Mój, twój, swój: the ending says whose it is
Possessives work like adjectives and change not with the owner but with the thing: mój brat, moja siostra, moje dzieci, przy moim bracie. The stem names the owner, the ending names the thing — one rule for all of them. For example: “To nie mój brat, to jej brat” — This is not my brother, it is her brother. A rule from the Polish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Possessives work like adjectives and change not with the owner but with the thing: mój brat, moja siostra, moje dzieci, przy moim bracie. The stem names the owner, the ending names the thing — one rule for all of them.
News for an English speaker: jego and jej decline too. English his and her are frozen; these live a full life: jego córka, z jego bratem, jej książka, bez jej opinii. Their is ich, and it works the same: ich dom, ich dzieci.
The key word is swój. It is needed where the owner of the thing is the doer of the action: Wziąłem swój telefon — I took my own phone. Say Wziąłem jego telefon and the phone is suddenly someone else's. English forgives this difference; this language does not.
Our and your behave normally: nasz dom, nasza ulica, wasze dzieci.
Table
| Who | Possessive | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | mój | mój brat |
| you | twój | twoja siostra |
| he | jego | jego córka |
| she | jej | jej wnuk |
| we | nasz | nasz dom |
| you (plural) | wasz | wasza ulica |
| they | ich | ich dzieci |
| the doer himself | swój | wziąłem swój telefon |
By example
- To nie mój brat, to jej bratThis is not my brother, it is her brother
- To jest nasz dom, a tamten jest ichThis is our house and that one is theirs
- Moja córka lubi swoją zabawkęMy daughter likes her own toy
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Swój vs mój?
Possessives work like adjectives and change not with the owner but with the thing: mój brat, moja siostra, moje dzieci, przy moim bracie. The stem names the owner, the ending names the thing — one rule for all of them.
How to say their in Polish?
News for an English speaker: jego and jej decline too. English his and her are frozen; these live a full life: jego córka, z jego bratem, jej książka, bez jej opinii. Their is ich, and it works the same: ich dom, ich dzieci.
Do jego and jej decline in Polish?
News for an English speaker: jego and jej decline too. English his and her are frozen; these live a full life: jego córka, z jego bratem, jej książka, bez jej opinii. Their is ich, and it works the same: ich dom, ich dzieci.
Why Wziąłem jego telefon cannot mean my own phone?
The key word is swój. It is needed where the owner of the thing is the doer of the action: Wziąłem swój telefon — I took my own phone. Say Wziąłem jego telefon and the phone is suddenly someone else's. English forgives this difference; this language does not.
What does it look like in a Polish example sentence?
“To nie mój brat, to jej brat” — This is not my brother, it is her brother. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.