Pada, grzmi, jest pochmurno: the weather without a subject
About the weather a Pole speaks three ways, and the borders between them do not run where English would put them. The mistake is heard in the very first phrase, and almost every meeting in Poland starts with the weather. For example: “Cały dzień pada, a wieczorem będzie śnieg” — It has been raining all day, and in the evening there will be snow. A rule from the Polish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as…
How it works
About the weather a Pole speaks three ways, and the borders between them do not run where English would put them. The mistake is heard in the very first phrase, and almost every meeting in Poland starts with the weather.
The first way — a verb with no owner: pada, grzmi, świeci. In the past such a verb takes the neuter: padało, grzmiało, świeciło — it shone.
The second — jest plus an adverb: jest pochmurno, jest słonecznie, jest duszno. The order is the reverse of English it is cloudy: the quality comes first and jest second, because it cannot come first. Jest pochmurno? — possible only as a question.
The third — a noun with to be: była burza, spadł grad, była mgła. If the phenomenon is happening — a verb: pada. If it is a state of the air — an adverb: duszno jest. If it is visible as a whole — a noun: tęcza jest.
Table
| Way | Pattern | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| a verb | no subject | pada | it is raining |
| a verb | no subject | grzmi | it is thundering |
| a verb in the past | the neuter | padało | it rained |
| an adverb + jest | the quality first | jest pochmurno | it is overcast |
| an adverb + jest | the quality first | jest duszno | it is stuffy |
| a noun | agreement | była burza | there was a storm |
| a noun | agreement | była mgła | there was fog |
By example
- Cały dzień pada, a wieczorem będzie śniegIt has been raining all day, and in the evening there will be snow
- Przed burzą jest bardzo dusznoBefore a storm it is very stuffy
- Z rana była mgła, a po południu świeciło słońceIn the morning there was fog, and after midday the sun shone
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Pada, grzmi, jest pochmurno: how does it work in Polish?
About the weather a Pole speaks three ways, and the borders between them do not run where English would put them. The mistake is heard in the very first phrase, and almost every meeting in Poland starts with the weather.
What does it look like in a Polish example sentence?
“Cały dzień pada, a wieczorem będzie śnieg” — It has been raining all day, and in the evening there will be snow. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.