Learn Hardcore Polish: Czyje to pudełko leży na stole?

Czyje means whose. It behaves like an adjective and agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies. Pudełko is neuter singular, so you must use the neuter form czyje.

Masculine singular: czyj (czyj samochód?)
Feminine singular: czyja (czyja książka?)
Neuter singular: czyje (czyje pudełko?)
Plural masculine personal: czyi (czyi koledzy?)
Other plurals: czyje (czyje klucze?)

Is czyje related to the yes/no question particle czy?

No. They just look similar. Czy introduces yes/no questions (e.g., Czy masz czas?). Czyj/czyja/czyje is the interrogative pronoun meaning whose and declines like an adjective.

What does to do in to pudełko?

To is the neuter demonstrative this/that. In to pudełko, it works like a determiner: this/that box. It points to a specific visible box. Polish has no articles, so to is not an article; it’s a demonstrative.

Can I omit to?

Yes. Czyje pudełko leży na stole? is perfectly natural and slightly more general. With to, the speaker is pointing out a particular box: Whose is this/that box lying on the table?

Why use leży instead of jest?

Polish often uses posture/location verbs for inanimate objects:

leżeć (lie) for things resting on a surface,
stać (stand) for upright objects,
wisieć (hang) for things on hooks/walls, etc.

So leży sounds more natural than jest here. Czyje to pudełko jest na stole? is grammatical but less idiomatic; natives usually prefer leży in this context.

What case is stole and why?

Stole is the locative singular of stół (table). With static location, na takes the locative: na stole (on the table). With motion onto the surface, na takes the accusative: na stół (onto the table).

Why is it stole and not stołu?

Stołu is the genitive form. Na (meaning on, at in a static sense) requires the locative, and the locative of stół is stole. The noun is irregular and changes ó to o in the locative.

What is the subject of the sentence?

To pudełko is the subject (nominative), and leży (3rd person singular) agrees with it. Czyje modifies that noun phrase.

What case is czyje in here?

Nominative, because it modifies the subject to pudełko. If the context required a different case, czyj would change to match. For example, with a verb that governs the genitive: Czyjego pudełka szukasz? (Which person’s box are you looking for?)

Can I use kogo to ask “whose”?

Use czyj/czyja/czyje before a noun: Czyje pudełko…? You can use kogo in the pattern Kogo to jest? (Whose is this?), where the possessed item is represented by to. Avoid Kogo pudełko… in standard Polish; say Czyje pudełko…

How do I tell the gender of pudełko?

Most nouns ending in -o or -e are neuter. Pudełko ends in -o, so it’s neuter; that’s why we have to pudełko and czyje.

Could I say Czyje jest to pudełko? instead?

Yes. Czyje jest to pudełko? means Whose is this box? If you want to keep the location, the smooth, idiomatic version is the original: Czyje to pudełko leży na stole? Alternatives like Czyje jest to pudełko na stole? are possible but tend to sound awkward.

Are there natural word-order alternatives?

Yes, within reason:

Czyje pudełko leży na stole? (without to)
Na stole leży czyje pudełko? (more focus on the location; often echo-question-like) Avoid splitting the noun phrase unnaturally (e.g., Czyje to leży pudełko…).

How would I make it plural: “Whose boxes are on the table?”

Czyje pudełka leżą na stole?

czyje (plural, non-masculine-personal)
leżą (3rd person plural)

Pronunciation tips?

czyje: [ˈt͡ʂɨ.jɛ] (cz ~ retroflex “ch”, y ~ [ɨ])
pudełko: [puˈdɛw.kɔ] (ł ~ [w]; stress on the penultimate: pu-DÉW-ko)
leży: [ˈlɛ.ʐɨ] (ż ~ [ʐ])
stole: [ˈstɔ.lɛ] (o ~ [ɔ]; stress STO-le) Polish stress is regularly on the penultimate syllable.

How do demonstratives change with gender?

Masculine: ten (ten stół)
Feminine: ta (ta książka)
Neuter: to (to pudełko) Pair this with czyj/czyja/czyje: Czyj ten stół…?, Czyja ta książka…?, Czyje to pudełko…?

What’s the difference between na stole and na tym stole?

Na stole means on the table (context decides which table). Na tym stole explicitly means on this table. Tym is the locative of the demonstrative (ten/ta/to).

Is leżeć reflexive? Why no się?

No. Leżeć is an intransitive verb meaning to lie (be lying) and it doesn’t take się.

Can I use pudło instead of pudełko?

You can, but nuance changes. Pudełko usually means a (smaller) box, a carton, a case. Pudło can suggest a bigger box or crate and also has other meanings (e.g., a miss in target shooting). For a typical small box, pudełko is the safer, more neutral choice.