Mój telewizor jest zepsuty.

to be

Breakdown of Mój telewizor jest zepsuty.

• mój: my
• zepsuty: broken
• telewizor: the television

Questions & Answers about Mój telewizor jest zepsuty.

Why is mój used instead of moje or moja?

Polish possessive pronouns agree in gender, number and case with the noun they modify. Telewizor is a masculine singular noun in the nominative case, so you use the masculine nominative form mój (“my”).

How do I know that telewizor is masculine?

Most Polish nouns ending in a consonant are masculine. In addition, telewizor refers to an inanimate object, so it follows the pattern of masculine inanimate nouns.

Why does zepsuty end with -y?

Zepsuty is a past passive participle functioning as an adjective meaning broken. Adjectives in Polish must agree with their noun in gender, number and case. Here, zepsuty takes the masculine singular nominative ending -y to match telewizor.

Why is the verb jest necessary? Can I drop it?

In a full standard sentence with an adjectival predicate, you need the linking verb jest (“is”) to connect the subject and the adjective. Omitting it would sound like a fragment (e.g. Telewizor zepsuty). Informally you might hear that, but grammatically you need Mój telewizor jest zepsuty.

How would I say “My TV broke” instead of “My TV is broken”?