Wieczorem odkładam telefon na biurko i czytam książkę.

In the evening I put the phone on the desk and read a book.

Breakdown of Wieczorem odkładam telefon na biurko i czytam książkę.

• ja: I
• i: and
• czytać: to read
• książka: the book

Questions & Answers about Wieczorem odkładam telefon na biurko i czytam książkę.

Why is it wieczorem and not wieczór? What is that -em ending?

The basic noun is wieczór (evening).

In wieczorem, wieczór is in the instrumental case. Polish very often uses the instrumental (and sometimes genitive) to express time when something happens.

So wieczorem literally means in the evening or during the evening.

A few similar time expressions:

• latem – in (the) summer (from lato – summer)
• zimą – in (the) winter (from zima – winter)
• nocą – at night (from noc – night)

You normally don’t say w wieczór or w wieczorze for “in the evening”; wieczorem is the natural, standard form.

Where is the word I in this sentence? Why is there no ja?