Breakdown of Wszyscy wiedzą, że to była prawda.
to
this
być
to be
wiedzieć
to know
wszyscy
everyone / all (the)
Questions & Answers about Wszyscy wiedzą, że to była prawda.
Why do we use wiedzą here instead of a form of znać?
We use wiedzieć (here in the "they" form, wiedzą) when we know a fact. It is usually followed by a clause starting with a connecting word like że (that), co (what), or gdzie (where). The other verb, znać, is used for knowing a noun directly, like a person, place, or object. Because this sentence introduces a fact with że, we must use wiedzieć.
"Everyone" is singular in English. Why does the Polish verb wiedzą use the "they" form?
While "everyone" is singular in English, the Polish word wszyscy is plural (it translates roughly to "all people"). Because it is a plural subject, it always takes the "they" form of the verb.
The word to is neuter. Why is the verb była in the feminine form?
In sentences where to is used as the subject to mean "it is" or "this was", the past tense of "to be" (być) doesn't match the word to. Instead, it matches the gender of the noun that comes right after it. Since prawda (truth) ends in "-a", it is a feminine noun, so we use the feminine verb była.
Why doesn't prawda change its ending here? I thought the verb "to be" makes the noun take the Instrumental case.