Ta rysa jest mała.

to be

Breakdown of Ta rysa jest mała.

• mały: small
• ta: this
• rysa: the scratch

Questions & Answers about Ta rysa jest mała.

Why is it ta and not ten or to?

Because rysa is a feminine singular noun in Polish.

Polish this changes for gender:

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

Since rysa is feminine, you say ta rysa.

How do I know that rysa is feminine?

A very common clue is the ending -a in the dictionary form (nominative singular). Many Polish nouns ending in -a are feminine, and rysa is one of them.

So:

• rysa = a feminine noun
• therefore ta rysa
• and the adjective must also match: mała

Why is it mała and not mały or małe?

Adjectives in Polish must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

Because rysa is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative here

the adjective takes the feminine singular nominative form:

• masculine: mały
• feminine: mała
• neuter: małe

So mała matches rysa correctly.

What exactly is jest doing in this sentence?