Ta gąbka leży w kuchni, bo przed chwilą myłam nią talerze.

Ta means this, and gąbka means sponge.

Polish adjectives and demonstratives have to agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. Since gąbka is:

• feminine
• singular
• here in the nominative case

the correct form is ta.

So:

• ten = this (masculine)
• ta = this (feminine)
• to = this (neuter)

Because gąbka is feminine, you say ta gąbka.

In Polish, leżeć means to lie / to be lying, so it often describes the position of something.

So:

• Ta gąbka leży w kuchni = This sponge is lying in the kitchen

You could sometimes say jest w kuchni (is in the kitchen), but leży is more specific and natural if you are talking about where an object has been left.

Compare:

• jest w kuchni = it is in the kitchen
• leży w kuchni = it is lying in the kitchen

The preposition w usually means in, and after w Polish often uses the locative case when talking about location.

The noun kuchnia changes in the locative:

• kuchnia → w kuchni

So:

• w kuchni = in the kitchen

This is a very common pattern:

• w domu = in the house
• w szkole = at school / in school
• w pokoju = in the room

Bo means because.

So the sentence structure is:

• Ta gąbka leży w kuchni = This sponge is in the kitchen
• bo przed chwilą myłam nią talerze = because I was washing plates with it a moment ago

In Polish, a comma is normally used before bo, just as English often separates a main clause from a because clause.

Przed chwilą means a moment ago, just now, or a short while ago.

Literally:

• przed = before
• chwila = moment

But together, przed chwilą is a fixed expression meaning something happened very recently.

Examples:

• Przed chwilą dzwonił. = He called a moment ago.
• Przed chwilą wyszłam. = I just went out a moment ago.

Myłam is the past tense form of myć (to wash) for:

• 1st person singular = I
• feminine speaker

So myłam means I was washing / I washed, said by a woman.

Compare:

• myłem = I washed / was washing (male speaker)
• myłam = I washed / was washing (female speaker)

Polish past tense shows the speaker’s gender, which English does not.

Polish often drops subject pronouns when they are not needed.

The verb myłam already tells you:

• the person = I
• the gender = female

So ja is unnecessary here.

You could say:

• bo ja przed chwilą myłam nią talerze

but that would add emphasis, something like:

• because I was washing the plates with it just a moment ago

Normally, Polish prefers to leave ja out unless you want contrast or emphasis.

This is one of the most important grammar points in the sentence.

Nią is the instrumental form of ona / ta gąbka, and it means with it here.

The verb myć takes:

• the thing being washed in the accusative
• the tool used in the instrumental

So:

• myłam talerze = I washed the plates
• myłam nią talerze = I washed the plates with it

If you said ją, that would be the direct object form, meaning it/her. Then the sentence would suggest you washed the sponge itself:

• myłam ją = I washed it

So:

• nią = with it
• ją = it (as the thing directly affected)

Because gąbka is a feminine noun, the pronoun referring to it must also be feminine.

The basic pronoun is:

• ona = she / it

In the instrumental case, that becomes:

• nią = with her / with it

Since gąbka is feminine in Polish, nią is the correct form.

Talerze is the plural of talerz (plate).

Here it is the direct object of myłam, so it is in the accusative plural.

For masculine inanimate nouns like talerz, the accusative plural is the same as the nominative plural:

• singular: talerz
• plural: talerze

So:

• myłam talerze = I washed plates / the plates

Myć is imperfective.

That matters because imperfective verbs are often used for:

• ongoing actions
• repeated actions
• background information
• focus on the process rather than completion

In this sentence, the speaker is explaining why the sponge is in the kitchen. The important idea is the recent activity involving the sponge, not the finished result.

So myłam nią talerze is very natural.

A perfective verb such as umyć would focus more on completion:

• umyłam talerze = I washed the plates completely / got them washed

That version is possible in some contexts, but myłam fits the explanatory, background feel very well.

Yes, Polish word order is more flexible than English, but the original order is very natural:

• Ta gąbka leży w kuchni, bo przed chwilą myłam nią talerze.

This sounds neutral and clear.

You could rearrange parts for emphasis, for example:

• Ta gąbka leży w kuchni, bo nią przed chwilą myłam talerze.
• Bo przed chwilą myłam nią talerze, ta gąbka leży w kuchni.

But those sound more marked or less natural in ordinary conversation.

So for a learner, the original order is a good model.

Grammatically, yes, because leży literally means lies / is lying.

But in natural English, you would usually say:

• This sponge is in the kitchen
• This sponge is lying in the kitchen

Polish uses verbs like leżeć, stać, and wisieć much more naturally than English uses lie, stand, and hang in everyday descriptions of object location.

So the literal meaning is useful for understanding the grammar, but the best English translation is often less literal.

Polish often avoids repeating the noun if a pronoun makes the meaning clear.

The first clause introduces:

• ta gąbka = this sponge

Then the second clause refers back to it with:

• nią = with it

So instead of repeating gąbką, Polish uses the pronoun.

A fuller version would be possible but less natural:

• ...bo przed chwilą myłam tą gąbką talerze

However, in careful standard Polish, after myć czymś, you would normally expect the instrumental:

• tą / tę gąbką is a separate issue of form and register, but in this sentence the pronoun nią is the neatest and most natural choice.