Breakdown of Mój szef planuje nowy projekt na jutro.
mój
my
nowy
new
jutro
tomorrow
na
for
planować
to plan
szef
the boss
projekt
the project
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Questions & Answers about Mój szef planuje nowy projekt na jutro.
Why do we say Mój szef instead of Moja or Moje szef?
In Polish, possessive pronouns agree with the gender, number, and case of the noun they modify. Here szef is masculine singular, so the correct form is mój. You would use moja for a feminine noun (e.g., moja siostra) and moje for a neuter noun (e.g., moje dziecko).
What case is nowy projekt, and why doesn’t it change after the verb planować?
Nowy projekt is the direct object of planować, so it takes the accusative case. However, masculine inanimate nouns have identical forms in the nominative and accusative. That is why nowy projekt remains unchanged. If it were a masculine animate noun (e.g., pies), you would see a change (nominative pies, accusative psa).
Why is na jutro used here instead of just jutro at the beginning?
Placing jutro at the start—Jutro mój szef planuje nowy projekt—means “Tomorrow my boss is going to plan a new project.” Using na jutro—planuje … na jutro—means “he is planning the new project for tomorrow” (i.e., the project’s intended start or deadline is tomorrow). The preposition na + accusative expresses purpose or allocation in time.
What’s the difference between planować and zaplanować?
Planować is imperfective: it describes the ongoing action of planning or a habitual activity. Zaplanować is perfective: it describes the completion of the planning process or that the plan will be finalized.
- Imperfective (present): Mój szef planuje … “My boss is planning/habitu ally plans …”
- Perfective (future): Mój szef zaplanuje … “My boss will plan/finalize the plan …”
How do you pronounce Mój szef planuje nowy projekt na jutro, and where is the stress?
Pronunciation (rough IPA): /muj ʂɛf plaˈnu.jɛ ˈnɔ.vɨ ˈprɔ.jɛkt na ˈju.trɔ/
In Polish, stress almost always falls on the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable:
• MÓj (1 syllable) SZEF (1 syllable) – single-syllable words are stressed on that syllable
• pla-NU-je – stress on NU
• NO-wy – stress on NO
• PRO-jekt – stress on PRO
• na JU-tro – stress on JU
Why is there no word for “a” or “the” before nowy projekt?
Polish does not have articles like a or the. Definiteness (the vs. a) is understood from context or can be expressed with demonstratives (ten, jakiś). So nowy projekt can mean “a new project” or “the new project” depending on context.
Why is ó used in Mój instead of u, since they both sound like /u/?
Historically, ó and u were pronounced differently, and many spellings reflect older vowel shifts. Today both are pronounced /u/, but the spelling distinguishes words and their etymology. You must memorize that mój is spelled with ó (not u).
Can I say projekt nowy instead of nowy projekt for “new project”?
Standard Polish places the adjective before the noun (nowy projekt). Reversing the order (projekt nowy) is possible but sounds poetic, formal, or emphatic. In everyday speech and writing stick to nowy projekt.