Ja wolę tamten.

I prefer that one.

Breakdown of Ja wolę tamten.

• ja: I
• woleć: to prefer
• tamten: that

Questions & Answers about Ja wolę tamten.

Do I need the subject pronoun Ja here?

No. Polish normally drops subject pronouns. The neutral way is simply: Wolę tamten. Using Ja adds emphasis or contrast: Ja wolę tamten (a nie ktoś inny).

What’s the difference between ten and tamten?

• ten = this (near me/us).
• tamten = that (farther away) or “the other one” (as opposed to this one). In pointing situations, ten vs tamten is the default way to contrast two visible options. tamten can also mean “that earlier one” in a narrative or when contrasting two mentioned items.

Why is it tamten, not tamtego?

It depends on case and animacy. woleć (to prefer) takes the accusative:

• Masculine inanimate (film/kolor): accusative = nominative → Wolę tamten.
• Masculine animate (man/dog): accusative = genitive → Wolę tamtego (chłopaka/psa).
• Feminine: Wolę tamtą (sukienkę).
• Neuter: Wolę tamto (piwo).
• Plural masculine personal (men): Wolę tamtych (panów).
• Other plurals: Wolę tamte (filmy/sukienki/okna). So the sentence with tamten implies a masculine inanimate noun from context.

What if the noun is feminine or neuter? How would the sentence change?

Match the demonstrative to the hidden noun’s gender:

• Feminine: Wolę tamtą. (e.g., Wolę tamtą (książkę).)
• Neuter: Wolę tamto. (e.g., Wolę tamto (okno).)

Can this sentence refer to a person?

Yes, but use the animate forms in the accusative:

• Male person: Wolę tamtego (pana/chłopaka).
• Female person: Wolę tamtą (panią/dziewczynę). Bare tamten for a male person as the object is ungrammatical (should be tamtego). Also note that pointing at people with tamten/tamta can sound blunt depending on context.

Is woleć the usual verb for “to prefer”? Can I say preferować?

woleć is the standard, everyday verb. preferować (“to prefer”) also exists and is fine, often sounding a bit more formal/technical. Both are correct:

• Wolę tamten.
• Preferuję tamten.

How do I say “I prefer X to Y”?

Two common patterns:

• Wolę X niż Y. Example: Wolę tamten film niż ten.
• Wolę X od Y. Example: Wolę tamten film od tego. (after od, Y is in the genitive) With niż, the compared items usually appear in the same case (here, accusative).

How is wolę pronounced and where is the stress?

• wolę: VO-leh. Stress is on the first syllable (Polish stress is penultimate). The final ę is a nasal vowel; at word end it often sounds like a plain e with slight nasalization.
• tamten: TAM-ten (stress on the first syllable). Tip: Polish w sounds like English “v”; l is a clear “l” (not English “w”).

Can I change the word order?

Yes:

• Neutral: Wolę tamten.
• Emphasizing the subject: Ja wolę tamten.
• Emphasizing the choice: Tamten wolę. or To tamten wolę. Putting ja at the end (e.g., Wolę tamten ja) is not idiomatic.

What’s the difference between tam and tamten?

• tam = there (adverb).
• tamten = that (one) over there (demonstrative adjective/pronoun). You don’t normally need both together; just point and say Wolę tamten.

How do I explicitly name the thing I prefer?

Add the noun after the demonstrative:

• Wolę tamten film.
• Wolę tamtą koszulę.
• Wolę tamto piwo. Using only tamten/tamta/tamto is fine when the noun is obvious from context.

Could I use this to order something politely?

Yes. In shops/restaurants:

• Poproszę tamten. (I’ll take that one, please.)
• Even clearer with a noun: Poproszę tamtą kawę. / Poproszę tamten chleb.

Is Wolę tamten the same as “I like that one better”?

Often, yes in meaning, but verbs differ:

• lubić = to like. Comparison: Bardziej lubię tamten.
• woleć = to prefer. More idiomatic for choices: Wolę tamten. You may hear Bardziej wolę tamten, though many speakers just say Wolę tamten since “prefer” already implies “more.”

Does my gender change the sentence?

Not in the present: everyone says Wolę… In the past/future, the verb shows gender:

• Past: Wolałem (male), Wolałam (female).
• Future: Będę wolał (male), Będę wolała (female).

What are the basic “this/that” forms I should know?

• This: ten (masc), ta (fem), to (neut); plurals: ci (masc personal), te (non-masc).
• That: tamten (masc), tamta (fem), tamto (neut); plurals: tamci (masc personal), tamte (non-masc). As objects, they decline (e.g., tamtego/tamtą/tamto, etc.) as shown above.

Any common mistakes to avoid with this pattern?

• Saying tamten instead of tamtego for a male person as a direct object.
• Mixing ten/tamten with to/tamto (note to/tamto are neuter only).
• Forgetting to match gender/number with the implied noun.
• Overusing Ja when there’s no contrast to make.