Breakdown of Wieczorem muszę spakować plecak na wycieczkę w góry.
ja
I
wieczorem
in the evening
musieć
to have to
na
for
Questions & Answers about Wieczorem muszę spakować plecak na wycieczkę w góry.
What does wieczorem mean here, and why isn’t it w wieczór?
Wieczorem means in the evening or sometimes this evening, depending on context.
In Polish, some time expressions use a special adverb-like form that comes from the instrumental case. So:
- rano = in the morning
- wieczorem = in the evening
- nocą = at night
So wieczorem muszę... naturally means I have to ... in the evening / this evening.
W wieczór is generally not the normal way to say this in everyday Polish.
Why is it muszę?
Muszę is the 1st person singular form of musieć = to have to / must.
So:
- muszę = I must / I have to
- musisz = you must
- musi = he/she/it must
In this sentence, the speaker is saying what they have to do, so muszę is the correct form.
Why is it spakować and not pakować?