Breakdown of Pogoda była okropna, nie było słońca.
być
to be
nie
no / not
pogoda
weather
słońce
sun
okropny
terrible
Questions & Answers about Pogoda była okropna, nie było słońca.
Why do we use two different forms of "was" (była and było) in the same sentence?
In the past tense, the verb być (to be) has to match the gender of the subject. In the first half, the subject is pogoda (weather), which is feminine, so we use the feminine form była. In the second half, the phrase nie było (there was not) is an impersonal phrase. These impersonal phrases in the past tense always use the neuter form było.
Where is the word for "there" in "there was no sun"?
Polish doesn't use a literal equivalent for the English word "there" in phrases like "there is" or "there was". The verb itself does all the work. Było alone means "there was", and nie było means "there was not".
I know the basic word for "sun" is "słońce". Why is it "słońca" here?
This happens because of the phrase nie było (there was not). Just like how the present tense nie ma (there is no) forces the following noun into the Genitive case, its past tense form nie było does exactly the same thing. The neuter noun słońce drops the -e and takes the -a ending to become słońca in the Genitive case.
Why does the adjective for terrible (okropna) end in -a instead of -y or -e?
Adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe. Because pogoda is a feminine noun, the adjective takes the feminine ending -a, becoming okropna.
Learn Pogoda była okropna, nie było słońca 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