated sentence, dziadek is needed to specify who did it.