Breakdown of Pogoda w marcu jest okropna, a w maju piękna.
być
to be
a
and / whereas (contrast)
w
in / on (a day)
piękny
beautiful
pogoda
weather
okropny
terrible
marzec
March
maj
May
Questions & Answers about Pogoda w marcu jest okropna, a w maju piękna.
Why is March spelled marcu instead of marzec here?
When saying "in" a month, Polish uses the preposition w followed by the Locative case. The word marzec drops the letter 'e' (a common "fleeting e" in Polish) and adds the Locative ending -u, becoming w marcu.
What is the base word for maju, and why does it end in -u?
The base word is maj (May). Just like with marcu, we add the ending -u to make the Locative case after the preposition w, creating w maju (in May). Most months in Polish take this -u ending in the Locative case.
The English translation says "and", so why does the Polish sentence use a instead of i?
In Polish, i is used simply to link similar things, while a is used to show contrast or comparison. Since we are comparing the awful weather to the beautiful weather, a is the right choice. It acts a bit like "whereas" or "while" in English.
Why do the adjectives okropna and piękna end in -a?
They are both describing pogoda (weather). Since pogoda is a feminine noun, the adjectives must also take the feminine ending -a to match it.
Why is there no jest before piękna?
Polish often skips repeating verbs when the meaning is obvious from the first part of the sentence. Since we already established the weather "is" (jest) awful, we don't need to say "is" again in the second half.
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