Breakdown of Ta rozmowa jest krótka, ale ważna.
być
to be
ale
but
ważny
important
krótki
short
ta
this
rozmowa
the conversation
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Questions & Answers about Ta rozmowa jest krótka, ale ważna.
Why is ta used instead of ten?
Because rozmowa is a feminine noun, so the demonstrative pronoun must agree in gender: ta is the feminine form of “this,” whereas ten is masculine.
What case and number is ta rozmowa in?
It’s in the nominative singular, used here as the subject of the sentence.
Why do the adjectives krótka and ważna end in -a?
They agree with the feminine singular noun rozmowa in gender, number, and case. The base forms are krótki (short) and ważny (important); for feminine singular nominative they become krótka and ważna.
What is the role of the word ale here? Could I use lecz instead?
ale is a coordinating conjunction meaning “but,” used to introduce a contrast. You can use lecz in more formal or written contexts (e.g. krótka, lecz ważna), but ale is more common in everyday speech.
Can I omit jest and say Ta rozmowa krótka, ale ważna?
Yes. In colloquial Polish, you can drop the present-tense form of być (“to be”) to make the sentence more concise. In formal writing, however, including jest is preferred.
Could I place the adjectives before rozmowa instead of using jest?
Yes. You could rephrase it as To krótka, ale ważna rozmowa (“This is a short but important conversation”). Here to functions as a neuter introductory subject, and the adjectives directly modify rozmowa.
Where do you place the stress in rozmowa, krótka, ważna?
Polish stress is almost always on the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable. So you say ROZ-mo-wa, KRO-tka, WA-żna.