W tej cukierni sprzedawca poleca dziś sernik z cynamonem.

Because the preposition w means in or inside, and when it refers to location, it normally takes the locative case in Polish.

So:

• ta cukiernia = this bakery / confectionery shop (basic dictionary form)
• w tej cukierni = in this bakery (locative form)

Both words change:

• ta → tej
• cukiernia → cukierni

This is very common in Polish: after a preposition, the noun often has to change case, and any adjective or demonstrative like ta changes too.

Cukiernia means a confectionery shop, cake shop, or pastry shop. It is a place where cakes, pastries, and sweets are sold.

It comes from cukier, meaning sugar.

So w tej cukierni is basically in this cake shop / pastry shop.

Because some Polish masculine nouns end in -a, even though they refer to men.

Sprzedawca means salesman / shop assistant / seller, and it is grammatically masculine, despite the -a ending.

This is not unusual in Polish. Other masculine nouns with -a endings include words like:

• mężczyzna = man
• kolega = male friend / colleague

So you should learn sprzedawca as a masculine noun with a slightly unusual ending.

Poleca is the 3rd person singular present tense form of polecać, which means to recommend.

So:

• ja polecam = I recommend
• ty polecasz = you recommend
• on/ona poleca = he/she recommends

Since the subject is sprzedawca (the salesman / shop assistant), the verb has to match that singular subject:

• sprzedawca poleca = the salesman recommends

Good question. Sernik is the direct object of poleca, so it is in the accusative case.

But for many masculine inanimate nouns in Polish, the accusative singular looks exactly the same as the nominative singular.

So:

• nominative: sernik
• accusative: sernik

That is why it looks unchanged.

If it were a different noun type, you might see a visible change.

Here z means with, and when z means with, it normally takes the instrumental case.

So:

• cynamon = cinnamon
• z cynamonem = with cinnamon

The ending -em shows the instrumental singular form.

This is a very common pattern:

• z mlekiem = with milk
• z cukrem = with sugar
• z serem = with cheese

So sernik z cynamonem means cheesecake with cinnamon.

Yes. It works as a noun phrase:

• sernik = cheesecake
• z cynamonem = with cinnamon

Together they form sernik z cynamonem = cheesecake with cinnamon.

The prepositional phrase z cynamonem describes what kind of cheesecake it is.

Yes, it could.

Dziś means today, and Polish word order is more flexible than English word order. In this sentence, dziś sits before sernik z cynamonem, but other placements are possible, for example:

• W tej cukierni sprzedawca dziś poleca sernik z cynamonem.
• Dziś sprzedawca poleca w tej cukierni sernik z cynamonem.
• Sprzedawca poleca dziś sernik z cynamonem w tej cukierni.

These versions may sound slightly different in emphasis, but they are all understandable.

The original sentence sounds natural and neutral.

Because Polish often puts the setting or context first.

Starting with W tej cukierni gives the listener the location right away:

• In this bakery, ...

Then the sentence continues with who is doing the action:

• sprzedawca = the salesman / shop assistant

This kind of order is very common in Polish and does not sound strange.

Polish does not have articles like a, an, or the.

So Polish usually expresses definiteness from context, word order, or words like ten / ta / to (this) when needed.

In this sentence:

• sprzedawca can mean the salesman or a salesman, depending on context
• tej cukierni already has this, so that part is clearly specified

English needs articles, but Polish does not.

Yes, basically.

Both mean today:

• dziś
• dzisiaj

Dziś is a little shorter and often feels slightly more compact or natural in many sentences, but both are common and correct.

So you could also say:

• W tej cukierni sprzedawca poleca dzisiaj sernik z cynamonem.

A few parts may be difficult for English speakers:

• cukierni: roughly tsoo-KYER-nyi
• sprzedawca: roughly psheh-DAFT-sa
• dziś: roughly jeesh
• cynamonem: roughly tsi-na-MO-nem

A few important pronunciation notes:

• cz sounds like English ch in chop
• sz sounds like English sh
• rz often sounds like zh as in measure
• ś is a softer sound, somewhat like a very soft sh
• ci before a vowel often sounds like a soft ch/ty-like sound

Polish spelling is fairly consistent, but the consonant clusters can take practice.

Yes, that is a perfectly good natural interpretation.

A more literal breakdown is:

• W tej cukierni = in this bakery
• sprzedawca = the salesperson / salesman / shop assistant
• poleca = recommends
• dziś = today
• sernik z cynamonem = cheesecake with cinnamon

So the whole sentence means something like:

• In this bakery, the salesperson recommends cheesecake with cinnamon today.

Natural English might also say:

• Today, the salesperson in this bakery recommends the cinnamon cheesecake.
• In this bakery, the shop assistant is recommending cheesecake with cinnamon today.

All of these capture the same basic meaning.