Moja mama lubi pieczone buraki, a tata woli ziemniaki z koperkiem i pietruszką.

In Polish, possessive words like mój / moja / moje are often omitted when the relationship is obvious from context.

So:

• moja mama = my mum
• tata can still mean my dad if the context makes that clear

The sentence could also be:

• Moja mama lubi pieczone buraki, a mój tata woli ziemniaki z koperkiem i pietruszką.

That would also be correct, but Polish often leaves out the second possessive to avoid sounding repetitive.

Also note the form:

• moja is used because mama is feminine
• mój would be used with tata, even though tata ends in -a, because it refers to a male person

These are both 3rd person singular verb forms, because the subjects are:

• mama = she
• tata = he

So:

• lubi = likes
• woli = prefers

The infinitives are:

• lubić = to like
• woleć = to prefer

Examples:

• Mama lubi buraki. = Mum likes beetroot.
• Tata woli ziemniaki. = Dad prefers potatoes.

They are similar, but not identical:

• lubić = to like
• woleć = to prefer

So in this sentence:

• mama likes roasted beetroot
• dad prefers potatoes...

That creates a small contrast between the two parents’ tastes.

Pieczone is an adjective meaning roasted or baked, and it must agree with buraki.

Here:

• buraki is plural
• so the adjective also has to be plural: pieczone

This is adjective-noun agreement.

Compare:

• pieczony burak = a roasted beetroot
• pieczone buraki = roasted beetroots

In this sentence, pieczone buraki is the object of lubi, but because buraki is a non-masculine-personal plural noun, its accusative form looks the same as the nominative form.

They are in the accusative case, because they are the direct objects of the verbs:

• lubić kogo? co?
• woleć kogo? co?

So:

• lubi pieczone buraki
• woli ziemniaki

However, for plural non-masculine-personal nouns like buraki and ziemniaki, the accusative plural is the same as the nominative plural.

So although the case is accusative, the form does not change.

In Polish, foods are often talked about in the plural when referring to them as items in a meal or dish.

So:

• buraki = beetroot / beets
• ziemniaki = potatoes

This is very natural in Polish. English sometimes uses a mass noun or singular where Polish prefers a plural food noun.

The preposition z here means with, and after z Polish uses the instrumental case.

That is why you get:

• koperek → koperkiem
• pietruszka → pietruszką

So:

• z koperkiem = with dill
• z pietruszką = with parsley

This whole phrase describes the potatoes.

Both are possible, but they are not exactly the same in tone.

• koperek is a very common everyday word for dill, especially in cooking
• koperkiem is the instrumental of koperek

This form often sounds natural and idiomatic when talking about food, especially garnishes or herbs added to a dish.

You may also encounter koprem, from koper, but koperek is extremely common in everyday Polish and often feels more domestic or culinary.

So ziemniaki z koperkiem is a very typical Polish food phrase.

Yes. The preposition z requires the instrumental case when it means with.

So:

• pietruszka → pietruszką

This is the same pattern as:

• z mamą = with mum
• z herbatą = with tea
• z pietruszką = with parsley

It can mean either, depending on context, which can be confusing for learners.

In food contexts:

• pietruszka often means parsley
• but in some contexts it can also refer to parsley root

Here, because it is paired with koperek and describes potatoes, it almost certainly means parsley herb, not the root.

So the phrase suggests potatoes served with dill and parsley.

A often links two clauses while also showing a contrast or topic shift.

Here it is a bit like:

• and, but with a slight sense of whereas
• mum likes X, and dad prefers Y

So:

• i = simple and
• a = and / while / whereas, often contrasting two people or situations

In this sentence, a is a very natural choice because it compares the mother’s and father’s preferences.

Yes, Polish word order is more flexible than English, but the original order is the most neutral and natural.

Original:

• Moja mama lubi pieczone buraki, a tata woli ziemniaki z koperkiem i pietruszką.

You could move things around for emphasis, for example:

• Pieczone buraki lubi moja mama, a ziemniaki z koperkiem i pietruszką woli tata.

That is grammatically possible, but it sounds more marked or stylistically emphatic.

For learners, the original SVO-style order is the safest pattern.

Yes.

• mama = mum / mom
• tata = dad

These are warm, everyday family words.

By contrast:

• matka = mother
• ojciec = father

Those are more formal, neutral, or sometimes emotionally distant depending on context.

In an ordinary family sentence like this one, mama and tata sound much more natural.

The letter ą is a nasal vowel, but in actual speech its pronunciation depends on what comes next.

In pietruszką, the final -ą is often pronounced roughly like -on or -om with nasal coloring, not exactly like any single English sound.

A practical learner-friendly approximation:

• pyeh-TROOSH-kaw is not quite right
• pyeh-TROOSH-kom / pyeh-TROOSH-kon is closer to real speech

You do not need to make it perfect at first. The important thing is to recognize that -ą is the normal instrumental ending for many feminine nouns.

Because grammatical gender in Polish is not decided only by the ending.

Tata refers to a male person, so it behaves grammatically as masculine, even though it looks like many feminine nouns.

That is why you say:

• mój tata = my dad, not moja tata
• dobry tata = a good dad

This is a very common pattern with words for male people such as:

• tata
• mężczyzna
• kolega

They may end in -a, but they still take masculine agreement.