Moja siostra bierze grabie, a ja biorę łopatę i pracujemy od rana do obiadu.

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Breakdown of Moja siostra bierze grabie, a ja biorę łopatę i pracujemy od rana do obiadu.

• mój: my
• i: and
• pracować: to work

Questions & Answers about Moja siostra bierze grabie, a ja biorę łopatę i pracujemy od rana do obiadu.

Why is it moja siostra and not mój siostra?

Because siostra is a feminine noun, and the possessive adjective my has to agree with it in gender, number, and case.

• mój = masculine singular
• moja = feminine singular
• moje = neuter singular

So:

• mój brat = my brother
• moja siostra = my sister
• moje dziecko = my child

Here siostra is feminine, so moja is the correct form.

Why do we get bierze for she takes but biorę for I take? They look very different.

Both forms come from the same verb: brać = to take. This verb has an irregular-looking present tense stem change, so the forms are not built in a fully predictable way from the infinitive.

Present tense of brać:

• biorę = I take
• bierzesz = you take
• bierze = he/she/it takes
• bierzemy = we take
• bierzecie = you all take
• biorą = they take

So:

• moja siostra bierze = my sister takes
• ja biorę = I take

This is just one of those verbs whose present tense you need to learn as a pattern.

Is grabie plural? If so, why does it mean just one rake?