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Questions & Answers about Praca jest ważna.
Why is ważna used instead of ważny?
In Polish, adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe in gender, number, and case. Praca (“work” or “job”) is a feminine noun in the singular, nominative case. Therefore the adjective must also be in the feminine singular nominative form, which is ważna. Ważny would be the masculine form.
Why is there no article (like “a” or “the”) before praca?
Polish does not use definite or indefinite articles as English does. Nouns stand alone, and context or additional words (like demonstratives ten “this” or possessives moja “my”) clarify definiteness or specificity when needed.
What is the role of jest in this sentence? Could I say just Praca ważna?
Jest is the third-person singular present tense of the verb być (“to be”) and acts as the copula (“is”). In standard Polish you normally include jest: Praca jest ważna. In very informal contexts, headlines, or poetic styles, you might drop it (Praca ważna), but that sounds incomplete in everyday speech.
What case is praca in, and why?
Praca is in the nominative case because it is the grammatical subject of the sentence. The structure is Subject – Copula – Predicate Adjective, with both the subject and the adjective in the nominative.
How do I pronounce Praca jest ważna?
In IPA roughly: [ˈpra.t͡sa jɛst ˈvaʐ.na].
– Praca: PRA-tsa (stress on the penultimate syllable)
– jest: yest
– ważna: VAŻ-na (the “ż” is like the “zh” in “vision”)
Can I change the word order for emphasis? For example, Ważna jest praca?
Yes. Ważna jest praca still means “Work is important,” but puts focus on ważna (“important”). The neutral order is Praca jest ważna, but swapping is perfectly acceptable to highlight a different part of the sentence.
Where does Polish stress fall in these words?
Polish stress is almost always on the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable:
– pra-CA
– JEST (monosyllabic, so the only one)
– waż-NA