Szefowa dziś pracuje w biurze.

The (female) boss is working in the office today.

Breakdown of Szefowa dziś pracuje w biurze.

• w: in
• pracować: to work
• biuro: the office
• dziś: today
• szefowa: the boss

Questions & Answers about Szefowa dziś pracuje w biurze.

Why is there no word for “the” or “a” in the sentence?

Polish has no articles. Context tells you whether szefowa means “the boss” or “a boss.” If you need to be explicit, you can use words like ta (this) or jakaś (some): Ta szefowa…, Jakaś szefowa…

Why isn’t there a pronoun for “she”? Shouldn’t it be “Ona…”?

Polish usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending shows the person/number. Pracuje is 3rd person singular (“he/she/it works”). The noun szefowa makes it clear it’s “she.” You can add Ona for emphasis or contrast: Ona dziś pracuje w biurze, a nie w domu.

Does szefowa specifically mean a female boss? What’s the masculine or neutral form?

Yes. Szefowa is the feminine form of szef (boss). Common options:

• Masculine or generic: szef
• Feminine: szefowa
• More formal/role-based: przełożona (female superior), kierowniczka (female manager), dyrektorka (female director)

What does the suffix -owa in szefowa do?

The suffix -owa commonly creates a feminine noun from a masculine one. Here, szef → szefowa (“female boss”). Many profession titles have such pairs (e.g., aktor → aktorka, though not always with -owa).

Why is it w biurze and not w biuro?

After w meaning “in/at” with a static location, Polish uses the locative case. Biuro (office, neuter noun) in the locative singular becomes biurze. Motion toward the office would use a different case: do biura (“to the office”).

Can I say na biurze or w biuro?

• w biuro is ungrammatical (wrong case).
• na biurze would literally mean “on top of the office” and doesn’t make sense. You might be thinking of a desk: that’s biurko. “On the desk” is na biurku; “at the desk” is przy biurku.

What’s the difference between biuro and biurko?

• biuro = office (room/place/organization). Locative: w biurze.
• biurko = desk (piece of furniture). Locative: na biurku (on the desk) or przy biurku (at the desk).

What case changes would I use with movement in/out of the office?

• To the office: do biura (genitive after do).
• From the office: z biura (genitive after z).
• In/at the office (no movement): w biurze (locative after w).

Why dziś and not dzisiaj? Are they different?

They mean the same: “today.” Dziś is a shorter variant of dzisiaj. Both are fully correct and interchangeable; dzisiaj is very common in everyday speech, dziś can feel a bit shorter or slightly more concise/literary.

Where can dziś go in the sentence? Does word order change meaning?

Polish word order is flexible; adverbs like dziś can move:

• Dziś szefowa pracuje w biurze.
• Szefowa dziś pracuje w biurze.
• Szefowa pracuje dziś w biurze. All are natural. Moving elements slightly shifts emphasis (e.g., fronting Dziś emphasizes “today” as the time frame).

Why is there no “is” in “is working”? Why just pracuje?

Polish has a single present tense that covers both English “works” and “is working.” You don’t use a form like “to be + -ing.” So szefowa pracuje can mean “the boss works” or “the boss is working,” with context (here dziś) clarifying the sense.

What are the present tense forms of pracować?

• ja: pracuję
• ty: pracujesz
• on/ona/ono: pracuje
• my: pracujemy
• wy: pracujecie
• oni/one: pracują

How do I talk about past and future with this verb?

• Past (gender shows in the verb):
  
  • she worked: pracowała
  • he worked: pracował
• Future (imperfective): będzie pracować (she/he will be working/will work).
  There are perfective counterparts like popracuje (“will do some work for a while”), but they change the nuance.

How do I make this into a yes/no question?

Use Czy or just rising intonation:

• Czy szefowa dziś pracuje w biurze?
• Szefowa dziś pracuje w biurze? (spoken, with questioning intonation)

How do I negate it?

Put nie before the verb: Szefowa dziś nie pracuje w biurze.
You can add an alternative: Szefowa dziś nie pracuje w biurze, tylko w domu.

Why is it w, not na? I’ve seen na with some places.

Both exist but with different tendencies. w = “in/inside,” na = “on/at,” and many institutions conventionally take na (e.g., na uniwersytecie, na poczcie, na policji). For an office as a physical workplace, w biurze is standard and natural.

Any pronunciation tips for the tricky sounds here?

• sz (in szefowa) = hard “sh” (like English “sh,” but retroflex).
• ś (in dziś) = a softer, palatal “sh,” with the middle of your tongue raised.
• dz in dziś merges with ś, sounding like “jee-sh” quickly.
• rz (in biurze) sounds like the voiced “zh” in “measure.”
• Stress is generally on the penultimate syllable: Sze-FO-wa | pra-CU-je | w BIU-rze.
  Say it smoothly as: “She-FO-va djish pra-TSOO-ye v BYOO-zhe.”

How would I say “my boss” here?

Match the adjective to the noun’s gender:

• Feminine: Moja szefowa dziś pracuje w biurze.
• Masculine/generic: Mój szef dziś pracuje w biurze.