Zarówno książka, jak i gazeta leżą na stole.

Both the book and the newspaper are on the table.

Breakdown of Zarówno książka, jak i gazeta leżą na stole.

• książka: the book
• na: on
• stół: the table
• gazeta: the newspaper

Questions & Answers about Zarówno książka, jak i gazeta leżą na stole.

What does the construction zarówno … jak i do here?

It’s a correlative pair meaning both … and. You put zarówno before the first item and jak i before the second: Zarówno książka, jak i gazeta… = both the book and the newspaper…. It emphasizes that both elements are equally included.

Is the comma after książka required? I’ve seen both with and without it.

Both Zarówno książka, jak i gazeta… and Zarówno książka jak i gazeta… are commonly used and accepted. The comma is frequent in print but not obligatory when you’re just joining two noun phrases. You must use a comma if you’re joining whole clauses.

Why is the verb plural leżą and not singular leży?

Because the subject is compound: książka i gazeta. Polish uses plural agreement with such subjects, so you need third-person plural leżą. With a single item it would be singular: Książka leży na stole.

Could I use są instead of leżą?