Learn Polish: Wczoraj nie było lekcji. - Yesterday there was no lesson.

Wczoraj nie było lekcji.

Yesterday there was no lesson.

Breakdown of Wczoraj nie było lekcji.

Questions & Answers about Wczoraj nie było lekcji.

Why is it było (neuter) instead of była (feminine) to match lekcja?

In Polish, to say 'there was no' or 'there wasn't', you use an impersonal construction. Instead of making the verb agree with the noun, you always use the neuter third-person singular form było in the past tense, regardless of the noun's gender.

Why is the word for lesson in the form lekcji?

Because it follows the negative phrase nie było (there was no), the noun must take the Genitive case. The dictionary form is the feminine noun lekcja. Feminine nouns ending in -cja change their ending to -cji in the Genitive singular.

Could I say Wczoraj lekcja nie była instead?

Not if you want to say 'there was no lesson'. The phrase lekcja nie była means 'The lesson wasn't...' and needs to be followed by a description, like Lekcja nie była nudna (The lesson wasn't boring). To say something didn't happen or didn't exist, you must use nie było plus the Genitive case.