Po zmroku wolę zostać w domu.

Po zmroku means after dark / after dusk.

The noun here is zmrok = dusk, twilight. After the preposition po in this time expression, Polish uses the locative case, so zmrok becomes zmroku.

This pattern is very common:

• po pracy = after work
• po obiedzie = after lunch
• po zmroku = after dark

So this is not a random form: it is the normal case required by po here.

Not exactly.

• po zmroku means once it has become dark
• wieczorem means in the evening

So po zmroku is more specific. In summer, for example, evening can start before it is actually dark, so wieczorem and po zmroku are not always the same time.

If the speaker chooses po zmroku, they are specifically focusing on the fact that it is dark outside.

Wolę is the 1st person singular present form of woleć, which means to prefer.

So:

• wolę = I prefer
• wolisz = you prefer
• woli = he/she/it prefers

In this sentence, wolę is followed by an infinitive, just like in English:

• Wolę zostać w domu = I prefer to stay at home

This is a very common structure in Polish: woleć + infinitive.

Because Polish usually leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed.

The ending -ę in wolę already tells you the subject is I, so ja would normally be unnecessary.

• Wolę zostać w domu = normal, natural
• Ja wolę zostać w domu = possible, but more emphatic, like I prefer to stay home

So the pronoun is omitted because the verb form already gives the information.

Good question: zostać can mean different things depending on the structure.

1. zostać + instrumental = to become

   • zostać lekarzem = to become a doctor

2. zostać meaning to stay / remain

   • zostać w domu = to stay at home
   • zostać tutaj = to stay here

So in this sentence, zostać does not mean become. It means stay / remain.

Both are possible in some contexts, but they are not identical.

• wolę zostać w domu = I prefer to stay home / remain at home rather than go out
• wolę być w domu = I prefer to be at home

Zostać suggests remaining where you are or choosing not to leave. It often implies a contrast with going somewhere else.

So in this sentence, zostać sounds very natural if the idea is: after dark, I would rather not go out.

This is about aspect.

• zostać = perfective
• zostawać = imperfective

With woleć, the perfective infinitive often sounds natural when talking about a preferred choice in a situation:

• Wolę zostać w domu = I’d rather stay home

If you said wolę zostawać w domu, it would sound more like a repeated or habitual preference, something like I prefer staying at home as a general pattern.

So:

• zostać = one preferred action/decision
• zostawać = repeated or habitual staying

In this sentence, zostać is the more natural choice.

Here w means in / at, and because this is a location rather than motion toward somewhere, Polish uses the locative case.

• dom = house / home
• w domu = at home / in the house

Compare:

• jestem w domu = I am at home
• zostaję w domu = I am staying at home

If there were motion into a place, Polish would use a different case:

• wchodzę w coś is different and not the pattern here

Also, w domu is the normal idiomatic way to say at home, not only literally inside the house.

Yes. Polish word order is flexible, and changing it usually changes emphasis, not the basic meaning.

The original sentence:

• Po zmroku wolę zostać w domu.

This puts po zmroku first, so the time frame is highlighted: after dark, that is when the preference applies.

Other possible orders include:

• Wolę zostać w domu po zmroku.
• Wolę po zmroku zostać w domu.

These are understandable, but they feel slightly different in focus. The original version is very natural if the speaker wants to foreground after dark.

So yes, the words can move, but the original order is a good, natural one.