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Questions & Answers about Hotel jest blisko parku.
Why is there no article before Hotel?
Polish does not use definite or indefinite articles like the or a. You simply say Hotel to mean “the hotel” or “a hotel” depending on context.
What role does jest play in this sentence?
Jest is the third-person singular present form of the verb być (“to be”). Here it links the subject (Hotel) to the location phrase (blisko parku), so it means “is.”
Why is parku in this form instead of park?
After the preposition blisko (“near/close to”), the noun must take the genitive case. The genitive of park is parku, so you get blisko parku.
Could I say Hotel blisko parku without jest?
In casual speech you might hear Hotel blisko parku, but standard Polish requires jest in full sentences to form the present tense of “to be.”
Can I change the word order to Blisko parku jest hotel?
Yes. Polish allows flexible word order. Putting Blisko parku first emphasizes the location (“It’s near the park that the hotel is”).
Is there another way to say “near the park”?
Yes. You can use the preposition przy with the locative case: Hotel jest przy parku. Here parku is locative (same form as genitive in this noun), and przy also means “by/near.”
What’s the difference between blisko parku and niedaleko parku?
Both mean “close to the park.” Blisko is a straightforward “near,” while niedaleko literally means “not far” and is a bit more colloquial. Both take the genitive case after them.