Ja wybieram herbatę zamiast kawy.

I choose tea instead of coffee.

Breakdown of Ja wybieram herbatę zamiast kawy.

• ja: I
• kawa: the coffee
• herbata: the tea
• wybierać: to choose
• zamiast: instead of

Questions & Answers about Ja wybieram herbatę zamiast kawy.

Why is the pronoun ja included here? Is it necessary in Polish?

Polish verbs already encode the subject through their endings, so ja (I) is redundant. It’s used here only for emphasis or clarity. You can safely drop it: Wybieram herbatę zamiast kawy.

Why is herbatę in this form? Shouldn't it be herbata?

Herbatę is the accusative singular of herbata. We need the accusative because it’s the direct object of the verb wybierać (to choose). For feminine nouns ending in -a, the accusative ending changes -a to -ę.

Why is kawy in the genitive case instead of the accusative?

The preposition zamiast (“instead of”) always requires the genitive. That’s why kawa becomes genitive kawy. This rule applies to any noun following zamiast.

Can zamiast be used with verbs, too, or only with nouns?

You can use zamiast with verbs in the infinitive. For example: Zamiast narzekać, zaczniemy działać. (“Instead of complaining, let’s start acting.”) In that case the structure is zamiast + infinitive.

What’s the difference between zamiast kawy and zamiast tego?

Zamiast kawy specifies a concrete thing you’re replacing (coffee). Zamiast tego literally means “instead of that” and refers back to something mentioned earlier or is more general.
Example: Nie mam kawy. Zamiast tego zaproponuję herbatę. (“I don’t have coffee. Instead, I’ll offer tea.”)

Why is the verb wybierać in the imperfective—wybieram—and not the perfective wybiorę?

Wybieram (imperfective) expresses an ongoing or habitual action (“I choose” / “I’m choosing”). If you say Wybiorę herbatę zamiast kawy, you use the perfective future: “I will choose tea instead of coffee” as a one-time decision. The choice of aspect changes the nuance.

Could we swap the word order? For example, Zamiast kawy wybieram herbatę?

Yes. Polish word order is flexible. Zamiast kawy wybieram herbatę is perfectly correct. The difference is one of emphasis: leading with zamiast kawy highlights “instead of coffee,” while starting with wybieram herbatę focuses on the act of choosing tea.