Questions & Answers about Czyje są te ołówki przy oknie?
Because the interrogative possessive must agree with the grammatical gender and number of the possessed noun, not with the owner. Here the possessed noun is ołówki (pencils), which are plural, non‑masculine‑personal. In the plural:
- masculine personal (groups of men): czyi
- all other plurals (masculine inanimate, neuter, feminine): czyje
So we say czyje (ołówki). For comparison:
- singular masculine: czyj (ołówek)
- singular feminine: czyja (książka)
- singular neuter: czyje (okno)
In the plural, the demonstrative pronoun distinguishes only masculine personal vs. everything else:
- masculine personal plural (groups of men): ci (e.g., ci chłopcy)
- all other plural nouns: te (e.g., te ołówki, te książki, te okna)
Since pencils are not people, it’s te ołówki.