Questions & Answers about Ta ręka jest mała.
Why do ta, ręka, and mała all end in the letter -a?
In Polish, words change their endings to match the gender of the noun. Ręka is a feminine noun, which usually ends in -a. The word for "this" (ta) and the adjective for "small" (mała) must match this feminine gender, so they also take the feminine -a ending.
I learned that "this" is to. Why is it ta here?
Polish has different words for "this" depending on the gender of the noun it points to. You use ten for masculine, ta for feminine, and to for neuter nouns. Since ręka is feminine, we use ta.
Does ręka mean "hand" or "arm"?
It actually means both! While English has separate words for the hand and the arm, Polish commonly uses ręka to refer to the entire arm, from the shoulder down to the fingertips, as well as just the hand itself.
Why is mała in the basic (nominative) case? Doesn't the verb jest require the instrumental case?
The verb być (to be) requires the instrumental case only when you are saying someone or something is another noun (like "On jest nauczycielem" - He is a teacher). When you describe the subject with just an adjective like mała, the adjective stays in the basic nominative case.