Breakdown of Gdzieś w tym domu jest tajemnica.
być
to be
dom
house
ten
this (m)
w
in / on (a day)
gdzieś
somewhere
tajemnica
mystery
Questions & Answers about Gdzieś w tym domu jest tajemnica.
What does the -ś at the end of gdzieś do?
It changes a question word into an indefinite word, similar to adding "some-" in English. By taking the word for "where" (gdzie) and adding -ś, you get gdzieś, which means "somewhere". This is the same pattern used to turn kto (who) into ktoś (someone).
Why does ten dom change to tym domu here?
Because it follows the preposition w (in) to describe a physical location, which requires the Locative case. The basic phrase ten dom (this house) changes its endings: ten becomes tym, and dom takes the ending -u to become domu.
How does Polish express the "there is" part of the English translation?
Polish doesn't use a placeholder word like "there" to state that something exists. Instead, you just use the verb jest (is) or są (are). Literally, the Polish sentence reads as "Somewhere in this house is a mystery."
Could I put gdzieś at the end of the sentence, just like in English?
While people would understand you, a sentence like W tym domu jest tajemnica gdzieś sounds unnatural. Polish word order is flexible, but it is much more natural to put scene-setting words like gdzieś at the very beginning of the sentence.
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