Ten ser ma zbyt ostry zapach.

Ten means this.

It’s the masculine singular nominative form of the demonstrative ten / ta / to.

It matches ser (cheese), which is:

• masculine
• singular
• the subject of the sentence

So:

• ten ser = this cheese

If the noun were feminine or neuter, the form would change:

• ta zupa = this soup
• to mleko = this milk

Because ser is the subject of the sentence, so it stays in the nominative case.

In Ten ser ma zbyt ostry zapach, the cheese is the thing that has the smell.

• ser = nominative singular
• sera can be genitive singular, or accusative singular for some animate masculine nouns, but not here

So:

• Ten ser = correct
• Ten sera = incorrect in this sentence

Ma means has.

It is the 3rd person singular form of the verb mieć (to have).

Conjugation of mieć:

• mam = I have
• masz = you have
• ma = he/she/it has
• mamy = we have
• macie = you all have
• mają = they have

Here, ser is a singular noun, so we use ma:

• Ten ser ma... = This cheese has...

Because zapach is the direct object of ma, and direct objects usually take the accusative.

However, zapach is a masculine inanimate noun, and in the singular, the accusative often looks exactly like the nominative.

So:

• nominative: zapach
• accusative: zapach

That’s why the form does not change.

If you look only at the form, it may seem like nominative, but functionally here it is accusative.

Zbyt means too, overly, or excessively.

In this sentence:

• zbyt ostry zapach = too sharp / too pungent a smell

It is a bit more neutral or formal than very everyday za in some contexts.

Compare:

• zbyt ostry zapach = too sharp a smell
• za ostry zapach = also possible in many contexts, a bit more direct/conversational

Both can mean too, but zbyt is very common in written or careful speech.

Yes — ostry can mean several related things depending on context:

• sharp (like a knife)
• spicy/hot (food)
• harsh/strong/pungent (smell, taste, sound, tone)

Here it describes zapach (smell), so it means something like:

• sharp-smelling
• pungent
• strong in an unpleasant or overpowering way

So ostry zapach is a natural Polish phrase for a strong, sharp, penetrating smell.

Because the adjective must agree with zapach.

Zapach is:

• masculine
• singular
• here in the accusative, which for masculine inanimate nouns looks like nominative

So the adjective also takes the masculine singular form:

• ostry

Agreement:

• ostry zapach = masculine singular
• ostra woń = feminine singular
• ostre powietrze = neuter singular

Zapach is usually fairly neutral and often even positive:

• a smell
• a scent
• an aroma

But in context, it can still refer to a smell that is unpleasant or too strong.

If you want a clearly negative word, Polish often uses:

• smród = stink, stench
• odór = foul odor
• woń = smell/scent, often more literary

So this sentence does not necessarily say the cheese stinks. It says its smell is too sharp / too strong.

Yes, but it means something different.

• Ten ser ma zbyt ostry zapach = This cheese has too pungent/sharp a smell.
• Ten ser jest zbyt ostry = This cheese is too sharp/spicy/strong.

The second sentence usually describes the cheese itself, especially its taste or general character, not specifically its smell.

So if you want to focus on the odor, the original sentence is better.

Because Polish expresses this idea differently from English.

English often says:

• This cheese has too sharp a smell
• The smell of this cheese is too strong

Polish commonly uses the very natural structure:

• X ma zapach = X has a smell

So:

• Ten ser ma zbyt ostry zapach literally follows the pattern This cheese has too sharp a smell

You could also build a sentence around smell of the cheese, for example:

• Zapach tego sera jest zbyt ostry = The smell of this cheese is too sharp

Both are correct, but the original is completely natural.

Yes. Polish word order is more flexible than English, although the neutral order here is very natural:

• Ten ser ma zbyt ostry zapach.

You can change the order for emphasis, for example:

• Zbyt ostry zapach ma ten ser.
• Ten ser zbyt ostry ma zapach. — grammatically possible, but much less natural

The original sentence is the best standard version.

In Polish, word order often affects emphasis more than basic grammar.

Yes, that is possible, and it means:

• This cheese smells too sharp/pungent

It uses the verb pachnieć (to smell).

Compare:

• Ten ser ma zbyt ostry zapach. = This cheese has too sharp a smell.
• Ten ser pachnie zbyt ostro. = This cheese smells too sharply/pungently.

The first is a little more noun-based and descriptive. The second is a little more verb-based and direct.

Both are natural.

Yes, it is natural Polish.

With cheese, especially strong cheeses, people may talk about:

• ostry zapach = sharp/pungent smell
• intensywny zapach = intense smell
• mocny zapach = strong smell

So zbyt ostry zapach means the smell is stronger or sharper than desired.

It sounds like normal, idiomatic Polish rather than a word-for-word translation.

You could use a less strong adjective or a less direct structure, for example:

• Ten ser ma dość intensywny zapach.
  = This cheese has quite an intense smell.

• Ten ser ma bardzo wyrazisty zapach.
  = This cheese has a very distinctive smell.

• Zapach tego sera jest trochę zbyt ostry.
  = The smell of this cheese is a little too sharp.

These versions can sound less blunt than simply saying the smell is too sharp.