Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Polish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Aparat jest ciężki.
Why is there no word for the or a in the sentence?
Polish does not have definite or indefinite articles like the or a/an. You simply use the noun in the correct case—here aparat is in the nominative—and rely on context to tell you whether it’s “a camera” or “the camera.”
What case are aparat and ciężki in, and why?
Both aparat (camera) and the adjective ciężki (heavy) are in the nominative case.
- aparat is the subject of the sentence.
- ciężki is a predicative adjective (it describes the subject via the verb jest) and so also takes the nominative.
Why is the adjective ciężki in the masculine form, not feminine or neuter?
In Polish, adjectives agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case.
- aparat is a masculine noun (inanimate), singular, nominative.
- Therefore the adjective must be ciężki (masculine singular nominative), not ciężka (feminine) or ciężkie (neuter or plural).
What is jest, and why is it used here?
jest is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb być (“to be”). It functions as a copula, linking the subject (aparat) with its description (ciężki). In English we say “The camera is heavy,” and in Polish it’s “Aparat jest ciężki.”
How do I ask “Is the camera heavy?” in Polish?
You can form a yes/no question in two common ways:
- Add Czy at the beginning: Czy aparat jest ciężki?
- Simply use intonation: Aparat jest ciężki?
Both mean “Is the camera heavy?”
Is the word order flexible? Could I say Ciężki jest aparat?
Polish has relatively free word order, but the neutral, unmarked order for a simple statement is Subject – Copula – Predicate (S-V-Adj): Aparat jest ciężki.
Inverting to Ciężki jest aparat is grammatically possible but sounds poetic or emphatic—it’s not the normal everyday phrasing.
How do I pronounce Aparat jest ciężki?
Phonetic details:
- aparat: [aˈparat], stress on the second syllable (“a-PAR-at”)
- jest: [jɛst] (“yest”)
- ciężki: [ˈt͡ɕɛ̃ʂkʲi], stress on the first syllable (“CIĘ-żki”)
Approximate English‐style: “ah-PA-raht yest CHEN-shkee,” where ę is a nasal vowel (similar to French en).
How do I say “The camera is not heavy”?
Place nie before the verb:
“Aparat nie jest ciężki.”
That means “The camera is not heavy.”