Breakdown of Kim jest ten koleś w czerwonej kurtce?
być
to be
ten
this (m)
kto
who
w
in / on (a day)
kurtka
jacket
czerwony
red
koleś
guy, dude (colloquial)
Questions & Answers about Kim jest ten koleś w czerwonej kurtce?
Why does the sentence start with Kim instead of Kto?
The verb być (to be) usually requires the noun that follows it to be in the Instrumental case when defining someone's identity or profession. Because we are asking about his identity, the question word kto (who) changes to its Instrumental form, kim. An alternative way to ask this using the Nominative case is Kto to jest, ten koleś?
Is koleś a standard word for a man or boy?
No, koleś is informal slang. It translates best to 'guy', 'dude', or 'mate' in English. It is very common in everyday casual speech, but you should avoid using it in formal situations or when trying to be polite.
Why is the word for jacket spelled kurtce here instead of kurtka?
When describing what someone is wearing, Polish uses the preposition w (in) plus the Locative case. For feminine nouns ending in -ka like kurtka, the Locative case requires a consonant mutation where -ka turns into -ce. This is why it becomes w kurtce.
Why does the adjective take the form czerwonej?
Adjectives must match the noun they describe in gender, number, and case. Because kurtka is a feminine noun in the Locative case, the adjective czerwona (red) must take the feminine Locative ending -ej, resulting in w czerwonej kurtce.
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