Był miły wobec sprzedawcy.

to be

Breakdown of Był miły wobec sprzedawcy.

• miły: kind
• sprzedawca: the salesman
• wobec: towards; in relation to

Questions & Answers about Był miły wobec sprzedawcy.

Why is there no word for he in this sentence?

Polish often drops subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb form.

Here, był is the past tense, masculine singular form of być (to be), so in context it usually means he was.

You could say On był miły wobec sprzedawcy, but on would normally be added only for emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

What exactly is był?

Był is the masculine singular past tense form of być (to be).

Some related forms are:

• była = she was
• było = it was
• byli = they were (masculine personal)
• były = they were (non-masculine-personal)

So był miły tells you the subject is masculine singular.

Why is it miły and not miłym?

Because here miły is a predicate adjective after być, and in this kind of sentence Polish normally uses the nominative form of the adjective.

So:

• On był miły. = He was nice.
• Ona była miła. = She was nice.

You may also see instrumental forms like miłym, but usually when the adjective is part of a larger noun phrase, for example:

• Był miłym człowiekiem. = He was a nice person.

In your sentence, the simple adjective after był stays nominative: miły.