Ta jest tańsza niż tamta.

to be

Breakdown of Ta jest tańsza niż tamta.

• niż: than
• tańszy: cheaper
• tamta: that one

Questions & Answers about Ta jest tańsza niż tamta.

Why does the sentence start with ta and end with tamta?

Because Polish is using demonstrative pronouns here:

• ta = this one / that one (feminine, depending on context)
• tamta = that one over there / that other one (feminine)

In this sentence, they stand in for an omitted feminine noun, such as sukienka (dress) or książka (book).

So the sentence is structurally like:

• Ta [rzecz] jest tańsza niż tamta [rzecz].
• This [thing] is cheaper than that [thing].

Why are ta and tamta feminine?

Because the omitted noun is understood to be feminine singular.

Polish words change form to match the gender and number of the noun they refer to. So if the hidden noun is feminine, the pronouns must also be feminine.

For example:

• ta ... tamta → feminine singular
• ten ... tamten → masculine singular
• to ... tamto → neuter singular

So if you were talking about:

• ta sukienka → Ta jest tańsza niż tamta.
• ten telefon → Ten jest tańszy niż tamten.
• to krzesło → To jest tańsze niż tamto.