Ta para planuje ślub w przyszłym roku.

This couple is planning a wedding next year.

Breakdown of Ta para planuje ślub w przyszłym roku.

• w: in
• ta: this
• rok: the year
• przyszły: next
• planować: to plan
• ślub: the wedding
• para: the couple

Questions & Answers about Ta para planuje ślub w przyszłym roku.

Why is it ta para and not ten para or to para?

In Polish, the demonstrative pronoun (ten/ta/to = this) must agree in gender with the noun:

• ten – masculine
• ta – feminine
• to – neuter

The noun para (couple/pair) is grammatically feminine, so you must say ta para (this couple).

You would use:

• ten with a masculine noun, e.g. ten mężczyzna (this man)
• to with a neuter noun, e.g. to dziecko (this child)

What exactly does para mean here? Is it always “couple”?

Para literally means pair and is used in several contexts:

1. A romantic couple

   • Ta para planuje ślub. – This couple is planning a wedding.

2. A pair of objects

   • para butów – a pair of shoes
   • para skarpetek – a pair of socks

In this sentence, para refers to two people in a romantic relationship. Grammatically, it is singular, feminine, even though it refers to two people.

If it’s two people, why is the verb planuje (3rd person singular) and not planują (3rd person plural)?

The subject of the sentence is the word para, not the two individual people.

• para – one unit (a couple), grammatically singular
• Therefore the verb must also be singular: planuje

Compare:

• Ta para planuje ślub. – This couple plans a wedding. (singular)
• Oni planują ślub. – They are planning a wedding. (plural)

What form is planuje, and which infinitive does it come from?

Planuje is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• imperfective aspect
• of the verb planować – to plan

Basic forms:

• Infinitive: planować
• 1st person singular: (ja) planuję – I plan / I am planning
• 3rd person singular: (on/ona/ono) planuje – he/she/it plans / is planning

So ta para planuje literally: this couple plans / is planning.

Is planuje ślub more like “is planning a wedding” or “plans a wedding” in English?

Polish present tense covers both English simple present and present continuous, depending on context.

• Ta para planuje ślub w przyszłym roku.
  • Can be translated as:
    • This couple is planning a wedding for next year.
    • This couple plans to get married next year.

In everyday speech here, it feels closest to is planning (an ongoing process or decision about the future).

What case is ślub in, and why does it look like the basic dictionary form?

The dictionary form ślub is nominative singular, masculine inanimate.

In this sentence, ślub is in the accusative singular as the direct object of the verb planuje (they are planning what? – a wedding).

For masculine inanimate nouns, nominative singular and accusative singular usually have the same form, so both are ślub.

• Nominative: Ślub jest jutro. – The wedding is tomorrow.
• Accusative: Planujemy ślub. – We are planning a wedding.

Does ślub mean “wedding” or “marriage”? What’s the nuance?

Ślub primarily refers to the wedding ceremony, especially the moment of getting married (civil or church ceremony).

Typical uses:

• brać ślub – to get married (to have the wedding)
• planować ślub – to plan the wedding

For marriage as a state/relationship, Polish more often uses:

• małżeństwo – marriage (the union), also “married couple”

Examples:

• Ich małżeństwo jest szczęśliwe. – Their marriage is happy.
• Mają dobre małżeństwo. – They have a good marriage.

So ślub = the event, małżeństwo = the married state/relationship.

Why is it w przyszłym roku and not w przyszły rok?

The preposition w (in) usually requires the locative case when talking about time (in a year, in a month, etc.).

• rok (year) – nominative
• w roku (in the year) – locative
• przyszły (next) – nominative masculine
• przyszłym – locative masculine

So you must say:

• w przyszłym roku – in the next year / next year

w + przyszły rok is grammatically incorrect in this meaning.

What case is przyszłym roku?

Przyszłym roku is:

• locative singular of:
  • przyszły → przyszłym
  • rok → roku

The preposition w meaning in (for time) requires the locative:

• w tym roku – in this year
• w zeszłym roku – last year
• w przyszłym roku – next year

Can I change the word order, for example: Ta para w przyszłym roku planuje ślub?

Yes, that word order is also correct and natural.

All of these are fine (with slightly different emphasis):

• Ta para planuje ślub w przyszłym roku.
  – Neutral, common order.
• Ta para w przyszłym roku planuje ślub.
  – Slight emphasis on next year as the time frame.
• W przyszłym roku ta para planuje ślub.
  – Stronger emphasis on next year at the beginning.

Polish word order is relatively flexible; grammar is shown by endings, not by position. The main “neutral” version is the one you gave.

If I want to say “This couple is getting married next year”, could I say Ta para bierze ślub w przyszłym roku?

Yes, that is a very natural sentence:

• Ta para bierze ślub w przyszłym roku.
  Literally: This couple is taking a wedding next year, idiomatically: This couple is getting married next year.

Difference in nuance:

• planuje ślub – they are planning it (organizing, deciding)
• bierze ślub – they are getting married (the event will actually happen)

Both are correct; you choose based on what you want to emphasize.

How do you pronounce ślub and w przyszłym roku?

Approximate pronunciation for an English speaker:

• ślub – roughly shloob

  • ś – soft sh, tongue closer to the teeth (like sh in she, but softer)
  • ł – like English w
  • u – like oo in food
  • So: sh-w(o)ob → shloob

• w przyszłym roku

  • w – like v in English
  • przyszłym – roughly psh-ihsh-wym
    • prz – often sounds close to psh
    • y – like a short, hard i (between i in bit and u in put)
    • ł – again like w
  • roku – ROH-koo (rolled or tapped r, o like in not, u like oo)

Very rough whole phrase: ta PA-ra PLA-nu-ye shloob v pshihsh-wym ROH-koo.