Ta firanka jest ładna, ale chcę postawić drugi regał bliżej biurka.

Because firanka is a feminine noun in Polish, so the demonstrative this must also be feminine.

Polish has three genders in the singular:

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

So:

• ta firanka = this curtain / net curtain
• compare:
  • ten regał = this shelving unit / bookcase because regał is masculine
  • to biurko = this desk because biurko is neuter

The ending -a in firanka is a very common sign that a noun is feminine.

Because adjectives in Polish must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.

Here, firanka is:

• singular
• feminine
• nominative

So the adjective also has to be feminine singular nominative:

• ładna firanka = a pretty curtain
• ta firanka jest ładna = this curtain is pretty

Compare:

• regał jest ładny — masculine
• biurko jest ładne — neuter

So:

• ładny = masculine
• ładna = feminine
• ładne = neuter

Firanka usually means a net curtain, lace curtain, or sheer curtain hanging in a window. It is not always the same as the general English word curtain.

A useful contrast:

• firanka = thin, decorative, often semi-transparent window curtain
• zasłona = heavier curtain/drape

So in many contexts, firanka is more specific than plain English curtain.

In the present tense, Polish normally uses jest for he/she/it is when making a regular statement like this.

• Ta firanka jest ładna. = This curtain is pretty.

You usually cannot just say Ta firanka ładna in standard Polish.

Polish often omits subject pronouns like ja, ty, on, etc., but the verb to be itself is still needed here.

Chcę is the 1st person singular present tense of chcieć = to want.

So:

• chcę = I want

That is why Polish does not need the pronoun ja here. The verb ending already shows the subject:

• chcę = I want
• chcesz = you want
• chce = he/she/it wants

So:

• ale chcę postawić... = but I want to put/place...

After chcieć (to want), Polish normally uses an infinitive, just like English does:

• chcę postawić = I want to place / put
• literally: I want place

So the structure is:

• chcę
  • infinitive

Other examples:

• chcę iść = I want to go
• chcę kupić = I want to buy

This is about aspect, which is very important in Polish verbs.

• stawiać = imperfective, focusing on the process, repetition, or general action
• postawić = perfective, focusing on completing the action once

In this sentence, the speaker wants to place the shelving unit in a particular spot as a completed action, so postawić is natural.

Compare:

• Chcę postawić drugi regał bliżej biurka. = I want to put/place a second shelving unit closer to the desk.
• Chcę stawiać regał... would sound more like I want to be placing / keep placing the shelving unit, which is not the intended meaning here.

Drugi means second or sometimes another one depending on context.

So:

• drugi regał can mean the second shelving unit
• or another shelving unit, if the context is that one already exists

In this sentence, it most naturally suggests there is already one shelving unit, and the speaker wants to place a second one.

Also, drugi agrees with regał, which is masculine singular, so the adjective takes the masculine form:

• drugi regał

Because postawić takes a direct object in the accusative case, and for a masculine inanimate noun like regał, the accusative singular is the same as the nominative singular.

So:

• nominative: drugi regał
• accusative: drugi regał

That is why the form does not visibly change.

Compare with a masculine animate noun:

• nominative: dobry student
• accusative: dobrego studenta

But with regał:

• Widzę regał.
• Chcę postawić regał.

The form stays the same because it is masculine inanimate.

Regał usually means a shelving unit, bookcase, or set of shelves, depending on context.

It is not always exactly the same as English bookshelf. A regał can be:

• a tall shelving unit
• a bookcase
• a storage shelf structure

So drugi regał could be translated in different ways depending on the room and context:

• a second bookcase
• another shelving unit
• a second shelf unit

Because bliżej (closer) requires the following noun to be in the genitive case.

Base form:

• biurko = desk (nominative)

After bliżej:

• bliżej biurka = closer to the desk

This is a very common pattern:

• blisko domu = close to the house
• bliżej okna = closer to the window
• dalej sklepu or more commonly dalej od sklepu depending on structure/context

So biurka is the genitive singular form of biurko.

Biurka is the genitive singular of biurko.

Even though biurko is a neuter noun, its form changes by case:

• nominative singular: biurko
• genitive singular: biurka

This is normal for many neuter nouns ending in -o.

For example:

• okno → okna
• krzesło → krzesła
• biurko → biurka

So the -a ending here does not mean the noun has become feminine. It is simply the genitive form.

Bliżej is the normal comparative form of blisko.

• blisko = close / near
• bliżej = closer

Just as in English you say close → closer, Polish says:

• blisko → bliżej

So:

• bliżej biurka = closer to the desk

Using bardziej blisko would sound unnatural here.

Yes, Polish word order is more flexible than English, because case endings show grammatical roles. But the original order is natural and neutral:

• Ta firanka jest ładna, ale chcę postawić drugi regał bliżej biurka.

You could change the order for emphasis, for example:

• Drugi regał chcę postawić bliżej biurka.
• Bliżej biurka chcę postawić drugi regał.

These are still understandable, but they shift the emphasis. The original version is the most straightforward and natural for a learner to use.

Yes, ale usually means but.

It joins two ideas:

• Ta firanka jest ładna = This curtain is pretty
• chcę postawić drugi regał bliżej biurka = I want to place a second shelving unit closer to the desk

Together:

• Ta firanka jest ładna, ale... = This curtain is pretty, but...

So the speaker is contrasting two ideas. For example, the curtain may be nice, but they still want to rearrange the room.

Yes, and in fact that is exactly what happens here.

Polish often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb form already makes the subject clear:

• chcę already means I want

So:

• chcę postawić = I want to place
• ja chcę postawić = I want to place

Adding ja is possible, but it usually adds emphasis:

• Ja chcę postawić drugi regał... = I want to place the second shelving unit... with stress on I

The version without ja is the normal neutral one.