Breakdown of Ten telefon jest nowy, a ta książka stara.
być
to be
książka
book
ten
this (m)
ta
this (f)
telefon
phone
nowy
new
stary
old
a
and / whereas (contrast)
Questions & Answers about Ten telefon jest nowy, a ta książka stara.
Why does this sentence use a instead of i (and) or ale (but)?
In Polish, a is used to show a gentle contrast between two things, often translated as "while" or "and" (when comparing). i is used simply to link similar things together without contrast, and ale is a stronger "but" used for contradictions. Here, we are contrasting the new phone with the old book, so a is the perfect fit.
Where is the verb in the second part of the sentence? Shouldn't it be "a ta książka jest stara"?
You can definitely say a ta książka jest stara, but Polish speakers usually drop the verb jest (is) in the second half of a sentence if it is the exact same verb used in the first half. It makes the sentence sound more natural and less repetitive.
Why is the word for "this" different for the phone (ten) and the book (ta)?
It is because of grammatical gender. Telefon is a masculine noun (it ends in a consonant), so it takes the masculine word for "this": ten. Książka is a feminine noun (it ends in -a), so it takes the feminine word for "this": ta.
Do the adjectives nowy (new) and stara (old) also change based on gender here?
Yes! Just like ten and ta, adjectives must match their noun's gender. Nowy ends in -y, which is a typical ending for masculine adjectives (matching telefon). Stara ends in -a, which is the standard ending for feminine adjectives (matching książka).
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