Breakdown of W miarę jak się ochładza, liście opadają z drzew.
drzewo
tree
z
from (+ Genitive)
liść
leaf
opadać
to fall
w miarę jak
as / in proportion as
ochładzać się
to get colder
Questions & Answers about W miarę jak się ochładza, liście opadają z drzew.
What is the difference between using w miarę jak and just using kiedy (when) in this sentence?
While kiedy simply means "when", w miarę jak emphasizes a gradual, proportional change between two ongoing actions. It translates to "as" or "in proportion as", highlighting that the colder it gets, the more leaves fall.
Why are both verbs (ochładza and opadają) in the imperfective aspect?
The phrase w miarę jak sets up a proportional clause, which almost always pairs with imperfective (continuous) verbs. Because it describes two gradual processes unfolding at the same time, perfective (completed) verbs wouldn't make sense here.
What is the subject of się ochładza?
There isn't one! Polish frequently uses impersonal constructions for weather and environmental changes. Using the reflexive pronoun się with a third-person singular verb (ochładza) acts just like the English dummy subject "it" in "it gets colder".
Why is the word for trees drzew instead of drzewów?
The preposition z (from) requires the genitive case. The word for tree, drzewo, is a neuter noun. In the genitive plural, most neuter nouns ending in -o drop their final vowel to take a "zero ending", leaving us with just the stem: drzew.
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