Breakdown of Jaka jest dzisiaj dokładna data? Dzisiaj jest drugi września.
być
to be
dzisiaj
today
drugi
second / the other (in 'one another')
wrzesień
September
Questions & Answers about Jaka jest dzisiaj dokładna data? Dzisiaj jest drugi września.
Why is drugi in the Nominative case?
Because we are stating what the date is right now using the verb jest. When identifying the current date, the day of the month takes the Nominative case. If we wanted to say that an event happened on this date, we would switch the day to the Genitive case and say drugiego września.
If the day is in the Nominative case, why is września in the Genitive case?
In Polish dates, the month is always in the Genitive case, regardless of what case the day is in. It literally translates to the second day of September. The dictionary form of the month is wrzesień, and its Genitive form is września.
Why is the word drugi masculine when the word data from the first sentence is feminine?
The number in a Polish date always describes the word dzień (day), which is a masculine noun. Even though dzień is usually left out of the sentence, the grammar still matches it, acting as if the sentence says: Dzisiaj jest drugi (dzień) września.
Why does the first sentence ask Jaka jest instead of Co jest for 'What is'?
When asking for a specific detail or identity (like a date, time, or address), Polish uses the question word jaki, jaka, or jakie. Because data is a feminine noun, we use jaka. If you asked Co to jest data, you would actually be asking 'What is the definition of a date?'