Czy to gniazdko działa? Chcę podłączyć lampę, ale kabel jest za krótki.

Czy is a yes/no question particle. It does not usually have a direct English word equivalent; it simply marks the sentence as a question.

So:

• Czy to gniazdko działa? = Is this outlet working?

Without czy, Polish can still ask a yes/no question by intonation alone, but czy makes it explicit and is very common.

Here to is the neuter singular form of the demonstrative pronoun, matching gniazdko, which is a neuter noun.

• ten = masculine
• ta = feminine
• to = neuter

So:

• to gniazdko = this/that outlet

In many contexts, Polish ten / ta / to does not draw as sharp a distinction between this and that as English does. Context usually tells you which sounds more natural in translation.

Yes. Gniazdko is a diminutive form of gniazdo.

Originally:

• gniazdo = nest
• gniazdko = little nest

But in modern everyday Polish, gniazdko is also the normal word for an electrical socket / outlet. So in this sentence it means electrical outlet, not a literal nest.

This is a very common everyday word.

In Polish, działać means to work / to function / to operate for devices, systems, and equipment.

So:

• Czy to gniazdko działa? = Is this outlet working?

This is more natural than using być (to be) here. English often says Is it working?, and Polish uses działać in the same kind of situation.

Examples:

• Telefon nie działa. = The phone isn’t working.
• Internet działa. = The internet works / is working.

After chcę (I want), Polish normally uses an infinitive, just like English:

• Chcę podłączyć lampę. = I want to connect / plug in the lamp.

So the structure is:

• chcę = I want
• podłączyć = to connect / to plug in

This is completely standard.

Yes. Podłączyć often means to connect, to hook up, or to plug in, depending on context.

In this sentence:

• Chcę podłączyć lampę most naturally means I want to plug in the lamp

A useful point: podłączyć is perfective, so it suggests a single completed action: getting the lamp connected.

Its imperfective partner is podłączać, which would be used more for repeated action, process, or habit.

Examples:

• Chcę podłączyć lampę. = I want to plug in the lamp.
• Podłączam komputer codziennie. = I connect / plug in the computer every day.

Because it is understood from context.

A fuller version could be:

• Chcę podłączyć lampę do gniazdka. = I want to plug the lamp into the outlet.

But since the speaker has just mentioned the outlet, Polish can naturally omit that part:

• Chcę podłączyć lampę = I want to plug in the lamp

So nothing is missing grammatically; the destination is simply obvious.

Because lampa is the direct object of podłączyć, so it goes into the accusative case.

• nominative: lampa
• accusative: lampę

This is very common with feminine nouns ending in -a:

• Mam książkę.
• Widzę kobietę.
• Kupuję kawę.

So:

• Chcę podłączyć lampę. = I want to plug in the lamp.

Za before an adjective means too.

So:

• krótki = short
• za krótki = too short

That gives:

• kabel jest za krótki = the cable is too short

Be careful: this za is not the same as the preposition za meaning things like behind or beyond. Here it is an intensifier meaning too.

Because krótki is an adjective describing the noun kabel.

• kabel is masculine singular
• so the adjective must also be masculine singular: krótki

So:

• kabel jest za krótki = the cable is too short

By contrast, krótko is an adverb, meaning briefly / shortly in many contexts, and would not fit here.

Compare:

• krótki kabel = a short cable
• mówić krótko = to speak briefly

The main ones are:

• gniazdko — nominative, because it is the subject of działa
• lampę — accusative, because it is the object of podłączyć
• kabel — nominative, because it is the subject of jest za krótki

So the pattern is:

• subject (nominative) + verb
• verb + direct object (accusative)

This sentence is a nice example of that basic contrast.

A few pronunciation notes:

• gniazdko: roughly GNYAST-koh
  • the gni- sounds like gny-
  • the cluster is hard for English speakers, and the d is devoiced before k
• chcę: roughly h-tsen, but the final vowel is nasal
  • ch is like the ch in German Bach, not English ch
• podłączyć: roughly pod-WON-chić
  • ą before cz sounds close to on
  • cz sounds like English ch in church
• krótki: roughly KROOT-kee
  • ó is pronounced like u

Also remember that Polish stress is usually on the second-to-last syllable:

• gniazdko
• podłączyć
• krótki