Question 1

Why is it pierwszego września instead of pierwszy wrzesień?

Accepted Answer

To say "on the [exact date]" in Polish, you put both the ordinal number (first, second, third) and the month into the genitive case. Pierwszego is the genitive form of pierwszy (first), and września is the genitive form of wrzesień (September).

Question 2

Do I need a preposition like na or w (on/in) before the date?

Accepted Answer

No, you don't need a preposition here. In Polish, simply putting the exact date into the genitive case, like pierwszego września, automatically translates to "on the first of September". Adding a preposition would be incorrect.

Question 3

Why does the verb end in -ło (zaczęło)?

Accepted Answer

In the past tense, Polish verbs have to match the gender of the subject. The subject of this sentence is wydarzenie (event), which is a neuter noun because it ends in -e. Therefore, the verb takes the neuter past tense ending -ło instead of the masculine -ł or feminine -ła.

Question 4

Why is there a się after the verb?

Accepted Answer

The verb zacząć się (to start/begin) is reflexive when an event happens on its own, without someone doing it to a direct object. If you drop the się, it means a specific person is starting something else (for example, "He started the event"). Because the event itself is doing the starting here, you need się.

Question 5

Why do we use To at the beginning of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

To is the neuter form of the word for "this". Because the noun it points to, wydarzenie, is neuter, all connected words must match its gender. That's why we use To instead of the masculine Ten or feminine Ta, and why the adjective historyczne also takes a neuter ending.

To historyczne wydarzenie zaczęło się pierwszego września.

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