Breakdown of Mój pies jest miły, ale moja papuga jest szczególnie głośna.
być
to be
pies
the dog
mój
my
ale
but
papuga
the parrot
głośny
loud
miły
nice
szczególnie
especially
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Polish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Mój pies jest miły, ale moja papuga jest szczególnie głośna.
Why is mój used before pies, but moja before papuga?
Because pies is masculine and papuga is feminine. In Polish possessive adjectives agree with the noun’s gender, number, and case. So in nominative singular you say mój pies (masculine) and moja papuga (feminine).
Why do the adjectives miły and głośna have different endings?
Adjectives in Polish must agree with their noun in gender, number, and case. miły is masculine singular nominative to match pies, while głośna is feminine singular nominative to match papuga. The ending -y (or -i) marks masculine, and -a marks feminine.
What does szczególnie mean, and how is it formed?
szczególnie is an adverb meaning especially or particularly. It’s formed from the adjective szczególny (special) by adding the adverbial ending -ie.
Why is ale used here, and could we use a instead?
ale means but and introduces a clear, often stronger contrast between clauses. a can also link contrasting ideas (often translated as and or while), but it’s milder. You could use a, but the sense of contrast would feel softer.
Is it necessary to repeat jest before szczególnie głośna, or can it be omitted?
Standard Polish repeats the verb in each clause: moja papuga jest szczególnie głośna. Omitting jest (…papuga szczególnie głośna) can occur colloquially in speech, but including it is clearer and more grammatically complete.
How do you pronounce the ó in mój and the ś in głośna?
ó is pronounced like the English oo in food, so mój sounds like /muj/. The letter ś is a soft sh sound (softer than English sh), making głośna roughly /ˈɡwɔɕ.na/.
What case are pies and papuga in, and why?
Both nouns are in the nominative case. They function as the subjects of their clauses and as predicate complements after the linking verb jest. Polish uses the nominative for subjects and for predicate nouns/adjectives with być.
Why is there a comma before ale?
Polish punctuation places a comma before coordinating conjunctions like ale when they join two independent clauses, just as in English. Here Mój pies jest miły, ale moja papuga jest szczególnie głośna.