adjectives following conjugations of być

Something I need to remember is that although you use the instrumental case following conjugations of być.  This only applies to adjectives if they describe a noun following conjugations of być.  To illustrate:

He is a man    -    On jest mężczyzną

the noun mężczyzna, because it follows jest, takes the instrumental form: mężczyzną.

If we add an adjective, its case must be the same as the noun, so

he is a happy man    -    on jest szczęśliwym mężczyzną    [instrumental]
he is a happy guy    -    on jest szczęśliwym facetem    [instrumental]

However, if we do not have a noun after conjugations of być and just use an adjective, then the adjective stays in the nominative case.

he is happy    -   on jest szczęśliwy [masculine nominative]

Not forgetting to get the gender correct.

she is happy    -   ona jest szczęśliwa [feminine nominative]

And just to show the instrumental declension of szczęśliwa:

she is a happy woman    -    ona jest szczęśliwą kobietą [feminine instrumental]


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