Questions & Answers about Kto to jest ten facet?
Why are both to and ten in this sentence if they can both mean "this" or "that"?
In Polish, Kto to jest? is a fixed phrase meaning "Who is this?" or "Who is it?". The word to here acts as a general pronoun like "it". The word ten specifically points to the masculine noun facet to mean "this guy" or "that guy". So literally, the sentence asks "Who is it, this guy?".
Could I say Kim jest ten facet? instead?
Yes, absolutely! Kim jest ten facet? is grammatically perfect and uses the instrumental case for the question word. However, Kto to jest ten facet? is a very common, more casual way to ask the exact same thing in everyday speech. A bonus of this casual version is that it lets you keep the noun in the basic dictionary form (nominative case).
Why do we need to before jest? Can I just say Kto jest ten facet?
Saying Kto jest ten facet? sounds incomplete and incorrect in Polish. When you use the basic dictionary form of a noun to ask "who is someone", Polish grammar requires the word to before the verb jest. You should treat Kto to jest...? as a complete, unbreakable building block for your sentences.
Is the word facet formal or informal?
It is very informal and translates best to "guy" or "dude" in English. It is extremely common in daily conversations. If you wanted to be more polite or neutral, you would use the word mężczyzna (man) or pan (gentleman or sir).
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