Różnica jest mała.

to be

Breakdown of Różnica jest mała.

• mały: small
• różnica: the difference

Questions & Answers about Różnica jest mała.

Why is it mała and not mały?

Because różnica is a feminine noun in Polish, and adjectives must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

• różnica = feminine singular
• so mały changes to mała

This is called adjective agreement.

Compare:

• mały dom = a small house (dom is masculine)
• mała różnica = a small difference (różnica is feminine)
• małe okno = a small window (okno is neuter)

What form is różnica in?

It is in the nominative singular.

In this sentence, różnica is the subject, so Polish uses the nominative:

• Różnica jest mała. = The difference is small.

You can recognize the basic dictionary form here:

• różnica = difference

Why is jest used here?