Dzisiaj wybieram inny stół.

Today I choose a different table.

Breakdown of Dzisiaj wybieram inny stół.

• ja: I
• stół: the table
• dzisiaj: today
• wybierać: to choose
• inny: other

Questions & Answers about Dzisiaj wybieram inny stół.

Where is the word I in this sentence? Why is ja not used?

Polish usually drops subject pronouns like ja (I), because the verb ending already shows the person.

• wybieram = I choose / I am choosing
  
  • -am ending = 1st person singular (I)

So Dzisiaj wybieram inny stół already means Today I’m choosing a different table, with I understood from wybieram.

You add ja only for emphasis or contrast, for example:

• Ja dzisiaj wybieram inny stół.
  = I (as opposed to someone else) am choosing a different table today.

Is wybieram present tense or future, and how would I say I will choose another table today?

Wybieram is present tense of the verb wybierać (imperfective).

• Dzisiaj wybieram inny stół.
  = Today I’m choosing a different table (it’s happening / decided now, or part of today’s plan).

If you want a clear future, one-time decision with a completed result, you use the perfective verb wybrać:

• Dzisiaj wybiorę inny stół.
  = Today I will choose a different table (focus on the future moment when the choice will be made and finished).

Both are acceptable; the choice depends on whether you emphasize ongoing action / plan (imperfective) or the completed act (perfective).

What’s the difference between wybierać and wybrać?

They are an aspect pair:

• wybierać – imperfective

  • focuses on the process or repeated action
  • present tense: wybieram = I choose / I am choosing
  • past: wybierałem / wybierałam = I was choosing / I used to choose

• wybrać – perfective

  • focuses on a single completed action
  • no present meaning; only future and past
  • future: wybiorę = I will choose (and finish choosing)
  • past: wybrałem / wybrałam = I chose (finished)

In Dzisiaj wybieram inny stół, wybieram suggests the choosing is part of what’s going on today, or a choice relative to your usual behavior, without strongly emphasizing completion.

Why is it inny stół here and not drugi stół?

inny and drugi are not the same:

• inny stół

  • literally: a different table / another table
  • means not the same one as before; a different choice

• drugi stół

  • literally: the second table
  • usually means the second in order (1st, 2nd, 3rd…), not just “another” or “different”

So:

• Dzisiaj wybieram inny stół.
  = Today I’m choosing a different table (not the one I usually choose / not that one).

If you said:

• Dzisiaj wybieram drugi stół.

it would usually be understood as Today I’m choosing the second table (the one that is number two), which is a different idea.

What case is stół in here, and why does it look the same as the dictionary form?

In Dzisiaj wybieram inny stół, stół is in the accusative case (direct object of the verb).

For masculine inanimate nouns like stół, the accusative singular is identical to the nominative singular:

• Nominative (dictionary form): stół
• Accusative: stół

That’s why it doesn’t change.
If you see wybieram + [noun] and the noun is a masculine inanimate noun, its form often looks just like the dictionary form, even though its grammatical case is accusative.

Why is it inny, not innego / inna / inne?

The form of inny must agree with stół in gender, number, and case.

• stół is:
  • masculine
  • singular
  • accusative case (as the object of wybieram)
  • masculine inanimate

For masculine inanimate singular accusative, the adjective has the same form as nominative:

• inny stół (different table) – correct

Other forms are for different genders or cases:

• innego – e.g. masculine animate accusative (widzę innego psa – I see a different dog), or masculine genitive
• inna – feminine nominative/accusative (inna książka – a different book)
• inne – neuter nominative/accusative, or plural non-masculine-personal (inne okno – a different window)

So inny stół is the correct agreement pattern here.

Can I change the word order, like Wybieram dzisiaj inny stół or Inny stół wybieram dzisiaj? Do they sound natural?

Yes, Polish has flexible word order, and all of these can be correct, but the emphasis shifts slightly.

Common, neutral variants:

• Dzisiaj wybieram inny stół. – neutral; emphasis on today
• Wybieram dzisiaj inny stół. – also natural; focus first on the action choosing
• Wybieram inny stół dzisiaj. – also possible; dzisiaj at the end can sound a bit more “added on”

More emphatic variants:

• Inny stół dzisiaj wybieram. – It’s a different table that I’m choosing today (emphasizes inny stół)
• To dzisiaj wybieram inny stół. – It is today that I’m choosing a different table (strong focus on today)

In everyday speech, the original Dzisiaj wybieram inny stół or Wybieram dzisiaj inny stół are the most typical.

Is there a difference between dzisiaj and dziś?

Both mean today and are interchangeable in most contexts.

• dzisiaj – a bit longer, slightly more neutral; very common in both speech and writing
• dziś – shorter, sometimes feels a bit more literary or compact, but also used in normal speech

You could say:

• Dzisiaj wybieram inny stół.
• Dziś wybieram inny stół.

Both are correct, with almost no change in meaning. For a learner, you can safely treat them as synonyms.

How do you pronounce Dzisiaj wybieram inny stół?

Approximate pronunciation (IPA):

• Dzisiaj – /ˈd͡ʑi.ɕaj/

  • dź / dż / dzi sound: like d
    • y in duke, soft and palatalized
  • stress on DZI: DZI-siaj

• wybieram – /vɨˈbjɛ.ram/

  • w = like English v
  • y = like the vowel in roses (but shorter), not like English ee
  • stress on BIE: wy-BIE-ram

• inny – /ˈin.nɨ/

  • double n is just a longer n
  • y again as in Polish y
  • stress on IN: IN-ny

• stół – /stuw/

  • ó is pronounced like u
  • ł is like English w in we
  • final consonant cluster sounds close to stoow

Whole sentence:
/ˈd͡ʑi.ɕaj vɨˈbjɛ.ram ˈin.nɨ stuw/

Does this sentence imply that I usually choose a different table, but today I’m choosing another one? Or some contrast with my habit?

Context decides, but yes, it often suggests a contrast with what is usual or expected.

Dzisiaj wybieram inny stół can imply:

• usually you pick some particular table, but today you’re choosing a different one, or
• compared to what someone suggested or expected, you choose another table.

It doesn’t have to refer to a long-term habit; it can just contrast with an earlier choice in the same situation:

• (Yesterday:) Wybieram ten stół. – I choose this table.
• (Today:) Dzisiaj wybieram inny stół. – Today I’m choosing a different table.

So inny inherently carries the idea of “different from the one we have in mind”.

Do I need the word ten (this) before stół, like Dzisiaj wybieram ten inny stół?

No, you normally do not say ten inny stół here.

• ten stół = this table / that table
• inny stół = a different table / another table

Usually you choose one determiner:

• Dzisiaj wybieram ten stół. – Today I’m choosing this table.
• Dzisiaj wybieram inny stół. – Today I’m choosing a different table.

Saying ten inny stół is possible only in very specific contexts where both are meaningful, for example when you distinguish this different table from some other different table:

• Nie tamten, tylko ten inny stół.
  = Not that one, but this different table.

But as a general translation of “Today I’m choosing a different table”, you should use simply:

• Dzisiaj wybieram inny stół.