Ten krój jest dobry.

Because ten has to agree with krój in gender, number, and case.

• krój is masculine singular
• in the nominative singular, the masculine form of this is ten

So:

• ten krój = this cut/style
• ta would be for a feminine noun
• to would be for a neuter noun

This kind of agreement is very important in Polish.

A very common clue in Polish is the noun ending.

• Most nouns ending in a consonant are masculine
• krój ends in a consonant sound, so it is masculine

That is why it takes:

• ten rather than ta or to
• dobry rather than dobra or dobre

So the sentence gives you two clues that krój is masculine: the demonstrative ten and the adjective dobry.

Because adjectives must agree with the noun they describe.

Here, krój is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective must also be:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

That gives dobry.

Compare:

• ten krój jest dobry — masculine
• ta sukienka jest dobra — feminine
• to ubranie jest dobre — neuter

The main case here is the nominative.

• ten krój is the subject, so it is in the nominative
• dobry is a predicate adjective after jest, and it also stays in the nominative to agree with the subject

So:

• ten — nominative masculine singular
• krój — nominative singular
• dobry — nominative masculine singular

This is a useful pattern to remember: with być + adjective, the adjective normally agrees with the subject in the nominative.

In normal standard Polish, you usually keep jest in this kind of sentence.

So the natural full sentence is:

• Ten krój jest dobry.

English speakers sometimes ask this because some other Slavic languages often drop the present-tense to be, but Polish normally does not do that in standard speech.

You may hear omissions in very informal speech, headlines, or very compressed styles, but for a learner, use jest here.

Yes, Polish word order is more flexible than English, but changing the order changes the emphasis.

The neutral order is:

• Ten krój jest dobry.

Other orders are possible, for example:

• Dobry jest ten krój.

That sounds more marked, as if you are emphasizing good or contrasting this cut with others.

So the original sentence is the safest, most neutral version.

You can say ten dobry krój, but it does not mean exactly the same thing.

• Ten krój jest dobry = This cut/style is good.
• Ten dobry krój = this good cut/style

The first is a full sentence. The second is just a noun phrase.

So yes, dobry can go before the noun in Polish, but then it is acting as a normal attributive adjective inside the noun phrase, not as the main predicate of the sentence.

Polish does not have articles like English a and the.

So:

• krój jest dobry could mean the cut is good or a cut is good, depending on context
• ten krój specifically means this cut/style

So ten is primarily a demonstrative here, not just a translation of the.

In casual speech, demonstratives can sometimes feel a bit article-like, but for learning purposes, it is best to treat ten as meaning this.

krój is pronounced roughly krooy said quickly, or in IPA /kruj/.

A few helpful points:

• ó sounds like u
• j sounds like English y in yes

So:

• krój = kruy / krooy said as one syllable

The whole sentence is approximately:

• ten = /tɛn/
• krój = /kruj/
• jest = /jɛst/
• dobry = /ˈdɔ.brɨ/

One tricky sound for English speakers is the y in dobry. It is not the same as English ee.

krój often refers to the cut, shape, or style of something, especially clothing.

Very common uses include things like:

• the cut of a dress
• the cut of a jacket
• the fit or design of a garment

So in many contexts, krój is about how something is shaped or tailored.

Depending on context, English might translate it as:

• cut
• style
• fit

Because jest is just the 3rd person singular form of być — to be — and in the present tense it does not change for gender.

So:

• ten krój jest dobry
• ta sukienka jest dobra
• to ubranie jest dobre

In all three, jest stays the same.

Gender agreement shows up on words like:

• demonstratives: ten / ta / to
• adjectives: dobry / dobra / dobre

not on jest.