Questions & Answers about 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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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”).