Word
Był strajk. Z tego powodu pociąg był opóźniony.
Meaning
There was a strike. For that reason the train was delayed.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Był strajk. Z tego powodu pociąg był opóźniony.
być
to be
pociąg
train
opóźniony
delayed
strajk
the strike
Questions & Answers about Był strajk. Z tego powodu pociąg był opóźniony.
Why does the first sentence just say Był strajk without a word for 'there'?
In Polish, you don't need a dummy subject like 'there' or 'it' to say something exists. You just use the verb 'to be' (być) matching the gender of the noun. Since strajk is masculine, we just use the masculine past tense był. Adding tam (there) would mean physically 'over there in that location'.
Why is tego powodu in the genitive case?
The preposition z has a few meanings. When it means 'with', it takes the instrumental case. But when it means 'from' or 'out of', like here ('out of this reason'), it requires the genitive case. The masculine noun powód becomes powodu, and the pronoun ten becomes tego.
Could I use dlatego instead of Z tego powodu?
Yes, absolutely! Dlatego means 'therefore' or 'that is why' and would be very natural here. Using Z tego powodu is just slightly more emphatic or formal, literally translating to 'from this reason', but both mean exactly the same thing in this context.
What kind of word is opóźniony?