Breakdown of Wówczas owa anegdota była bardzo znana.
być
to be
bardzo
very
znany
known
anegdota
the anecdote
ów
that aforementioned (m) / owa / owe
wówczas
back then
Questions & Answers about Wówczas owa anegdota była bardzo znana.
Why is owa used here instead of ta?
owa is the feminine nominative form of the formal demonstrative pronoun ów. While ta just means "this" or "that", owa specifically means "that aforementioned". It is highly formal and literary, used to refer back to a noun that was already established in a previous sentence.
Does the ó in ów change when forming the feminine owa?
Yes! The base masculine nominative form is ów (pronounced with an "oo" sound). When we add endings for other genders and cases, the ó shifts to a regular o. This is a common vowel shift in Polish. That is why we have owa (feminine), owe (neuter), and owego (genitive), all pronounced with a standard short "o".
Is there a difference between wówczas and wtedy?
Both mean "then" or "at that time" and are interchangeable in meaning here. However, wówczas is slightly more formal and literary. It pairs perfectly with the elevated, written tone set by the demonstrative pronoun owa.
Why is znana in the nominative case here rather than the instrumental?
When the verb być (to be) links a subject to an adjective describing it, the adjective remains in the nominative case, which is znana here. The instrumental case is only required when być links a subject to a noun or a noun phrase. If the sentence had said "was a well-known anecdote", it would use the instrumental: była bardzo znaną anegdotą.
Learn Wówczas owa anegdota była bardzo znana and more in Polish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free