Breakdown of W pokoju jest stół oraz cztery krzesła.
być
to be
stół
table
krzesło
chair
w
in / on (a day)
pokój
room
cztery
four
oraz
and, as well as (formal, written)
Questions & Answers about W pokoju jest stół oraz cztery krzesła.
Why does the sentence use the singular jest instead of the plural są, since there is more than one item in the room?
In Polish, when listing things that are in a location, the verb usually agrees with the very first item in the list. Because stół (table) is singular, we use jest. If the chairs came first, we would use the plural and say W pokoju są cztery krzesła oraz stół.
Can I use i instead of oraz here? What is the difference?
Yes, you can absolutely use i. Both mean and, but oraz is slightly more formal and is often used to mean and also or as well as. It is a great word to use when adding a distinct second item to a list, or to avoid repetition if you have already used i earlier in a sentence.
Why is the word for room pokoju instead of pokóju?
The base word is pokój. When adding endings for other cases, such as the locative -u used here after the preposition w, the ó often shifts back to a regular o. This is a very common vowel shift in Polish nouns, similar to how stół (table) changes to na stole (on the table).
Why does the word krzesła look like a singular feminine noun here?
It is actually the nominative plural. The base word is the neuter noun krzesło. In Polish, non-masculine-personal nouns form plurals ending in -y, -i, or -a (for neuter words). Furthermore, the numbers 2, 3, and 4 are always followed by the nominative plural. If there were five chairs, the rule changes and requires the genitive plural: pięć krzeseł.
Learn W pokoju jest stół oraz cztery krzesła 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