Historia jest ciekawa.

History is interesting.

Breakdown of Historia jest ciekawa.

• być: to be
• ciekawy: interesting
• historia: the history

Questions & Answers about Historia jest ciekawa.

Why isn’t there any article (a/the) in Historia jest ciekawa?

Polish has no definite or indefinite articles. You simply state the noun. Context or additional words (like demonstratives) convey ‘the’ or ‘a’.

• To say “this history (or story) is interesting,” you’d add ta: Ta historia jest ciekawa.
• To say “an interesting story,” you’d use the adjective attributively: Ciekawa historia.

What does jest mean, and how is it used here?

Jest is the 3rd person singular present of być (to be). It links the subject (Historia) with the predicate adjective (ciekawa).
Conjugation of być in the present:
• (ja) jestem
• (ty) jesteś
• (on/ona/ono) jest
• (my) jesteśmy
• (wy) jesteście
• (oni/one) są

Why is historia in the nominative case?

As the subject of the sentence, historia takes the nominative case. In Polish, the subject of być (to be) remains in nominative, and the predicate (adjective or noun) also appears in nominative.

Why does ciekawa end in -a instead of -y or -e?

Adjectives in Polish agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

• Historia is a feminine singular noun in the nominative.
• The corresponding feminine singular nominative ending for ciekawy is -a, giving ciekawa.

Why is ciekawa placed after historia? Aren’t adjectives usually before nouns?

When an adjective describes a noun directly (attributive), it comes before: ciekawa historia (“an interesting history/story”).
Here it’s the predicate adjective (what the subject is), so it follows the verb:
Subject + jest + Predicate adjective → Historia jest ciekawa.

Can I change the word order to Ciekawa jest historia?

Yes, Polish has flexible word order for emphasis:

• Historia jest ciekawa. – neutral statement.
• Ciekawa jest historia. – puts emphasis on ciekawa, like “It is interesting, the history.”
  Use it sparingly; the neutral order is most common.

Where do I put the stress when pronouncing Historia jest ciekawa?

Polish stress is almost always on the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable of each word:
• Hi-STO-ria
• jest (single-syllable word → itself)
• ciE-ka-wa

Can historia also mean “story”? How do I know which meaning to choose?

Yes. Historia can mean both “history” and “story” (tale). Context decides:

• In academic contexts, it usually means “history.”
• In casual speech, “story” can be clearer if you use opowieść or historia
  • context (e.g. filmowa historia – “the story of the film”).