Language / Instrumental and byc - Polish grammar issue [46]

Thank you very much for your complete answers.


That sum up very well, I saw the same explanation in another post but it was about "Jestem" , but nothing about the evil "To" :), so I was confused!

I already read about the ellipsis of "jest" in "To jest", but I thought "To jest" simply meant "This is", and that "to" was a simplification...

However we can't do that for "Co to jest?" Right? (Maybe because "to" has really the meaning "this" in this sentence and not "is"?)


Yes, so it's conjugated like 3rd person, so could we replace "jest" by "to" and say "Pan to mój nauczyciel" (nominative) with the same meaning "You are my teacher"? or it's rude like "Ty to piękna kobieta" because it's direct speech? (I'm just wondering as "to" seems "reserved" for 3rd person), I guess it will be the same answer for "Państwo".


If somebody says "Anna to inteligentną kobieta" and I want to approve by answering something like "Yes, she is", is it wrong to say "Tak, to jest"? I mean it's just re-using the "to" of the 1st sentence. Or maybe "Tak jest"? I already saw this in some sentences but I'm not sure about the meaning and use. Or just... "Tak"? :D. Does the same answer apply if Anna says "Jestem inteligentną kobietą" , can I answer "Tak, jesteś"? (It's a bit off topic, but I wonder)

So about plural form, replace "są" and say "To samochody" is correct too, isn't it?


I just have been confused because of 3rd person, not knowing that in fact it was because of "To" we use nominative, and not "jest" ^^, no connexion with possessive pronouns right?

"To profesor" vs "Jest profesorem", it's crystal clear that "to => nominative" and "jest => instrumental", however in this example instrumental is used to focus on the profession, so that "to" and "jest" aren't interchangeable without altering the meaning (because we could use nominative and it wouldn't focus on the profession anymore). Is it really important? I mean if somebody asks me "What is this guy job?", does it change a lot if I answer "To profesor" or "Jest profesorem"? I don't really see the difference...

Anyway, replace to jest/to są by simply "to" is a nice trick to keep using nominative form!
Sorry for all these questions even if I think it stays in the "Być + instrumental" topic", it's not as simple as it seems

Thank you again for your time and explanations :)

Language / Instrumental and byc - Polish grammar issue [46]

Ok, so I will use Tak/nie (or Zgadza się maybe!) it's easy to remember, sounds more correct and "natural"!
The part about "To professor" vs "Jest profesorem" is clear too.

Thank you very much for your explanations :)

Language / Instrumental and byc - Polish grammar issue [46]

Wow, thanks a lot for the clear and long post, I think almost all the uses of "byc" have been covered now :D

Language / Instrumental and byc - Polish grammar issue [46]

Thanks again md33!

Here is another question, linked to "byc".

I saw "To nie (jest) ptak/książka" (or whatever else). But there is the negation "nie", so shouldn't it be genitive (ptaka/książki) instead of nominative? Or the "To jest + nominative" rule wins over negation?

Does it apply to something like "On nie jest kobietą (or kobietą?)" (I know it's a stupid example but it's for learning :D)

Language / Instrumental and byc - Polish grammar issue [46]

Yes the rule is Negation + genitive I read, so it seems the only exception is when there is "To" like in "To nie "noun" (nominative)"?

Although I kept searching and I found a sentence "Nie jest prezydentem", so it seems the nie + genitive didn't apply?

Thank you, and thanks to MowPoPolsku, I forgot to thank her for her amazing games, it's funnier to learn with that!)

Oh I wanted to ask (Can't edit my previous message anymore), can you say "On/Ona" for an animal? (I read somewhere that you can for a personal object like your car etc... even if it's informal) It may seems strange but well in french we can :D

Language / Instrumental and byc - Polish grammar issue [46]

Ok, thanks, it's perfectly clear (the part about the monster from outter space is epic :)).
So "To nie + anything(noun/adjective) in nominative form", exactly the same as the affirmative form, well it simplifies things a lot once you know it's a fixed expression.

Thanks again