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Moja siostra rzadko nosi biżuterię, ale dziś zakłada ją do pracy.

Moja siostra rzadko nosi biżuterię, ale dziś zakłada ją do pracy.
My sister rarely wears jewellery, but today she is putting it on for work.
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Questions & Answers about Moja siostra rzadko nosi biżuterię, ale dziś zakłada ją do pracy.

Why is it moja siostra and not mój siostra?

In Polish, possessive adjectives (my, your, his, etc.) must agree in gender, number and case with the noun they describe.

  • siostra (sister) is feminine, singular, nominative.
  • The feminine singular nominative form of “my” is moja.

So:

  • moja siostra – my sister (feminine)
  • mój brat – my brother (masculine)
  • moje dziecko – my child (neuter)
Why is it siostra and not siostrę?

Siostra is the subject of the sentence (“My sister rarely wears jewelry”), so it must be in the nominative case.

  • siostra – nominative (who? what?)
  • siostrę – accusative (whom? what?)

You would use siostrę if it were the object, for example:
Widzę moją siostrę. – I see my sister.

Why is biżuterię spelled with -ę at the end?

Biżuteria (jewelry) is a feminine noun. Here, it is the direct object of the verb nosi (wears), so it takes the accusative case:

  • Nominative: biżuteria (who? what?)
  • Accusative: biżuterię (whom? what?)

Because most feminine nouns ending in -a change to -ę in the accusative singular (e.g. kawa → kawę, sukienka → sukienkę), we get biżuterię.

Why is biżuterię singular when in English we say “jewelry” as a mass noun?

In Polish, biżuteria is also treated as a kind of mass/collective noun, but grammatically it is singular feminine.

So even though it refers to multiple items (earrings, rings, etc.), we say:

  • Moja siostra rzadko nosi biżuterię. – literally “wears jewelry (singular).”

If you want to emphasize individual pieces, you would use plurals of specific items:

  • noszę kolczyki – I wear earrings
  • noszę bransoletki – I wear bracelets
What is the difference between nosi and zakłada here?

They describe different aspects of the action:

  • nosić – to wear something in general or habitually.

    • Moja siostra rzadko nosi biżuterię. – My sister rarely wears jewelry (as a habit).

  • zakładać – to put on (clothes, jewelry, etc.) at a particular moment.

    • …ale dziś zakłada ją do pracy. – but today she is putting it on for work.

So the sentence contrasts a general habit (rzadko nosi) with a specific current action (dziś zakłada).

Why is the pronoun ją used? Could we just repeat biżuterię?

Yes, you could say:

  • …ale dziś zakłada biżuterię do pracy.

However, since biżuterię was just mentioned, Polish commonly replaces it with a pronoun:

  • ją is the accusative feminine singular pronoun, referring back to biżuterię.

So:

  • biżuteria (nom.) → biżuterię (acc.) → ją (accusative pronoun “her/it”).

Using ją avoids repeating the noun and sounds natural.

Why is the pronoun ją placed after zakłada and not before, like in English word order?

Polish word order is more flexible than English. The most neutral, common pattern is:

  • verb + object pronoun → zakłada ją

You can say dziś ją zakłada do pracy (with ją before the verb), but the basic unmarked order is:

  • dziś zakłada ją do pracy.

Both are grammatically correct; the choice can slightly change emphasis, but here zakłada ją is the most natural-sounding version.

What case is pracy in, and why?

Pracy is in the genitive singular.

The preposition do (to, into) usually takes the genitive when it expresses movement towards a place:

  • do pracy – to work
  • do szkoły – to school
  • do domu – (to) home

So:

  • Nominative: praca (work)
  • Genitive: pracy → required by do.
Why is it do pracy, not w pracy or na pracę?

These prepositions express different relationships:

  • do pracy – to work (movement towards work; destination)

    • zakłada ją do pracy – she is putting it on for work / to go to work

  • w pracy – at work (location)

    • nosi ją w pracy – she wears it at work (while she is there)

  • na pracę – not used in this context; na with pracę would mean something like “for work” in a very different sense (e.g. money for work, materials for work), not “to work (as a place)”.

Here we’re talking about putting jewelry on to go to the place called work, so do pracy is correct.

What is the difference between dziś and dzisiaj?

Dziś and dzisiaj both mean today and are interchangeable in meaning.

  • dzisiaj is slightly more neutral/standard.
  • dziś is a bit shorter and sometimes feels a bit more colloquial or stylistic, but it’s perfectly correct and very common.

In this sentence, you could say:

  • …ale dziś zakłada ją do pracy.
  • …ale dzisiaj zakłada ją do pracy.

Both are fine.

Why is the verb nosi in the simple present, not something like “is wearing”?

Polish doesn’t distinguish between English “wears” and “is wearing” with two different forms. The present tense nosi can mean:

  • a habit: She wears jewelry.
  • a current ongoing action: She is wearing jewelry.

Context clarifies the meaning. Here, rzadko nosi biżuterię clearly talks about a general habit (“she rarely wears jewelry”). The contrast with dziś zakłada then shows that today is an exception.

Why is there a comma before ale?

In Polish, ale (but) almost always introduces a new clause, and a comma is required before it:

  • [Moja siostra rzadko nosi biżuterię], ale [dziś zakłada ją do pracy].

Each part has its own verb (nosi, zakłada), so they are two independent clauses joined by ale, and a comma is obligatory.