Breakdown of Wczoraj na stadionie było aż sto tysięcy widzów!
być
to be
na
on, at / to (motion toward) / for (a meal) / for (waiting for)
stadion
stadium (m)
widz
viewer
wczoraj
yesterday
sto
one hundred
tysiąc
thousand
aż
as much as / as many as (emphatic)
Questions & Answers about Wczoraj na stadionie było aż sto tysięcy widzów!
How does adding aż change the meaning of this sentence?
The particle aż is used to express surprise or emphasis at how unexpectedly large a number is. Without it, było sto tysięcy widzów simply states the fact. Adding aż translates to 'as many as' or 'a whopping', emphasizing the huge turnout.
Why is the verb było in the singular neuter form when there were a hundred thousand spectators?
In Polish, quantities of five or more require the noun they quantify to be in the genitive case. Because the subject phrase is treated as a quantity rather than a standard nominative subject, the verb defaults to the 3rd-person singular neuter form (było). You cannot use the plural byli here.
Why is the word for thousand written as tysięcy instead of tysiące?
The number sto (one hundred) forces the noun immediately following it into the genitive plural. Here, that noun is tysiąc (thousand). The genitive plural of tysiąc is tysięcy, resulting in sto tysięcy.
Why do we say na stadionie instead of w stadionie?
Open public spaces, events, and surfaces typically take the preposition na instead of w (in). Because a stadium is traditionally an open-air venue, Polish uses na stadionie (in the locative case), similar to how you would say na basenie (at the pool) or na lotnisku (at the airport).
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