Mama bierze młotek, bo jeden gwóźdź jest jeszcze luźny w ścianie.

Mom takes the hammer because one nail is still loose in the wall.

Breakdown of Mama bierze młotek, bo jeden gwóźdź jest jeszcze luźny w ścianie.

• być: to be
• w: in
• bo: because
• jeden: one

Questions & Answers about Mama bierze młotek, bo jeden gwóźdź jest jeszcze luźny w ścianie.

Why is it bierze and not something like weźmie?

Bierze is the present tense of brać (to take), so it means is taking / takes.

• Mama bierze młotek = Mom is taking a hammer
• Mama weźmie młotek would mean Mom will take a hammer

Polish often uses the present tense where English might say is taking. So bierze is completely natural here.

Also, Polish has a common aspect pair:

• brać = imperfective (to take, ongoing/repeated/general)
• wziąć = perfective (to take, completed once)

So:

• bierze = is taking / takes
• weźmie = will take
• wzięła = took

Why is it młotek and not młotka?

Because młotek is the direct object of bierze, and with this verb Polish uses the accusative case.

For the noun młotek (hammer), the accusative singular is the same as the nominative singular:

• nominative: młotek
• accusative: młotek

So even though the word is in the accusative, its form does not change here.

This is very common with inanimate masculine nouns in Polish:

• mam stół = I have a table
• widzę dom = I see a house
• biorę młotek = I take a hammer