Learn Polish: Pod jesień nieuchronnie ściemnia się szybciej. - Towards autumn, it inevitably gets dark faster.

Pod jesień nieuchronnie ściemnia się szybciej.

Towards autumn, it inevitably gets dark faster.

Breakdown of Pod jesień nieuchronnie ściemnia się szybciej.

towards / approaching (+ Accusative)

ściemniać się

to get dark

Questions & Answers about Pod jesień nieuchronnie ściemnia się szybciej.

Why do we use the preposition pod here instead of something like do?

In Polish, pod followed by the accusative case is frequently used for temporal approximation. It means 'towards', 'approaching', or 'around' a certain time, season, or age. So pod jesień translates to 'as autumn approaches'. You will also see this used for ages, such as facet pod czterdziestkę (a guy pushing forty).

Why does jesień look like it is in the nominative case after pod?

Pod requires the accusative case for this meaning, and jesień actually is in the accusative here! It is a feminine noun that ends in a consonant. In Polish, feminine nouns ending in a consonant (like noc, rzecz, or jesień) have the exact same form in the nominative and the accusative cases. They do not take the typical feminine -ę ending.

What is the root of the adverb nieuchronnie (inevitably)?

It comes from the verb chronić (to protect or shield). By adding a prefix and suffix, you get the adjective uchronny (preventable), and adding nie- makes it nieuchronny (unavoidable). Finally, the -ie ending turns it into the adverb nieuchronnie.

Could I say robi się ciemno instead of using the verb ściemniać się?