Breakdown of Dziewiątego maja otwierają nową wystawę w muzeum.
w
in
nowy
new
otwierać
to open
muzeum
the museum
Questions & Answers about Dziewiątego maja otwierają nową wystawę w muzeum.
Why is the date dziewiątego maja and not something like dziewiąty maj?
In Polish, dates are usually expressed with:
- an ordinal number for the day
- the month in the genitive case
So:
- dziewiąty = ninth
- dziewiątego = of the ninth / on the ninth (the form used in dates)
- maj = May
- maja = of May
So dziewiątego maja means on the ninth of May.
This is the normal Polish way to say a date in running text.
Why is there no word for on before the date?
Polish usually does not need a preposition like on before dates.
So English:
- on the ninth of May
becomes simply Polish:
- dziewiątego maja
That whole phrase works as a time expression by itself.
A very literal version with an extra word is possible in some contexts, for example w dniu dziewiątego maja, but that sounds more formal and is not the normal everyday way.
What case is dziewiątego maja?
Both words are in the genitive:
- dziewiątego = genitive of dziewiąty
- maja = genitive of maj
This is standard for Polish dates.
You can think of it as an abbreviated version of something like dziewiątego dnia maja (of the ninth day of May), though native speakers just say dziewiątego maja.