Learn Hardcore Polish: To miły gest i wszyscy uśmiechają się, bo jesteśmy szczęśliwi. - It’s a kind gesture and everyone smiles because we are happy.

In this sentence, to is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “this/that” and it also plays the role of the copula (“is”). So To miły gest literally means “This (is) a nice gesture.” Polish often omits the verb jest after to, because to itself carries the “is” meaning.

Why is jest omitted between to and miły?

In Polish you can drop jest in a simple nominal sentence with to. The structure to + noun/adjective already conveys “this is + noun/adjective,” so adding jest would be redundant.

Why is gest in the nominative case?

Because gest is the predicate noun (a subject complement) in a clause built with to, and in Polish both the subject (here to) and its complement take the nominative case.

What does the conjunction i do here, and could we use a instead?

I simply means “and” and links two coordinate clauses:

To miły gest
wszyscy uśmiechają się, bo jesteśmy szczęśliwi
You could replace i with oraz for a slightly more formal tone, but a would introduce a contrast (“whereas/and yet”) rather than a plain addition.

Why is there a comma before bo?

Bo is a subordinating conjunction meaning “because.” Polish punctuation rules require a comma before subordinate clauses, so you place a comma before bo whenever it introduces an explanation.

Can we replace bo with ponieważ, and is there any nuance?

Yes. Bo is more colloquial, while ponieważ is more formal or literary. Both mean “because” and introduce subordinate clauses, but ponieważ often appears in writing or more formal speech.

Why is się attached to uśmiechają, and what is its function?

Uśmiechać się is a reflexive verb that means “to smile.” The particle się is required to give the verb its reflexive meaning. Without się, uśmiechać has a different meaning (“to make someone smile” or “to amuse”).

Why does szczęśliwi end in -i, and how would it change for a female group?

Szczęśliwi is an adjective in masculine personal plural, agreeing with wszyscy (which is always masculine personal when referring to a mixed or all-male group). If the group were all women, you would say szczęśliwe (feminine/non-masculine plural).

How do you pronounce uśmiechają się and szczęśliwi?

• uśmiechają się – approx. “oo-shmye-HAH-yohn sheh”

ś is a soft “sh,” ch is like English “h,” and ą nasalizes the “o.”
• szczęśliwi – approx. “sh-CHYEN-shlee-vee”
szcz is a hard “shch” cluster, ł is like English “w.”