Time Spans with Od and Do
To express that an event or state lasts "from [X] to [Y]", Polish uses the prepositions od and do. Crucially, both of these prepositions require the noun that follows them to take the Genitive case.
When talking about hours of operation for a business, castle, or exhibit, you will frequently use the adjective czynny (open).
| The exhibition is open from Tuesday to Friday. | Wystawa jest czynna od wtorku do piątku. |
| Nobody will be working from Monday to Thursday. | Nikt nie będzie pracował od poniedziałku do czwartku. |
Measuring Eras and Centuries
When discussing history, you will often use the verb trwać (to last) to describe the duration of an epoka (era). Let's look at how to frame time spans using historical periods like starożytność (antiquity) and renesans (the Renaissance).
| How long does this era last? | Jak długo trwa ta epoka? |
| The Renaissance lasted from the fifteenth to the sixteenth century. | Renesans trwał od piętnastego do szesnastego wieku. |
| The history of art from antiquity to the Renaissance is very interesting. | Historia sztuki od starożytności do renesansu jest bardzo ciekawa. |
Decades and Months
This exact same grammatical structure applies whether you are measuring spans of time in months or talking about a specific dekada (decade).
| This difficult period lasted a whole decade. | Ten trudny okres trwał całą dekadę. |
| The castle will be open from May to September. | Zamek będzie czynny od maja do września. |
From the Middle Ages to the Present Day
Two more major historical periods you will encounter are średniowiecze (the Middle Ages) and współczesność (the present day). Notice how their endings change to satisfy the Genitive case required by od and do.
| From antiquity to the present day, people have loved art. | Od starożytności do współczesności ludzie kochają sztukę. |
| We are studying history from the Middle Ages to the present day. | Studiujemy historię od średniowiecza do współczesności. |