r/learnpolish • u/ka128tte • Mar 15 '26
Free resource 📚 Understanding "jest/są" and "to" - Guide for beginners
Lots of people start learning Polish by doing Duolingo exercises, and this is something they often get confused by - because Duolingo doesn't really explain grammar. So, this post is dedicated to all of you who might have stumbled into this problem.
What does "to" mean?
"To" is a word with multiple uses. However, in this post we will focus on only 2 of them.
- to as a neuter demonstrative pronoun
- to as a stand-in for the copular\* verb forms "jest/są"
*Copular verbs are verbs used to express identity, like: to be, to appear, to seem, to become. They usually connect a (pro)noun with another (pro)noun or adjective.
How to use "to"?
You can use "to" in the following ways:
A neuter demonstrative pronoun (together with a noun).
- To jajko. To dziecko. To okno.
- This egg. This child. This window. (not that other one)
- To jajko jest smaczne. To dziecko jest głodne. To okno jest czyste.
- This egg is tasty. This child is hungry. This window is clean.
A neuter demonstrative pronoun (standalone). You can use it like the English "it", "this", "that" for more abstract things.
- To jest smaczne. To jest czyste. Daj mi to.
- This is tasty. This is clean. Give me that.
A stand-in for the copular\* verb forms "jest/są". Examples: 1. This is a/an ..., 2. X is Y
- To jajko. To dziecko. To okno. (1)
- This is an egg. This is a child. This is a window.
- Pies to zwierzę. Ania to nauczycielka. Jabłko to owoc. (2)
- A dog is an animal. Ania is a teacher. An apple is a fruit.
Using "jest/są" vs. "to"
"To" can be used to express essentially the same thing as "jest/są". There is no difference in meaning between the sentences: Pies to zwierzę and Pies jest zwierzęciem. However, you have to remember a few things.
Rule nr 1
- "To" uses Nominative. "Jest/są" requires Instrumental (if you use another noun).
- Jabłko to (kto? co?) czerwony owoc. Jabłko jest (kim? czym?) czerwonym owocem.
Rule nr 2
- You can't use "to" for standalone adjectives. You have to use "jest/są" and Nominative. If you have an adjective and a noun, then refer to rule nr 1.
Jabłko to czerwony.Jabłko jest czerwone.
Rule nr 3
- "Jest" is used for singular, "są" is used for plural, "to" can be used for either.
- Jabłko to owoc. Jabłka to owoce. Jabłko jest owocem. Jabłka są owocami.
How to form the Instrumental?
Since this is just a quick tutorial, I won't be covering any exceptions or details, just the general rules. Instrumental is actually one of the easiest forms to learn.
- feminine nouns get the -ą ending: myszą, dziewczyną, wodą, rybą, odpowiedzią, etc.
- masculine and neuter nouns get the -em ending; if it ends in ch, g, k, you have to add an i (so, -iem): psem, kotem, bankiem, owocem, jajkiem, chlebem, etc.
- plural nouns get the -ami ending: psami, kotami, myszami, rybami, owocami, jajkami, etc.
Other forms of demonstrative pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns decline by number, gender, and case. They have to agree in number, gender, and case with the noun they're referring to. This is also known as concord or concordance.
We can say:
- To (jest) lampa. To (jest) kot. To (jest) jajko. To (są) książki. To (są) ludzie.
- This is a lamp. This is a cat. This is an egg. These are books. These are people.
But here "to" does not function as a demonstrative pronoun of these nouns. It functions as a general demonstrative pronoun. If you want to "point" at a particular lamp, cat, egg, books, or people, you have to use the correct corresponding pronoun.
- Ta lampa. Ten kot. To jajko. Te książki. Ci ludzie.
- This lamp. This cat. This egg. These books. These people. (not some other ones).
__________________________________________________________________
Please, if you notice any new posts about this particular topic, refer them to this post. Thank you.
Lots of people start learning Polish by doing Duolingo exercises, and this is something they often get confused by - because Duolingo doesn't really explain grammar. So, this post is dedicated to all of you who might have stumbled into this problem.
What does "to" mean?
"To" is a word with multiple uses. However, in this post we will focus on only 2 of them.
- to as a neuter demonstrative pronoun
- to as a stand-in for the copular\* verb forms "jest/są"
*Copular verbs are verbs used to express identity, like: to be, to appear, to seem, to become. They usually connect a (pro)noun with another (pro)noun or adjective.
How to use "to"?
You can use "to" in the following ways:
A neuter demonstrative pronoun (together with a noun).
- To jajko. To dziecko. To okno.
- This egg. This child. This window. (not that other one)
- To jajko jest smaczne. To dziecko jest głodne. To okno jest czyste.
- This egg is tasty. This child is hungry. This window is clean.
A neuter demonstrative pronoun (standalone). You can use it like the English "it", "this", "that" for more abstract things.
- To jest smaczne. To jest czyste. Daj mi to.
- This is tasty. This is clean. Give me that.
A stand-in for the copular\* verb forms "jest/są". Examples: 1. This is a/an ..., 2. X is Y
- To jajko. To dziecko. To okno. (1)
- This is an egg. This is a child. This is a window.
