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Questions & Answers about Kto tu jest?
I keep mixing up to and tu. What is the difference?
It is a very common mix-up! Tu means "here", relating to location. To is a demonstrative pronoun meaning "this" or "it" (which you are learning in this lesson). So Kto tu jest? means "Who is here?", whereas Kto to jest? would mean "Who is this?".
Can I change the word order and say Kto jest tu?
You can, but Kto tu jest? sounds much more natural in Polish. Short words like tu usually prefer to sit in the middle of a sentence rather than at the very end, unless you want to put a strong, special emphasis on the word "here".
Why do we use jest with kto? Does kto always act like "he/she/it"?
Yes! In Polish, the question word kto (who) is always treated as a third-person singular subject. It acts just like on (he), ona (she), or ono (it), which is why it pairs with the verb form jest (is).