Log inSign up

Nauczyciel fizyki jest bardzo miły.

Nauczyciel fizyki jest bardzo miły.
The physics teacher is very nice.
From Lesson 229:School subjects and learning (matematyka, nauczyć się, na pamięć)·Polish

Questions & Answers about Nauczyciel fizyki jest bardzo miły.

Why is fizyka (physics) in the genitive case here as fizyki?
In Polish, to say "[Subject] teacher", you use the structure "teacher of [Subject]". The word fizyka takes the genitive case ending -i to become fizyki, so nauczyciel fizyki literally translates to "teacher of physics".
Since fizyki is a feminine noun, why is the adjective miły in the masculine form?
The adjective miły (nice) describes the subject of the sentence, which is the masculine noun nauczyciel (teacher). It does not describe the physics, so it completely ignores the gender of fizyki.
I thought we used the instrumental case after the verb być (to be). Why is miły in the nominative case?
You use the instrumental case after być when identifying someone with a noun phrase (for example, On jest miłym nauczycielem meaning "He is a nice teacher"). However, when you use być followed only by an adjective to describe someone, that adjective stays in the nominative case: jest bardzo miły.
How would this sentence change if the physics teacher were a woman?
You would change the main noun to its feminine form nauczycielka and the adjective to miła. The subject being taught (fizyki) stays exactly the same. The sentence would be: Nauczycielka fizyki jest bardzo miła.

Learn Nauczyciel fizyki jest bardzo miły and more in Polish

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Polish →