What a Spectacle! (Jaki and Taki)
When you want to exclaim "What a...!" or "Such a...!" about a person or thing, use jaki or taki. Because these words describe nouns, they act like adjectives. This means they must change their endings to match the gender, number, and case of the noun phrase they modify.
Notice how the ending changes: jakie for a neuter noun like widowisko (spectacle), and jaki for a masculine noun like akrobata (acrobat).
| What an impressive spectacle! | Jakie imponujące widowisko! |
| What a brave acrobat! | Jaki odważny akrobata! |
You use taki (such a) in exactly the same way to emphasize the degree or quality of a noun.
| The circus is such an impressive spectacle! | Cyrk to takie imponujące widowisko! |
So High, So Fast (Jak and Tak)
If you want to exclaim about an action (a verb) or a description of an action (an adverb), you cannot use jaki or taki. Instead, use the invariable adverbs jak (how...!) and tak (so...). Because they modify verbs or adverbs, they never change their form.
| He balances on the rope so carefully! | On tak ostrożnie balansuje na linie! |
You will frequently use both types of modifiers side-by-side to describe an intense situation—using jak for the verb, and a form of taki for the noun!
| How she risks! She is such a brave acrobat! | Jak ona ryzykuje! To taka odważna akrobatka! |
Taking It to the Extreme
You can use tak to express that an action or a state is happening to such a high degree that it causes a specific result. Pair tak (so) with words like że (that) or dlatego (that's why) to introduce the consequence.
| They risk so much, that's why I am closing my eyes! | Oni tak bardzo ryzykują, dlatego zamykam oczy! |
| This is so impossible that I am screaming! | To jest tak niemożliwe, że aż krzyczę! |
