Breakdown of Wczoraj spotkanie było bardzo długie.
być
to be
bardzo
very
spotkanie
meeting (n)
wczoraj
yesterday
długi
long
Questions & Answers about Wczoraj spotkanie było bardzo długie.
Why is the verb "was" translated as było here instead of był or była?
In the Polish past tense, the verb changes to match the gender of the subject. The noun spotkanie (meeting) is neuter. For neuter nouns, singular past tense verbs end in -ło, so we use było.
How can I tell that spotkanie is a neuter noun?
A great rule to remember is that Polish nouns ending in -e (like spotkanie or zdjęcie) are almost always neuter.
Why does the word for "long" end in -ie (długie)?
Adjectives (describing words) have to match the gender of the noun they describe. Because spotkanie is neuter, the adjective needs a neuter ending. The standard neuter ending for adjectives is -e or -ie, giving us długie.
Can I put wczoraj (yesterday) at the end of the sentence instead?
Yes, you can! Polish word order is very flexible, so Spotkanie było bardzo długie wczoraj is also perfectly correct. However, putting time words at the very beginning of the sentence is extremely common and sounds very natural.
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