Gramofon działa.

Działa is the 3rd person singular present form of działać, which means to work, to function, or to operate.

So Gramofon działa can mean things like:

• The record player works
• The gramophone is working
• The gramophone functions

In everyday use, it often means that something is working properly, not broken.

Polish does not have articles like a or the.

So gramofon can mean:

• a gramophone
• the gramophone
• record player / the record player

You figure out which one is meant from the context.

That is very normal in Polish:

• Kot śpi = The cat is sleeping / A cat is sleeping
• Samochód stoi = The car is standing/parked

Because Polish usually does not need subject pronouns when the verb form already shows the person and number.

In działa, the ending tells you it is 3rd person singular: he/she/it works.

So Polish normally says:

• Gramofon działa = The gramophone works

not:

• Gramofon on działa

Adding a pronoun like on would usually sound unnecessary unless you want special emphasis or contrast.

Gramofon is in the nominative singular, because it is the subject of the sentence.

The basic dictionary form of a noun is usually the nominative singular, and that is what you see here.

So:

• gramofon = nominative singular
• it is the thing that is doing the action of działa

Gramofon is masculine inanimate.

That matters in Polish grammar, although in this particular sentence you do not see much gender marking on the verb in the present tense.

In the present tense:

• gramofon działa = the gramophone works

But gender becomes more visible in the past tense:

• Gramofon działał = The gramophone worked

So yes, the noun’s gender matters, even if it is not very obvious in this exact sentence.

It is formally present tense, but in Polish the present tense often covers both:

• works
• is working

So Gramofon działa can mean either:

• The gramophone works in general
• The gramophone is working right now

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

The infinitive is działać = to work / to function / to operate.

Present tense:

• ja działam = I work / I am working
• ty działasz = you work
• on/ona/ono działa = he/she/it works
• my działamy = we work
• wy działacie = you all work
• oni/one działają = they work

In your sentence, działa matches gramofon because gramofon is 3rd person singular.

A rough guide:

• gramofon ≈ gra-MO-fon
• działa ≈ JWA-wa or more carefully DŹA-wa

A few important pronunciation points:

• ł is pronounced like English w
• dzia here sounds like a soft dźa
• stress in Polish usually falls on the second-to-last syllable

So:

• graMOfon
• DZIAła

A more phonetic version is:

• gramofon: /ɡraˈmɔ.fɔn/
• działa: /ˈd͡ʑa.wa/

In modern standard Polish, ł is pronounced like an English w sound.

So:

• działa is pronounced roughly dźawa
• not like działa with an English l

This is one of the most important Polish spelling/pronunciation facts to learn early.

Compare:

• mała ≈ mawa
• był ≈ biw
• działa ≈ dźawa

Yes. Polish word order is more flexible than English because endings do a lot of grammatical work.

The neutral, standard order is:

• Gramofon działa

But you might also hear:

• Działa gramofon

That version could sound more marked, for example emphasizing that it is working, or fitting a particular context.

Still, for a learner, Gramofon działa is the safest and most natural basic order.

Not always. Depending on context, gramofon can refer to:

• a gramophone
• a record player
• sometimes more generally a device for playing records

In modern everyday speech, people may also use more specific words depending on the exact device, but gramofon is a normal understandable word.

So if the meaning shown to you was something like The record player works, that fits well.

You simply put nie before the verb:

• Gramofon nie działa. = The gramophone doesn’t work / isn’t working.

This is the normal way to negate verbs in Polish.

Compare:

• Telefon działa. = The phone works.
• Telefon nie działa. = The phone doesn’t work.

Yes, depending on context, działa can mean several closely related things:

• works
• functions
• is operating
• is active
• takes effect

With a machine like gramofon, the most natural interpretation is usually works / is working.

But with other subjects:

• Lek działa = The medicine is working / taking effect
• Organizacja działa = The organization is active / operating

So działa is broader than just mechanical works, though that is the best translation here.