Breakdown of Według widzów głównym rekwizytem była czarna peleryna.
być
to be
czarny
black
widz
viewer
główny
main
Questions & Answers about Według widzów głównym rekwizytem była czarna peleryna.
Why is the subject 'czarna peleryna' at the very end of the sentence instead of the beginning?
This is a perfect example of Polish end-focus. In Polish, the most important, newest, or most surprising piece of information naturally goes at the absolute end of the sentence. By putting czarna peleryna last, the speaker is emphasizing the answer to the implied question: 'What was the main prop?' If you said Czarna peleryna była głównym rekwizytem, you would be answering a different question: 'What was the black cape?'
Why is the verb 'była' feminine when the word right before it, 'rekwizytem', is masculine?
The verb always agrees with the subject in the nominative case, not the predicate. Here, the subject is czarna peleryna (feminine), so the verb must be była. Even though głównym rekwizytem comes first due to the sentence's focus, it is in the instrumental case, meaning it cannot be the subject doing the action.
As a refresher, why is 'głównym rekwizytem' in the instrumental case?
When you use the verb być (to be) to say that noun A is noun B, the noun doing the describing takes the instrumental case. Since the cape was the main prop, the nominative phrase główny rekwizyt changes to the instrumental głównym rekwizytem.
The English translation says 'the audience', but 'widzów' is plural. How does this word work?