Pointing: ten, ta, to, tamten | Polish Grammar

When you point at something and say "this one" or "that one over there," Polish uses a demonstrative that agrees with the gender of the noun. This page covers the everyday pointing words in the nominative: ten / ta / to ("this" or "that," near or neutral) and tamten / tamta / tamto ("that one, over there"). These are the words you use in a shop, in a café, or when you can't remember a noun and just point.

ten, ta, to — agreeing with the noun

Like English "this," Polish ten points at something. Unlike English, it changes its ending to match the gender of the noun. There is one form for each of the three genders:

Gender of noun	"this / that"	Example
masculine	ten	ten dom (this house)
feminine	ta	ta książka (this book)
neuter	to	to okno (this window)

So "this house" is ten dom, "this book" is ta książka, and "this window" is to okno. The word for "this" itself tells you the gender of the noun, which is one of the quiet gifts of Polish: hear ta and you already know a feminine noun is coming.

Ten dom jest bardzo stary.

This house is very old.

Ta książka jest świetna.

This book is great.

To okno się nie otwiera.

This window won't open.

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Memorise the trio as a rhythm: ten — ta — to, masculine — feminine — neuter. It is the same gender pattern you will meet again and again in adjectives and possessives, so learning it here pays off everywhere.

"ten" covers both "this" and "that"

A surprise for English speakers: ten / ta / to is used for both "this" and "that" when distance isn't the point. In everyday speech, if you point at a book on the table in front of you or a book on the next table, ta książka works for both. Polish only bothers to mark far distance when it matters — and that is where tamten comes in.

Ten pan tutaj czeka już godzinę.

This man here has been waiting for an hour.

Podaj mi tę książkę, proszę.

Pass me that/this book, please.

(In that last sentence the form tę is the accusative of ta — you'll meet case forms soon; for now notice that ta changed because książkę is the object of podaj.)

tamten — "that one, over there"

When you specifically mean the far one — "that one, not this one" — Polish uses tamten / tamta / tamto. The tam- at the front is the same tam that means "there, over there," which makes it easy to remember: tamten literally carries "over-there-ness" inside it.

Gender	near / neutral	far ("over there")
masculine	ten	tamten
feminine	ta	tamta
neuter	to	tamto

Nie ten stół, tamten przy oknie.

Not this table — that one by the window.

Ta sukienka czy tamta?

This dress or that one (over there)?

To krzesło jest zajęte, usiądź na tamtym.

This chair is taken, sit on that one over there.

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Use tamten only when you genuinely mean the far one in contrast to a near one. If you just want a plain "this/that," ten / ta / to is the natural, unmarked choice — reaching for tamten every time sounds oddly insistent, like saying "that one yonder" in English.

The near/far contrast in action

The clearest use of the pair is when you set the two against each other in one breath — this one, not that one:

Ten autobus jedzie do centrum, a tamten na lotnisko.

This bus goes to the centre, and that one (over there) to the airport.

Wezmę tę kawę, nie tamtą.

I'll take this coffee, not that one.

Don't confuse pointing "to" with linking "to"

There is a tricky overlap. The neuter pointing word to ("this/that [neuter thing]") looks identical to the invariable to that opens identifying sentences like To jest pies ("This is a dog") or To moja siostra ("This is my sister"). They are different jobs:

Agreeing to points at a neuter noun: to okno (this window), to dziecko (this child).
Invariable to is a sentence-opener meaning "this/it is," and it does not agree — you say To jest pies even though pies is masculine, and To są koty ("These are cats") even though koty is plural.

That sentence-opening to has its own page; see The linking "to" — This is.... On this page, our to is the one that sits in front of a neuter noun and changes with gender like its siblings ten and ta.

To dziecko to mój syn.

This child is my son.

In that example the first to points at the child (neuter noun dziecko); the second to is the linking word "is." Same spelling, two different grammatical jobs — and native speakers parse it without a second thought.

Common Mistakes

❌ Ten książka jest świetna.

Incorrect — książka is feminine, so it needs ta.

✅ Ta książka jest świetna.

This book is great.

The demonstrative must match the noun's gender. Książka is feminine, so it must be ta, never ten.

❌ To okno czy ten okno?

Incorrect — okno is neuter; both should be 'to'.

✅ To okno czy tamto?

This window or that one?

For a neuter noun like okno, "this" is to and the far "that" is tamto — not ten/tamten.

❌ Daj mi tamten kawę.

Mismatched gender and overuse of 'far' form.

✅ Daj mi tę kawę.

Give me this coffee.

Two errors at once: kawa is feminine (so not tamten), and for a coffee in front of you, plain near ta (here accusative tę) is what you want, not the far tamta.

❌ Tamten jest mój dom.

Using the far form when there's no contrast.

✅ To mój dom.

This is my house.

If you're simply identifying something in front of you, use the linking opener To, not the marked far demonstrative tamten.

Key Takeaways

ten (m) / ta (f) / to (n) = "this/that," near or neutral; it agrees with the noun's gender.
tamten / tamta / tamto = "that one over there," used only when you mean the far one in contrast.
The same word ten / ta / to covers both "this" and "that" in ordinary speech; Polish marks far distance only when it matters.
Don't confuse the agreeing neuter to (in front of a noun) with the invariable sentence-opener To jest... — they share a spelling but do different jobs.

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