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Questions & Answers about Jestem studentem.
Why is it studentem instead of just student?
In Polish, when you use the verb 'to be' (być) to describe someone's profession, nationality, or role, the noun changes into the Instrumental case. For most masculine nouns like student, you form this case by adding -em to the end.
Where is the word for 'I' in this sentence?
The Polish word for 'I' is ja, but it is usually dropped. The verb jestem already means 'I am', so the pronoun isn't needed unless you really want to emphasize that you are the student, not someone else.
If a woman is speaking, does she also say studentem?
No, because professions usually have masculine and feminine versions. The word for a female student is studentka. To put a feminine noun ending in -a into the Instrumental case, you change the -a to -ą. So a woman would say Jestem studentką.
If I want to say 'I am not a student', does the ending of the noun change?
No, it stays exactly the same. You just add nie before the verb to make Nie jestem studentem. Unlike some other Polish cases you will learn, the Instrumental case doesn't change just because the sentence becomes negative.