Zakurzony gramofon nie jest zniszczony.

Because they agree with gramofon, which is a masculine singular noun.

In Polish, adjectives must match the noun in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• gramofon = masculine singular
• subject of the sentence = nominative
• so the adjective forms are zakurzony and zniszczony

If the noun changed, the adjective endings would change too:

• zakurzona płyta = a dusty record
• zakurzone radio = a dusty radio
• zakurzone gramofony = dusty gramophones

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

The sentence structure is:

• Zakurzony gramofon = the subject
• nie jest = the verb phrase
• zniszczony = a predicate adjective describing the subject

After być (to be), predicate adjectives are normally also in the nominative:

• On jest zmęczony.
• Dom jest stary.
• Gramofon jest zniszczony.

So both adjectives are in forms that match a masculine singular nominative noun.

For a learner, the most useful way to treat zakurzony is as an adjective meaning dusty or covered in dust.

Historically and grammatically, forms like zakurzony and zniszczony are closely related to past passive participles, which is why they often look similar to English forms like destroyed or covered.

But in everyday use, you can often learn them as normal descriptive words:

• zakurzony pokój = a dusty room
• zniszczona książka = a damaged/destroyed book

So the short answer is:

• yes, they are verb-related in origin
• but in this sentence they function like ordinary adjectives

Because in Polish, when you negate a verb, nie goes before the verb:

• jest = is
• nie jest = is not

So:

• Gramofon jest zniszczony. = The gramophone is damaged/destroyed.
• Gramofon nie jest zniszczony. = The gramophone is not damaged/destroyed.

This is the normal way to negate the whole statement.

Also, with verbs, nie is written separately:

• nie jest
• nie ma
• nie widzi

That is different from many adjectives, where nie may be written together:

• niemożliwy = impossible
• niezniszczony = undamaged / not destroyed

Yes, niezniszczony is possible, but it is not exactly the same in tone.

Compare:

• Gramofon nie jest zniszczony.
  = The gramophone is not destroyed/damaged.
  This is the most neutral, everyday way to say it.

• Gramofon jest niezniszczony.
  = The gramophone is undamaged / intact.
  This sounds more like a direct positive description, and can feel a bit more formal or stylistically marked.

So if you are just negating is damaged, the sentence with nie jest is the most natural choice.

Normally, no.

Polish often drops subject pronouns:

• Jest zmęczony. = He is tired.

But it does not normally drop the finite verb jest in a regular sentence like this:

• Zakurzony gramofon nie jest zniszczony. is correct.
• leaving out jest would sound incomplete or unnatural in standard Polish.

So even though Polish is flexible in some ways, here jest is needed.

Because Polish has no articles.

English says:

• a dusty gramophone
• the dusty gramophone

Polish simply says:

• zakurzony gramofon

Whether it means a or the depends on context.

That is very normal in Polish. Learners coming from English often expect an article, but Polish does not use one.

Not completely. Polish word order is more flexible than English, because endings show grammatical relationships.

The given sentence is a very natural neutral version:

• Zakurzony gramofon nie jest zniszczony.

You could also say:

• Gramofon nie jest zniszczony.
  if zakurzony is not needed
• Ten zakurzony gramofon nie jest zniszczony.
  = This dusty gramophone is not damaged.
• Nie jest zniszczony, tylko zakurzony.
  = It isn’t damaged, only dusty.

But not every rearrangement sounds equally natural. In ordinary descriptive language, putting the adjective before the noun is the safest choice:

• zakurzony gramofon

A rough pronunciation guide:

• zakurzony → za-koo-ZHO-ny
• zniszczony → znee-SHCHO-ny

A few important points:

• rz in zakurzony is pronounced like Polish ż in modern standard pronunciation.
• szcz in zniszczony is a cluster somewhat like shch.
• Polish stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable:
  • za-ku-RZO-ny
  • zni-SZCZO-ny

If you want a very rough English approximation:

• zakurzony ≈ zah-koo-ZHOH-nih
• zniszczony ≈ znee-SHCHOH-nih

Yes, very naturally it does.

Even if the meaning is already known, the structure suggests:

• it may look bad because it is dusty
• but it is not actually damaged

So the sentence can carry the idea:

• It looks neglected, but it isn’t ruined.

Polish often uses this kind of contrast, and you could make it even more explicit:

• Gramofon jest tylko zakurzony, nie zniszczony.
  = The gramophone is only dusty, not damaged.