Ta ścieżka jest stroma.

This path is steep.

Breakdown of Ta ścieżka jest stroma.

• być: to be
• ta: this
• ścieżka: the path
• stromy: steep

Questions & Answers about Ta ścieżka jest stroma.

Why is it ta ścieżka, not to ścieżka or tę ścieżkę?

Polish demonstratives have to match the gender, number, and case of the noun.

• ścieżka is feminine, singular, nominative.
• The matching demonstrative in that form is ta (this).

So:

• ta ścieżka = this path (feminine, nominative)
• to is neuter nominative (e.g. to okno – this window)
• tę / tą ścieżkę would be accusative, used when the path is the object, e.g.
  Widzę tę ścieżkę. – I see this path.

In Ta ścieżka jest stroma, the path is the subject, so you need nominative: ta.

What gender and case is ścieżka, and how can I tell?

Ścieżka is:

• Gender: feminine
• Number: singular
• Case: nominative (the basic “dictionary form,” used for the subject)

Clues:

• Most nouns ending in -a are feminine:
  kobieta (woman), szkoła (school), droga (road), ścieżka (path).
• As the subject of the sentence (“This path”), it appears in the nominative case.

So in this sentence, Ścieżka is “the thing that is steep,” so it must be nominative.

Why does stroma end in -a? Why not stromy?

Adjectives in Polish must agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here the noun is ścieżka (feminine, singular, nominative). The matching adjective ending is:

• stromy – masculine nominative (e.g. stromy szlak)
• stroma – feminine nominative (e.g. stroma ścieżka)
• strome – neuter nominative (e.g. strome wzgórze – steep hill)

So we say:

• Ta ścieżka jest stroma. – This path is steep.
  Feminine noun → feminine adjective → stroma.

Could I say Ścieżka jest stroma without ta? What’s the difference?

Yes, both are correct:

• Ta ścieżka jest stroma. – This path is steep. (you’re pointing out this specific path)
• Ścieżka jest stroma. – The path is steep. / A path is steep. (more general, or context makes it clear which path)

Ta just makes it explicit that you mean this particular path, usually something visible or already mentioned.

Can I change the word order, like Stroma jest ta ścieżka?

You can, but it changes the emphasis:

• Ta ścieżka jest stroma. – Neutral, normal word order.
• Ścieżka jest stroma. – Also neutral, just without ta.
• Stroma jest ta ścieżka. – Possible, but more emphatic/poetic:
  roughly “Steep, this path is,” focusing on stroma (steep).

In everyday speech, you’ll mostly hear:

• Ta ścieżka jest stroma.
• Ścieżka jest stroma.

What is the difference between ścieżka, droga, and szlak?

All three can relate to “path/road,” but they differ:

• ścieżka – a small path, trail, footpath, often narrow, maybe in a forest or park.
  Leśna ścieżka – forest path.
• droga – a road or way, broader term, also metaphorical (“way, route” in life).
  Droga do miasta – the road to the city.
• szlak – a marked route, especially for hiking, tourism, or transport.
  Szlak turystyczny – hiking trail.

In Ta ścieżka jest stroma, we are talking about a small path, not a big road.

How do you pronounce ścieżka and stroma?

Approximate pronunciation:

• ścieżka – [sh-CHESH-kah]

  • ś – soft “sh,” tongue a bit more forward than English “sh”
  • cie – sounds like “che” in “chess”
  • ż – like “zh” in “measure”
  • stress on the first syllable: ŚCIE-żka

• stroma – [STRO-mah]

  • stro – like “stro” in “strong” (but with a pure “o”)
  • ma – as in “mama”
  • stress on STRO: STRO-ma

In Polish, stress is almost always on the second-to-last syllable.

How would this sentence look in the plural: “These paths are steep”?

You need plural forms for the demonstrative, noun, verb, and adjective:

• Ta ścieżka jest stroma. – This path is steep.
• Te ścieżki są strome. – These paths are steep.

Changes:

• ta → te (feminine plural demonstrative)
• ścieżka → ścieżki (feminine plural nominative)
• jest → są (3rd person singular → plural of “to be”)
• stroma → strome (feminine plural nominative adjective form)

How would I say “This path is very steep” and “This path is not steep”?

Use bardzo (very) and nie (not):

• Ta ścieżka jest bardzo stroma. – This path is very steep.
• Ta ścieżka nie jest stroma. – This path is not steep.

Notes:

• The negation particle nie goes directly before the verb jest.
• The rest of the sentence stays the same in this kind of predicate adjective sentence.

How do I say “steeper” and “the steepest” for stroma?

The adjective stroma has comparative and superlative forms:

• stroma – steep
• bardziej stroma – steeper (literally “more steep”)
  
  • Ta ścieżka jest bardziej stroma. – This path is steeper.
• najbardziej stroma – (the) steepest (literally “most steep”)
  
  • To jest najbardziej stroma ścieżka. – This is the steepest path.

In everyday speech, people usually use bardziej stroma / najbardziej stroma instead of a single-word comparative.

Could I drop jest and say Ta ścieżka stroma?

No, not in standard Polish.

In sentences like X is Y, where Y is an adjective (steep, long, nice), you normally must use the verb być (to be):

• Ta ścieżka jest stroma. – correct
• Ta ścieżka stroma. – sounds incomplete or ungrammatical in standard modern Polish.

You can drop jest in some other contexts (especially in the present tense with nouns, like Mój brat lekarz), but not with predicate adjectives like stroma in this simple descriptive sentence.