Breakdown of Dzisiaj gotuję obiad dla rodziny.
ja
I
rodzina
the family
gotować
to cook
obiad
the dinner
dzisiaj
today
dla
for
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Questions & Answers about Dzisiaj gotuję obiad dla rodziny.
Why isn't ja (I) included in the sentence?
Subject pronouns in Polish are often omitted because verb endings already indicate person and number. In gotuję the ending -ę shows first person singular, so ja is unnecessary. You could add it for emphasis—Ja dzisiaj gotuję obiad dla rodziny—but it’s optional.
Why is dzisiaj (today) placed at the beginning?
Polish word order is flexible. Putting dzisiaj first highlights when the action takes place. You could also say Gotuję dziś obiad dla rodziny, but leading with dzisiaj sounds natural and puts focus on today.
What tense and aspect does gotuję express?
Gotuję is present tense, imperfective aspect. It describes an ongoing or habitual activity: “I am cooking” or “I cook.” To express “I will cook” in a completed sense, you’d use the perfective ugotuję.
Why is dla followed by rodziny?
The preposition dla (“for”) always takes the genitive case. Rodzina becomes rodziny in the singular genitive, so dla rodziny means “for the family.”
Could I use a different word instead of rodzina?
Yes. Depending on nuance, you might say bliscy (“loved ones”) or krewni (“relatives”):
• Dzisiaj gotuję obiad dla bliskich.
• Dzisiaj gotuję obiad dla krewnych.
Is the order of gotuję obiad dla rodziny fixed?
No. Polish allows flexibility for emphasis or style. For example:
• Dzisiaj obiad dla rodziny gotuję. (emphasizes gotuję)
• Dzisiaj dla rodziny gotuję obiad. (emphasizes dla rodziny)
How do I pronounce gotuję?
It’s pronounced roughly go-TOO-yeh:
• g as in “go”
• o as in “pot”
• tu like “too”
• ję like “yeh” (soft “j” sound)