"Tygrys jest kotem."
Translation:A tiger is a cat.
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2692
Having studied Czech many years ago, this always looks like the tiger is eating the poor cat to me. Of course, it is better than "she is eating a lawyer."
So is it an alternative to: "Lew to kot'"? Can I say as well: "Tygrys to kot" and vice versa?
It is the same word, but used in different sentence.
Kot - is nominative- it is used when cat is a subject-Cat eats-=Kot je, and in sentences with to
Kotem is instrumental- it is used after certain prepositions, when indicating what tool is used, and after certain verbs. At the beginning you mostly use it after być=to be (jestem/jesteś/jest ...)
@Marek: Many thanks for pointing out http://mowicpopolsku.com/ for explanation of Polish grammar. The explanation is extensive with many good examples!
2692
The "jest" sounds more Western to me, more Czech or Slovak, while the "to" sounds like Ukrainian or Russian. That may be saying much the same thing, though.
The difference is when you are talking in general or more specific.
In general, we all know "A lion is a cat" (Lew to kot). But more specifically, I can say "This lion is a kat" (Ten lew jest kotem)
2692
What you might think of as the object of the verb "to be" must be in the instrumental case in Polish, so the ending of masculine nouns will generally be -em and the ending of feminine nouns often -ą,
https://www.duolingo.com/comment/16373167 for the 'when to use which construction' in an X is Y sentence
http://mowicpopolsku.com/polish-grammar/cases/instrumental/ for knowledge about Instrumental and its endings