Questions & Answers about Ten napój jest zimny.
What does ten mean in this sentence?
ten is the masculine nominative singular demonstrative pronoun meaning this when you point to a specific masculine noun—in this case, “this drink.”
Why is ten used instead of to napój?
In Polish, demonstratives agree in gender with the noun they modify. napój is a masculine noun, so you use ten (masculine) rather than ta (feminine) or to (neuter).
What grammatical gender and case is napój, and why?
napój is a masculine noun (rod męski) in the nominative case (mianownik). We use the nominative because it’s the subject of the sentence: “This drink …”.
Why does zimny end with -y?
Adjectives in Polish must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe. For a masculine singular noun in the nominative case, most adjectives take the ending -y (or -i after certain consonants). Hence zimny matches napój.
What is jest, and why is it used here?