Possessive Adjectives — Polish Grammar

Possessive adjectives describe who owns or possesses a noun. In Polish, these words fall into two distinct categories based on how they behave grammatically: those that change their form (inflect) to match the noun, and those that remain fixed.

Inflected Forms: My, Your, Our

The possessive adjectives for the first and second person behave exactly like regular adjectives. They must agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case.

These forms are:

(my)
(your, singular)
(our)
(your, plural)

If the noun changes because of a grammatical case, the possessive adjective changes with it.

To jest mój nowy samochód.
This is my new car.
Nie widzę mojego nowego samochodu.
I do not see my new car.
Mieszkamy w naszym starym domu.
We live in our old house.

Uninflected Forms: His, Her, Their

When referring to a third person (he, she, it, they) as the owner, Polish uses forms derived from personal pronouns. Unlike the forms above, these do not change. They remain the same regardless of the case, gender, or number of the noun they describe.

These forms are:

(his / its)
(her)
(their)

Notice in the examples below how the noun changes case (e.g., brat becomes brata), but the possessive word stays exactly the same.

To jest jej brat.
This is her brother.
Nie znam jej brata.
I do not know her brother.
Rozmawiam z ich rodzicami.
I am talking with their parents.

The Reflexive Possessive 'Swój'

Polish has a special possessive adjective, , which translates to "one's own." It is used when the object belongs to the subject of the sentence.

This distinction is crucial in the third person to avoid ambiguity.

If the subject possesses the object, use (inflected like ).
If someone else possesses the object, use , , or .

Consider the difference in meaning:

On kocha swoją żonę.
He loves his (own) wife.
On kocha jego żonę.
He loves his (another man's) wife.

While is mandatory in the third person to show ownership by the subject, it can also be used for the first and second person to add emphasis, though or are also correct in those cases.

Zgubiłam swój paszport.
I lost my (own) passport.

Omitting Possessive Adjectives

In Polish, possessive adjectives are often omitted when the ownership is obvious from the context. This is particularly common with body parts, clothing, and close family members. Using a possessive adjective in these cases can sometimes sound unnatural or overly emphatic.

Boli mnie głowa.
My head hurts. (Literally: Head hurts me.)
Ona włożyła płaszcz.
She put on her coat. (Literally: She put on coat.)

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Polish course

83 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 2. A few of them, with the words “Possessive Adjectives” is about in bold:

To moja przyjaciółka Ania. Jest studentką.
This is my friend, Anna. She is a student.
Lesson 2
Mój ojciec kupił prezent dla mojej mamy.
My father bought a present for my mother.
Lesson 225
Gdzie jest nasza córka? - Jest w szkole.
Where is our daughter? - She's at school.
Lesson 242

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