Questions & Answers about To jest książka. Ona jest tu.
Why do we use ona (she) to talk about a book?
In Polish, everyday objects have a grammatical gender. Because the word książka ends in an -a, it is a feminine noun. Whenever you refer back to a feminine noun, you must use the pronoun ona, even though we just say "it" in English.
Why do we use to in the first sentence but ona in the second?
We use to (this/it) to introduce or point something out for the first time, like in the phrase to jest (this is). Once the object has been introduced, we switch to its specific personal pronoun, which is ona for a feminine noun like książka.
What pronoun group does the verb jest belong to?
The verb jest (is) is the third-person singular form of the verb być (to be). It is the correct form to use with the pronouns on (he), ona (she), and ono (it), as well as the pointer word to (this).
I have also seen the word tutaj used for "here". Is tu the exact same thing?
Yes! Tu and tutaj both mean "here" and you can use them interchangeably. Tu is just a shorter version that is very popular in everyday spoken Polish.