Breakdown of W miarę jak nadchodzi wieczór, cienie się wydłużają.
cień
shadow
wieczór
evening (noun)
nadchodzić
to approach
w miarę jak
as / in proportion as
wydłużać się
to lengthen (to become longer, imperfective)
Questions & Answers about W miarę jak nadchodzi wieczór, cienie się wydłużają.
Why are both verbs in this sentence imperfective?
The phrase w miarę jak (as / in proportion as) connects two gradual, simultaneous changes. Because both actions are ongoing processes happening at the same time, Polish requires imperfective (continuous) verbs in both clauses: nadchodzi (is approaching) and wydłużają (are lengthening).
Could I use przychodzi instead of nadchodzi here?
It would sound unnatural. While przychodzić means "to arrive" or "to come" (usually to a physical place), the prefix nad- in nadchodzi implies something looming, approaching, or gradually coming over you in time. It is the standard verb for approaching time periods (like wieczór, spring, or the weekend) and weather events.
I recognize a familiar root in wydłużają. How is this verb constructed?
It is built from the adjective długi (long). Adding the prefix wy- and a verb ending creates wydłużać (to lengthen / to make longer). Since the shadows aren't lengthening something else, but rather becoming longer themselves, we add the reflexive pronoun się to get cienie się wydłużają.
Why does the word for "shadow" lose its accented ń in the plural cienie?
The singular form is cień. This is a great refresher on a strict Polish spelling rule: whenever a soft ń is followed by a vowel (like the nominative plural ending -e), it must be written as ni instead. The pronunciation of the soft consonant stays the same, but the spelling shifts.
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