Nábytek je poškozený.

In Czech, nábytek is a singular collective noun meaning furniture as a whole.

So Czech treats it like one mass/category:

• Nábytek je poškozený. = The furniture is damaged.

That is why the verb is singular (je), not plural.

If you want to talk about separate pieces, you would use other words, for example:

• kusy nábytku = pieces of furniture
• židle a stůl jsou poškozené = the chairs and the table are damaged

Because the subject nábytek is grammatically singular.

• je = is
• jsou = are

So:

• Nábytek je poškozený. = The furniture is damaged.

Even if the furniture includes many objects in real life, the Czech noun itself is singular, so the verb must also be singular.

Nábytek is masculine inanimate.

That matters because adjectives and adjective-like forms must agree with it.
Here, poškozený is in the masculine singular nominative form to match nábytek.

Compare:

• nábytek je poškozený — masculine inanimate singular
• židle je poškozená — feminine singular
• okno je poškozené — neuter singular

The ending -ý shows agreement with a masculine singular noun in the nominative.

Since nábytek is masculine singular, the matching form is:

• poškozený

Other genders/numbers would change the ending:

• poškozená — feminine singular
• poškozené — neuter singular / feminine plural / some other contexts
• poškození — masculine animate plural

So in this sentence, poškozený must match nábytek.

It is basically a passive participle used adjectivally.

For a learner, the simplest way to think about it is:

• it behaves like an adjective
• it means damaged
• it agrees with the noun in gender, number, and case

So in practice, you can treat it much like a normal adjective:

• poškozený nábytek = damaged furniture
• nábytek je poškozený = the furniture is damaged

In normal standard Czech, no — you usually keep je in the present tense.

So the normal sentence is:

• Nábytek je poškozený.

Without je,

• Nábytek poškozený.
  sounds incomplete in ordinary speech.

You might sometimes see the verb omitted in:

• headlines
• notes
• very compressed official style

But for normal speaking and writing, use je.

It is in the nominative singular because it is the subject of the sentence.

Structure:

• Nábytek = subject
• je = verb
• poškozený = predicate adjective / adjectival participle

So this is a straightforward sentence:

• The furniture
  • is
    • damaged

Yes, Czech word order is flexible, but the basic neutral order here is:

• Nábytek je poškozený.

You could change it for emphasis, for example:

• Poškozený je nábytek. — marked, unusual, emphasizing damaged
• Je poškozený nábytek. — possible in special contexts, but not the normal neutral version

For learners, the safest choice is the original order:

• Nábytek je poškozený.

A simple pronunciation guide:

• Nábytek ≈ NAA-bih-tek
• je ≈ ye
• poškozený ≈ POSH-ko-ze-nee

A few useful points:

• Czech stress is usually on the first syllable of each word.
• á is a long vowel.
• š sounds like sh in shoe.
• ý is a long ee-like vowel.

So the rhythm is roughly:

• NÁ-by-tek je PO-ško-ze-ný

Czech has no articles like English a/an/the.

So:

• Nábytek je poškozený.

can mean:

• The furniture is damaged
• Furniture is damaged

Which one is meant depends on context.

This is very normal in Czech, and learners have to get used to meaning being understood without articles.

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

• poškozený = damaged
  broad, neutral, often used in formal or general contexts

• zničený = destroyed / ruined
  stronger than poškozený

• rozbitý = broken
  often used when something has physically stopped working or has been smashed

So:

• Nábytek je poškozený. = the furniture is damaged
  is a good neutral sentence.