Obraz jest zakurzony.

Polish does not have articles, so there is no separate word for the or a/an.

That means obraz can mean:

• a picture
• the picture
• a painting
• the painting

The exact meaning depends on context. English forces you to choose an article, but Polish usually leaves that to the situation.

Obraz most often means picture or painting. In some contexts it can also mean image.

So depending on context, Obraz jest zakurzony could refer to:

• a painting on the wall
• a framed picture
• an image in a broader sense

If you want to be very specific, Polish may use other words too, such as zdjęcie for photo.

Jest is the 3rd person singular present tense of być, meaning to be.

So:

• jest = is

In this sentence, it links the subject obraz with the description zakurzony:

• Obraz = the picture/painting
• jest = is
• zakurzony = dusty

Unlike in some other languages, in standard Polish you normally do need jest in a present-tense sentence like this.

In normal standard Polish, no, not in this sentence.

• Obraz jest zakurzony = correct, complete sentence
• Obraz zakurzony = not a normal full sentence in everyday standard Polish

Without jest, obraz zakurzony sounds more like a label, note, caption, or a shortened style rather than a regular statement.

Because it agrees with obraz.

Polish adjectives change their endings to match the noun in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here, obraz is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective also takes the masculine singular nominative form:

• zakurzony

Compare:

• obraz jest zakurzony — masculine
• książka jest zakurzona — feminine
• okno jest zakurzone — neuter
• obrazy są zakurzone — plural

Both obraz and zakurzony are in the nominative here.

• obraz is the subject, so nominative makes sense.
• zakurzony is an adjective describing the subject after jest, and adjectives in this kind of sentence are also nominative.

This is useful to compare with noun predicates. For example:

• Jan jest lekarzem — lekarzem is instrumental
• Jan jest wysoki — wysoki is nominative

So with an adjective like zakurzony, nominative is expected.

It is used here as an adjective, but it is related to the verb zakurzyć.

Very roughly:

• kurz = dust
• zakurzyć = to cover with dust / to make dusty
• zakurzony = dusty, dust-covered

For a learner, the most important thing is that in this sentence zakurzony behaves like a normal adjective.

Zakurzony means specifically dusty or covered in dust.

Brudny means dirty in a broader sense.

So:

• obraz jest zakurzony = the picture has dust on it
• obraz jest brudny = the picture is dirty in general

Something can be zakurzone without being badly dirty in every possible way.

Yes, but it means something slightly different in structure.

• Obraz jest zakurzony = The picture is dusty
  This is a full sentence.
• Zakurzony obraz = a dusty picture / the dusty picture
  This is a noun phrase, not usually a full sentence by itself.

So the difference is:

• obraz jest zakurzony → statement
• zakurzony obraz → description attached directly to the noun

Not completely. Polish word order is more flexible than English.

The neutral, natural order is:

• Obraz jest zakurzony.

But other orders are possible for emphasis, for example:

• Zakurzony jest obraz.
• Jest zakurzony obraz. — possible in special contexts, but less neutral

An English speaker should usually learn Obraz jest zakurzony as the safest normal version.

A simple learner-friendly approximation is:

• OH-brahs yest za-koo-ZHO-nih

A few useful points:

• Polish stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable
• so zakurzony is stressed on -rzo-
• rz sounds like the s in measure or zh in vision
• j in jest sounds like English y in yes

So:

• obraz → OH-brahs
• jest → yest
• zakurzony → za-koo-ZHO-nih

You change both the noun and the adjective, and jest becomes są.

• Obraz jest zakurzony. — The picture is dusty.
• Obrazy są zakurzone. — The pictures are dusty.

So the changes are:

• obraz → obrazy
• jest → są
• zakurzony → zakurzone

You add nie before jest:

• Obraz nie jest zakurzony.

That means The picture is not dusty.

This is the normal way to negate to be in Polish:

• jest → nie jest
• są → nie są