Word
Wigilia to najważniejszy wieczór w roku.
Meaning
Christmas Eve is the most important evening of the year.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Wigilia to najważniejszy wieczór w roku.
w
in / on (a day)
to
is (linking copula)
rok
year
ważny
important
Questions & Answers about Wigilia to najważniejszy wieczór w roku.
Why do we use to instead of jest here, and how does it affect the grammar?
The word to acts as a bridge between two nouns, keeping both in the basic nominative case (Wigilia and wieczór). If you used the verb jest instead, the second noun phrase would have to change to the instrumental case, making the sentence Wigilia jest najważniejszym wieczorem w roku. Both are correct, but the to structure is very common and often feels more punchy.
Why is the locative form of rok (year) roku here instead of taking an -e ending?
The preposition w (in) requires the locative case. While many masculine inanimate nouns take an -e ending in the locative (like w sklepie), rok is an exception and takes the -u ending to become w roku. The word rok is highly irregular in Polish, completely changing to lata in the plural.
Does Wigilia simply mean the date of December 24th?
It refers to December 24th, but at a B2 level, it is important to know that Wigilia carries much more cultural weight. It is often used specifically to mean the traditional, multi-course Christmas Eve supper itself, which is the most celebrated and important family event of the Polish holiday season.
Could the adjective be placed after the noun, as in wieczór najważniejszy?