Learn Hardcore Polish: Nasz stary namiot jest mały, ale bardzo wygodny. - Our old tent is small but very comfortable.

You can sometimes change the order for stylistic or poetic reasons (e.g. namiot stary) or special emphasis, but in everyday neutral speech the adjectives and possessives usually come before the noun in this order.

So nasz stary namiot is the most natural, neutral version.

Why do nasz, stary, mały, and wygodny all end in -y here?

They all agree with the grammatical properties of namiot:

namiot is masculine, singular, nominative (subject form).
So words that describe or modify it in this sentence also appear in masculine singular nominative:
- nasz (our) – masculine singular nominative
- stary (old) – masculine singular nominative
- mały (small) – masculine singular nominative (after jest)
- wygodny (comfortable) – masculine singular nominative (after jest)

In Polish, adjectives (and possessives like nasz) must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

That is why all these words share the same -y ending here.

How do I know that namiot is masculine, and why does it matter?

Most nouns ending in a consonant (like -t) are masculine in Polish:

namiot → ends in -t → masculine noun

Why it matters:

It decides which form of nasz you use:
- nasz namiot (masculine)
- but nasza torba (our bag – feminine)
- and nasze krzesło (our chair – neuter)
It also decides adjective endings:
- stary namiot (old tent – masculine)
- stara torba (old bag – feminine)
- stare krzesło (old chair – neuter)

So recognizing namiot as masculine explains why you see nasz stary namiot and jest mały / wygodny, not other forms.

Why do we need jest here? Could we say just Nasz stary namiot mały, ale bardzo wygodny?

You need jest because Polish normally uses the verb być (to be) in sentences that say what something is:

Nasz stary namiot jest mały.
Our old tent is small.

Without jest, the sentence sounds incomplete or ungrammatical in standard modern Polish.

If you want to avoid jest, you must change the structure, for example:

Nasz stary namiot jest mały, ale bardzo wygodny. ✔
Mamy mały, ale bardzo wygodny namiot. ✔
(We have a small but very comfortable tent.)

But in the original structure with a subject and a description, jest is required.

Why is there a comma before ale?

In Polish, the conjunction ale (but) is almost always preceded by a comma, even when it connects just two adjectives or phrases:

Jest mały, ale bardzo wygodny.
Jest stary, ale mocny.
Chciałem iść, ale padało.

So the comma before ale is simply following a standard punctuation rule:
put a comma before ale when it joins two parts of a sentence that contrast with each other.

What is the difference between mały and niski?

Both can be translated as small/short, but they are used differently:

mały – small in overall size / volume / age
- mały namiot – a small tent
- małe dziecko – a small/young child
niski – low or not tall (height)
- niski człowiek – a short person
- niski budynek – a low/two‑storey building

For a tent, we usually care about its overall size, not just height, so mały namiot is the normal choice here.

Does wygodny mean comfortable or convenient, or both?

wygodny primarily means comfortable, but it can also mean convenient depending on context:

wygodny fotel – a comfortable armchair
wygodne łóżko – a comfortable bed
wygodny dojazd – a convenient commute/connection
wygodny termin – a convenient date/time

For a tent, wygodny usually means comfortable to use / comfortable to sleep in.

So here bardzo wygodny is best understood as very comfortable.

How does bardzo work? Can I put it after the adjective, like wygodny bardzo?

bardzo is an adverb meaning very, and it normally comes before the adjective or adverb it modifies:

bardzo wygodny – very comfortable
bardzo mały – very small
bardzo szybko – very quickly

Putting it after the adjective (e.g. wygodny bardzo) is unusual, and in most contexts sounds either poetic, old‑fashioned, or simply odd.

So the natural, neutral order is:

bardzo + adjective → bardzo wygodny

Could I say Nasz stary namiot jest bardzo wygodny, ale mały instead? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say:

Nasz stary namiot jest bardzo wygodny, ale mały.

Both orders are grammatically correct:

…jest mały, ale bardzo wygodny.
- Start with the negative aspect (small)
- Then contrast with a positive one (very comfortable)
…jest bardzo wygodny, ale mały.
- Start with the positive aspect
- Then add the limitation (small)

The difference is in emphasis / what you present as more important:

Version 1 suggests: It’s small, *but at least it’s very comfortable.*
Version 2 suggests: It’s very comfortable, *but unfortunately it’s small.*

Both are fine; you choose depending on what you want to highlight.

Can I put several adjectives before namiot, like nasz mały stary namiot?

You can stack adjectives before a noun, but the order affects how natural it sounds.

Typical neutral order is:

possessive: nasz (our)
descriptive / opinion / age / size / color etc., from more general to more specific

In this case:

nasz stary mały namiot – possible, but sounds a bit clumsy
nasz mały stary namiot – also possible, but not great style
nasz stary namiot jest mały, ale bardzo wygodny – much more natural: you keep only one adjective before the noun; the others go after jest.

Polish tends not to overload the noun with too many adjectives in front, especially if some can be moved after jest.

How would the sentence change if it were plural: Our old tents are small, but very comfortable?

The whole phrase has to change to plural and adjust gender:

Nasze stare namioty są małe, ale bardzo wygodne.

Changes:

nasz → nasze (our – plural, non‑masculine‑personal)
stary → stare (old – plural, non‑masculine‑personal)
namiot → namioty (tents)
jest → są (are)
mały → małe (small – plural, non‑masculine‑personal)
wygodny → wygodne (comfortable – plural, non‑masculine‑personal)

This shows how all the agreeing words change form when the noun changes to plural.

How do you pronounce nasz stary namiot jest mały, ale bardzo wygodny? Anything tricky for an English speaker?

Two common trouble spots:

sz in nasz
- Pronounced like sh in English ship, but usually a bit stronger.
- nasz ≈ nash
ł in mały and wygodny
- Modern ł sounds like English w:
  - mały ≈ MA-wi
  - wygodny ≈ vi-GOD-ni (more exactly: vɨˈɡɔdnɨ)

Very rough whole-sentence approximation:

Nash stary NA-myot yest MA-wi, ale BAR-dzo vi-GOD-ni.

(Stress in Polish is almost always on the second‑to‑last syllable: STA‑ry, NA‑miot, MA‑ły, BAR‑dzo, wy‑GOD‑ny.)