Ten pociąg jest szybki.

to be

Breakdown of Ten pociąg jest szybki.

• ten: this
• pociąg: the train
• szybki: fast

Questions & Answers about Ten pociąg jest szybki.

What part of speech is ten and why does it look like that?

ten is the masculine singular nominative form of the demonstrative pronoun/adjective meaning this. Polish demonstratives agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they modify. For example:

• masculine singular: ten
• feminine singular: ta
• neuter singular: to
• masculine personal plural: ci
• non-masculine-personal plural: te

Which case and number is pociąg in and how do you know?

pociąg is in the nominative singular masculine. We know this because it is the subject of the verb jest. Nominative case marks the subject in Polish, and there is no special ending for most masculine nouns in the nominative singular.

What does jest mean and why is it necessary here?

jest is the 3rd person singular present tense form of the verb być (to be). In Polish, you generally use the copula in the present tense to link a subject with a predicate adjective or noun:

• English often omits it (e.g. “This train fast”), but Polish requires jest (“Ten pociąg jest szybki”).

Why is szybki ending in -ki and not changing form in this sentence?