W zimie wolę ciepłą herbatę z miodem.

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Breakdown of W zimie wolę ciepłą herbatę z miodem.

• herbata: the tea
• ciepły: warm
• woleć: to prefer

Questions & Answers about W zimie wolę ciepłą herbatę z miodem.

Why is it w zimie and not w zima?

Because the preposition w often requires the locative case when it means in and refers to location or time.

• dictionary form: zima = winter
• locative singular: zimie

So:

• w zimie = in winter

This is the same kind of pattern as:

• w domu = in the house
• w Polsce = in Poland
• w lecie = in summer

Is w zimie the same as zimą?

Very close, yes. Both can mean in winter.

• w zimie = literally in winter
• zimą = during winter / in winter

For a learner, both are useful and natural.
In everyday Polish, zimą is extremely common and often sounds a bit more compact and natural.

So these are both fine:

• W zimie wolę ciepłą herbatę z miodem.
• Zimą wolę ciepłą herbatę z miodem.

Why is it ciepłą herbatę instead of ciepła herbata?