W tym garnku gotuje zupę, a na patelni smaży warzywa.

In this pot she cooks soup, and in the frying pan she fries vegetables.

Breakdown of W tym garnku gotuje zupę, a na patelni smaży warzywa.

• w: in
• gotować: to cook
• na: in
• a: and

Questions & Answers about W tym garnku gotuje zupę, a na patelni smaży warzywa.

Why is there no word for he/she in the sentence? How do we know who is cooking and frying?

Polish usually omits subject pronouns (like ja, ty, on, ona) when the verb ending already shows the person and number.

• gotuje and smaży are 3rd person singular present tense forms.
• So the sentence means he is cooking / she is cooking / (someone) is cooking, depending on context.

To make it explicit, you could say:

• On w tym garnku gotuje zupę, a na patelni smaży warzywa. – He…
• Ona w tym garnku gotuje zupę, a na patelni smaży warzywa. – She…

Context (earlier sentences, situation) usually tells you who it is, so pronouns are dropped unless needed for clarity or emphasis.

What’s the difference between gotuje and gotuję?

Both come from the verb gotować (to cook), but they have different persons:

• gotuję – I cook / I am cooking (1st person singular)
• gotuje – he/she/it cooks / is cooking (3rd person singular)

In the sentence:

• gotuje zupę = he/she is cooking soup (or someone is cooking soup).

If you were talking about yourself, you’d say:

• W tym garnku gotuję zupę. – In this pot I am cooking soup.