Questions & Answers about Mój ojciec jest starym nauczycielem.
Why does the sentence use starym nauczycielem instead of the basic dictionary form stary nauczyciel?
When you use the verb być (to be) to state someone's profession, role, or identity, the noun and any adjectives attached to it must change their endings. This grammatical rule is called the Instrumental case.
How do the endings change to make the Instrumental case here?
Why does mój ojciec stay in the basic form and not change its endings too?
Mój ojciec is the subject of the sentence, meaning he is the main person we are talking about. The subject always stays in the basic dictionary form, which is called the Nominative case. Only the description after the verb jest changes.
Does the adjective starym have to go before nauczycielem?
Yes, this is the most natural word order. Just like in English, adjectives that describe basic qualities such as age, size, or color usually come right before the noun they describe in Polish.
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