Breakdown of Ledwo weszliśmy w ciemność, jedna latarka zgasła.
jeden
one
wejść
to come in, to enter
ciemność
darkness
latarka
the flashlight
w
into (direction, + Accusative)
ledwo
barely / hardly
zgasnąć
to go out / to turn off
Questions & Answers about Ledwo weszliśmy w ciemność, jedna latarka zgasła.
Why is there no Polish equivalent for "when" in the second part of the sentence?
In English we say "had barely [done X] when [Y happened]", but Polish simply puts the two clauses side-by-side with a comma. The word ledwo (barely) at the start of the first clause is enough to connect the two events. Both verbs (weszliśmy and zgasła) are in the past perfective tense to show one completed action immediately followed by another.
Could I use ledwie instead of ledwo here?
Yes, ledwie and ledwo are completely interchangeable in this sentence. They both act as conjunctions of immediate anteriority, meaning they show that the second event happened the very moment the first one finished.
Why is it w ciemność (accusative) instead of w ciemności (locative)?
We use the accusative case here because the verb wejść (to enter) implies motion into a destination. If there were no motion and you were just standing in the dark, you would use the locative case (w ciemności). Because ciemność is a feminine noun ending in a consonant, its accusative form looks exactly like its nominative form.
Why does the sentence use the perfective verb zgasła rather than the imperfective gasła?
Zgasła means the flashlight went out completely in one sudden moment. If you used the imperfective gasła, it would mean the flashlight was slowly dimming or dying out. Structures using ledwo almost always pair two perfective verbs to emphasize a rapid, completed sequence of events.
Learn Ledwo weszliśmy w ciemność, jedna latarka zgasła and more in Polish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free