Learn Hardcore Polish: To boisko jest blisko domu.

Polish ten/ta/to usually covers both English this and that. Context, intonation, or gestures show whether it feels more like this or that.

So to boisko could be translated as:

this field / this pitch (if it’s close or just mentioned)
that field / that pitch (if you’re pointing it out a bit farther away or contrasting it with another one)

There is no separate everyday form strictly meaning only that; tamto exists but is used much less often and often sounds more contrastive or emphatic.

What exactly does boisko mean? Is it just field?

Boisko is specifically a sports field / sports pitch / court, usually an area prepared for playing some sport:

boisko piłkarskie – football/soccer pitch
boisko szkolne – school playground / school sports field
boisko do koszykówki – basketball court

It is not a general field like farmland or a meadow. For that you would use words like pole, łąka, etc.

Why is it blisko domu and not blisko dom?

Because blisko (in this meaning) is treated like a preposition and it requires the genitive case.

The base form (nominative) is dom.
The genitive singular is domu.

Many Polish prepositions require the genitive (e.g. do domu, obok domu, koło domu).
So after blisko you must say domu, not dom: blisko domu.

What case is domu, and how does dom decline?

Domu is genitive singular of dom (house, home). The most common forms are:

Nominative: dom – the house (subject)
Genitive: domu – of the house / the house’s, or after prepositions like blisko domu
Dative: domowi – to/for the house (less common)
Accusative: dom – I see the house (widzę dom)
Instrumental: domem – with/by the house (z domem)
Locative: domu – in/at the house (w domu, o domu)
Vocative: domu – hey, house! (hardly ever used in real life)

In this sentence, domu is genitive because of blisko.

Is blisko an adverb or a preposition here?

In To boisko jest blisko domu, blisko functions like a preposition that governs the genitive (domu).

As an adverb, blisko can stand alone:
- Mieszkam blisko. – I live nearby.
As a preposition, it needs a noun in the genitive:
- Mieszkam blisko domu. – I live near the house.

Here we have the second situation, so blisko + domu.

Can I say To boisko jest przy domu instead of blisko domu?

You can, but it changes the nuance.

blisko domu – near the house, somewhere close by (could be a short walk away)
przy domu – right by the house, next to it, at its side

So:

To boisko jest blisko domu. – The field is near the house (close, but not necessarily touching).
To boisko jest przy domu. – The field is right next to the house (attached or immediately adjacent).

Is the word order fixed? Could I say Boisko jest blisko domu?

Yes, you can change the word order:

To boisko jest blisko domu.
Boisko jest blisko domu.
To boisko blisko domu jest. (possible but unusual, used only for special emphasis)

The neutral, common options are:

To boisko jest blisko domu. – slightly more specific, drawing attention to this particular field.
Boisko jest blisko domu. – more general statement about the field being near the house.

Polish word order is relatively flexible; changes mostly affect emphasis, not grammar.

Could I drop jest and say To boisko blisko domu?

No, not in standard Polish. You normally need the verb jest:

To boisko jest blisko domu.

Dropping jest in this kind of sentence is not natural. Omitting jest often happens only:

in very informal speech with certain short phrases (e.g. On w domu), or
in set expressions/headlines.

For a clear, correct sentence, keep jest here.

How is boisko pronounced? Is oi a diphthong like in English boy?

Boisko is pronounced roughly like BOY-sko, but with Polish vowel quality:

boi = [bɔi] – o and i are separate vowels; Polish doesn’t have true diphthongs.
sko = [skɔ]

So the phonetic approximation is [ˈbɔiskɔ].

English speakers often want to merge oi into a single sound like in boy. In Polish, keep both vowels audible (a quick bo-i), though to the ear it will still sound quite similar to boy.

What is the difference between To boisko jest blisko domu and To jest boisko blisko domu?

They are not equivalent:

To boisko jest blisko domu. – This field is near the house.
- to boisko is the subject (this field).
To jest boisko blisko domu. – More like This is a field near the house.
- to is the subject (this),
- jest boisko blisko domu is a description/identification of what this is.

The second sentence sounds like you’re identifying something newly (e.g. pointing at a map or picture and saying “This is a field near the house”), whereas the first simply states where a particular known field is.

How would I say very close to the house in this sentence?

You can simply add bardzo before blisko:

To boisko jest bardzo blisko domu. – This field is very close to the house.

Another common way (a bit more colloquial) is:

To boisko jest tuż przy domu. – This field is right next to the house.

Why is there no the or a in to boisko or domu?

Polish has no articles (no words like a, an, the).
Whether you translate to boisko as this field, this pitch, the field, or that field depends entirely on context.

Similarly, domu just means of (the) house / near (the) house.
The article is chosen only when translating into English; it’s not expressed in Polish grammar.