Breakdown of Bilet do kina jest tańszy od biletu do teatru.
być
to be
do
to
kino
the cinema
bilet
the ticket
od
than
teatr
the theater
tańszy
cheaper
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Questions & Answers about Bilet do kina jest tańszy od biletu do teatru.
Why is tańszy used instead of bardziej tani?
In Polish, the comparative of tani is formed by adding the suffix -szy to the stem, giving tańszy, not bardziej tani. Using bardziej tani is considered pleonastic. Adjectives without a built-in comparative (e.g. interesujący) take bardziej (e.g. bardziej interesujący).
How do you pronounce the ń in tańszy?
The letter ń represents a palatal nasal [ɲ], similar to the “ny” in English “canyon.” Thus tańszy is pronounced approximately as [taɲʂɨ].
Why is od used after tańszy instead of niż?
Both od and niż can introduce the second element in a comparison. Niż is more common in formal or written contexts, while od is frequently used in everyday spoken Polish. Remember that od requires the following noun to be in the genitive case.
Why does bilet change to biletu after od?
The preposition od always governs the genitive case. Therefore bilet (nominative) becomes biletu (genitive singular).
Why are kina and teatru used instead of kino and teatr?
After the preposition do (“to”), Polish nouns take the genitive case. Hence kino → kina, teatr → teatru.
How would the sentence look if you used niż instead of od?
You would say:
Bilet do kina jest tańszy niż bilet do teatru.
Here bilet remains in the nominative because niż does not require the genitive.
How do you change the sentence to plural?
Use nominative plural for bilety, switch jest → są, make the comparative adjective and the noun after od plural genitive:
Bilety do kina są tańsze od biletów do teatru.
Why is the adjective ending -y in tańszy?
Adjectives in Polish agree in gender, number, and case with their noun. Bilet is masculine inanimate singular nominative, so the comparative adjective ends in -y. For feminine subjects it would be tańsza, neuter tańsze, and in plural tańsi (masculine personal) or tańsze (others).
Can you omit the copula jest in this sentence?
In colloquial speech you might hear Bilet do kina tańszy od biletu do teatru, dropping jest. However, in standard written Polish it’s better to include jest for clarity and formality.