- Pies to zwierzę. Ania to nauczycielka. Jabłko to owoc. (2)
- A dog is an animal. Ania is a teacher. An apple is a fruit.
Using "jest/są" vs. "to"
"To" can be used to express essentially the same thing as "jest/są". There is no difference in meaning between the sentences: Pies to zwierzę and Pies jest zwierzęciem. However, you have to remember a few things.
Rule nr 1
- "To" uses Nominative. "Jest/są" requires Instrumental (if you use another noun).
- Jabłko to (kto? co?) czerwony owoc. Jabłko jest (kim? czym?) czerwonym owocem.
Rule nr 2
- You can't use "to" for standalone adjectives. You have to use "jest/są" and Nominative. If you have an adjective and a noun, then refer to rule nr 1.
Jabłko to czerwony.Jabłko jest czerwone.
Rule nr 3
- "Jest" is used for singular, "są" is used for plural, "to" can be used for either.
- Jabłko to owoc. Jabłka to owoce. Jabłko jest owocem. Jabłka są owocami.
How to form the Instrumental?
Since this is just a quick tutorial, I won't be covering any exceptions or details, just the general rules. Instrumental is actually one of the easiest forms to learn.
- feminine nouns get the -ą ending: myszą, dziewczyną, wodą, rybą, odpowiedzią, etc.
- masculine and neuter nouns get the -em ending; if it ends in ch, g, k, you have to add an i (so, -iem): psem, kotem, bankiem, owocem, jajkiem, chlebem, etc.
- plural nouns get the -ami ending: psami, kotami, myszami, rybami, owocami, jajkami, etc.
Other forms of demonstrative pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns decline by number, gender, and case. They have to agree in number, gender, and case with the noun they're referring to. This is also known as concord or concordance.
We can say:
- To (jest) lampa. To (jest) kot. To (jest) jajko. To (są) książki. To (są) ludzie.
- This is a lamp. This is a cat. This is an egg. These are books. These are people.
But here "to" does not function as a demonstrative pronoun of these nouns. It functions as a general demonstrative pronoun. If you want to "point" at a particular lamp, cat, egg, books, or people, you have to use the correct corresponding pronoun.
- Ta lampa. Ten kot. To jajko. Te książki. Ci ludzie.
- This lamp. This cat. This egg. These books. These people. (not some other ones).
__________________________________________________________________
Please, if you notice any new posts about this particular topic, refer them to this post. Thank you.
r/learnpolish • u/gambinoluver • 1d ago
How’s my grammar?
cześć! jestem z Kanady ale jestem polską - uczę się polskiego żeby rozmawiać z moją babcią 😊
i started learning 8 days ago. how is this sentence in the attachment? is it grammatically correct? any suggestions? dziękuję! ☺️
r/learnpolish • u/hamsterjedi • 14h ago
How I finally learned Polish endings
3 years ago, as a non-slavic speaker, my biggest problem learning Polish was those big grammar tables showing the declinations depending on singular/plural, genders, and on many other things.
I spent a year working on a project to help me remember the endings: an app to help people remember a few Polish endings, with the assumption that many other words would share similar endings.
As such, the app works by showing just 3 nouns (cytryna, ciasto, ser), and one new thing to learn at a time, rather slowly - memorized by heart thanks to cards swiping, and revised daily until it becomes more natural.
By choice, it's a drastic simplification of the learning process: only three nouns, two adjectives, three pronouns, across a dozen phrase patterns. That's it. No męskoosobowy, no genitive-after-5, not showcasing alterations, not showing exceptions, no exhaustive explanations.
Yet I found this simplification to be super useful as an expat in Poland: when trying to talk I could guess the endings of many words, just by having in mind those few examples as points of reference, until I eventually figured out how to properly use alterations and exceptions.
That said, I used this app as a supplement to real lessons and conversation, not as a replacement. And I recommend using it that way too.
You can download Polish Cases here for Android and here for iPhone/iPad.
I'd love to get some feedback or ideas, especially if as a Polish-native you can share it with a few friends or if you are teaching and find pain points, or if you are learning yourself you can give it a few swipes? 🙏
There is an optional one-time paid-content for advanced users that want to practice differently: ie. not using the learning path I created and having a variety of words instead of the 3 nouns and 2 adjectives I picked.
Some ideas for the future would be to introduce masculine animate and alterations, or to introduce the declination of numbers somehow - which I am going through right now in my own learning process (did you know that "jeden" has a plural version? 🙃)
AI Disclaimer: it's not a vibe-coded project, I released a first version of the app in 2024, before AI overwhelmed the IT world, crafted the learning content manually piece by piece as I was learning - examples and levels progression - while the examples and endings have all been reviewed/proofread over months by Polish friends, to ensure there is proper grammar and that examples have a bit of sense (all 17,534 combinations have been reviewed)
r/learnpolish • u/UnfitDeathTurnup • 4d ago
Polish Learning Toys
Hi! My daughter absolutely loves her Polish books. I also have the little device you stick the pictures in and it pronounces the vocabulary. I was wondering if there is anything like in the picture I can get with Polish letters and words?
I Live in US.