Łodyga jest zdrowa.

Because łodyga is a feminine singular noun, and the adjective must agree with it in gender and number.

The basic dictionary form is zdrowy = healthy. But in this sentence, it changes to:

• zdrowy — masculine singular
• zdrowa — feminine singular
• zdrowe — neuter singular

So Łodyga jest zdrowa uses the correct feminine form.

Usually, yes. In Polish, nouns ending in -a are very often feminine.

So łodyga is feminine, which is why the adjective also takes a feminine form: zdrowa.

A learner should know that there are some exceptions in Polish, but for łodyga, feminine is correct.

Jest means is. It is the 3rd person singular present-tense form of być = to be.

So the structure is:

• łodyga — the stem/stalk
• jest — is
• zdrowa — healthy

This is a very normal Polish sentence pattern: noun + jest + adjective.

In a normal full sentence like this, no—you should usually keep jest.

So the standard sentence is:

• Łodyga jest zdrowa.

If you say just Łodyga zdrowa, it may sound incomplete, poetic, very informal, or unnatural in most ordinary contexts.

So for learners, the safe rule is: keep jest here.

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

The sentence answers the question What is healthy?
Answer: Łodyga.

The adjective zdrowa is also in the nominative feminine singular, because it agrees with the subject in this kind of sentence.

Yes. Zdrowa is an adjective.

It describes the noun łodyga. In this sentence, it works as a predicate adjective, meaning it comes after jest and tells us a quality of the subject.

Compare:

• zdrowa łodyga — a healthy stem
• łodyga jest zdrowa — the stem is healthy

So it is still an adjective in both cases, but the sentence structure is different.

Because this is a sentence with to be:

• Łodyga jest zdrowa.

In Polish, when an adjective is part of the predicate after jest, it normally comes after the verb.

But when the adjective directly modifies the noun inside a noun phrase, it usually comes before the noun:

• zdrowa łodyga — a healthy stem

So these are two different patterns:

• noun + jest + adjective — full sentence
• adjective + noun — noun phrase

Yes, Polish word order is more flexible than English, but the most neutral version here is:

• Łodyga jest zdrowa.

You could also say:

• Zdrowa jest łodyga.

That is grammatically possible, but it sounds more marked or emphatic, as if you are contrasting it with something else.

For example, it might suggest: It’s the stem that is healthy.

So learners should use Łodyga jest zdrowa as the normal default order.

A rough guide is wo-DIH-ga, with the stress on the middle syllable.

A few helpful points:

• ł is pronounced like English w
• o is a short o
• y is a Polish vowel with no exact English equivalent
• Polish stress is usually on the second-to-last syllable, so: ło-DY-ga

So the stress pattern is important: ło-DY-ga.

A rough guide is ZDRO-va, again with stress on the first syllable, because it has two syllables and Polish stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable.

Useful pronunciation notes:

• zd is pronounced together at the start
• r is a rolled or tapped Polish r
• w in Polish sounds like English v
• the final a is pronounced clearly

So zdrowa sounds roughly like ZDRO-va, not like an English w word.

The plural would be:

• Łodygi są zdrowe. — The stems are healthy.

Changes:

• łodyga → łodygi
• jest → są
• zdrowa → zdrowe

This is a good example of how both the noun and the adjective change in Polish, and the verb changes too.

Not exactly.

• Zdrowa łodyga means a healthy stem or healthy stem
• Łodyga jest zdrowa means The stem is healthy

So:

• Zdrowa łodyga is a noun phrase
• Łodyga jest zdrowa is a complete sentence

This is a very common distinction in Polish, just as in English:

• healthy stem
• the stem is healthy