Wieczorem nie było nikogo na balkonie, bo zaczęło padać.

In the evening there was no one on the balcony, because it started raining.

Breakdown of Wieczorem nie było nikogo na balkonie, bo zaczęło padać.

• być: to be
• na: on
• wieczorem: in the evening
• nie: not

Questions & Answers about Wieczorem nie było nikogo na balkonie, bo zaczęło padać.

Why is it wieczorem and not something like w wieczór?

Wieczorem is a very common Polish way to say in the evening. It is an old instrumental-case form of wieczór that functions adverbially, so it does not need a preposition.

So:

• wieczór = evening
• wieczorem = in the evening / during the evening

This is similar to other time expressions in Polish, for example:

• rano = in the morning
• nocą = at night / during the night

So in this sentence, Wieczorem simply sets the time: In the evening.

Why is it nie było and not nie był or nie była?

Because this is an impersonal/existential construction: nie było nikogo = there was nobody.

In Polish, when you say that something or someone was / wasn't present, and you are not making a specific noun the grammatical subject, Polish often uses było, the neuter singular past form of być.

So:

• Był mężczyzna = There was a man
• Była kobieta = There was a woman
• Nie było nikogo = There was nobody

Here, the sentence is not built around a subject like nikt. Instead, it uses an existential structure, so było is the natural form.

Why is it nikogo and not nikt?