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Learn Hardcore Polish: Dane są ważne. - The data are important.

Hardcore Polish
/Browsing a flea market with friends
/Dane są ważne.

Dane są ważne.

Dane są ważne.

The data are important.

Breakdown of Dane są ważne.

data; recorded facts

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Questions & Answers about Dane są ważne.

What does each word in Dane są ważne do?

dane = data
są = are
ważne = important

Grammatically:

dane is the subject
są is the 3rd person plural form of być (to be)
ważne is an adjective describing dane

So the structure is basically Subject + are + adjective.

Why is dane treated as plural?

Because in Polish, dane meaning data normally behaves as a plural noun.

That is why you get:

dane są = data are
not dane jest

This is different from modern English, where data is often treated as singular in everyday speech. In Polish, dane is grammatically plural.

Is there a singular form of dane?

Not one that is normally used in everyday Polish for a datum or one piece of data.

In practice, if Polish speakers want to refer to a single item, they usually use a different word or a more specific phrase, for example:

informacja = information / a piece of information
a more specific noun such as liczba (number), wartość (value), adres (address), etc.

So for ordinary usage, just remember dane as a plural noun.

Why is it są and not jest?

Because są is the plural form of to be, while jest is singular.

Compare:

dane są ważne = data are important
informacja jest ważna = the information is important

Since dane is plural, the verb must also be plural:

singular subject → jest
plural subject → są

Why is it ważne and not ważny, ważna, or ważni?

Polish adjectives must agree with the noun they describe.

Here, dane is:

plural
non-masculine-personal

So the adjective must also be in the plural non-masculine-personal form:

ważne

Compare:

ważny = singular masculine
ważna = singular feminine
ważne = singular neuter or plural non-masculine-personal
ważni = plural masculine-personal

Since dane is not a group of men or people, ważni would be wrong here.

What case is dane in here?

It is in the nominative plural, because it is the subject of the sentence.

The adjective ważne matches it in the same grammatical pattern. In a sentence with być + adjective, the adjective stays in the agreeing adjective form, so ważne is exactly what you expect here.

Is there a word for the in this sentence?

No. Polish does not have articles like a and the.

So Dane są ważne can mean:

Data are important
The data are important

The exact meaning depends on context.

If you want to make it more specific, you can add a word like te:

Te dane są ważne = These data are important / This data is important

Can the word order change?

Yes. Polish word order is more flexible than English word order.

The neutral order is:

Dane są ważne.

But you can also say:

Ważne są dane.

That version puts more emphasis on important, or can sound contrastive, as if you mean What matters is the data.

So the basic meaning stays similar, but the emphasis changes.

Can I leave out są?

Normally, no. In standard Polish, the present-tense form of to be is usually expressed.

So the normal sentence is:

Dane są ważne.

If you say only:

Dane ważne

it sounds incomplete in normal speech, though it might appear in:

notes
headlines
labels
very compressed style

For regular sentences, keep są.

How would I say this data is important or these data are important?

You would usually say:

Te dane są ważne.

Because dane is plural, the demonstrative must also be plural:

te = these

So even if English says this data, Polish still uses the plural grammar:

te dane
not ta dane

How is Dane są ważne pronounced?

A careful pronunciation is roughly:

dane: /ˈda.nɛ/
są: /sɔ̃/
ważne: /ˈvaʐ.nɛ/

Helpful notes:

stress is on the second-to-last syllable, so DA-ne and VAŻ-ne
ż sounds like the s in measure
ą is a nasal vowel; in everyday speech, learners can think of it as a nasal o

A rough English-friendly approximation would be:

DAH-ne son VAZH-ne

That is only approximate, but it is good enough as a starting point.

Can dane mean something other than data?

Yes. In other contexts, dane can also be a form meaning given, especially before another noun, for example:

dane liczby = the given numbers

But in Dane są ważne, the natural reading is data are important.

So learners should recognize that dane can be:

a noun meaning data
or, in other contexts, a form meaning given

Context tells you which one it is.

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