Mój ojciec wraca z pracy późno.

My father comes back from work late.

Breakdown of Mój ojciec wraca z pracy późno.

• mój: my
• późno: late
• praca: the work
• z: from

Questions & Answers about Mój ojciec wraca z pracy późno.

Why is it mój ojciec, not moje ojciec or moja ojciec?

Because mój has to agree with ojciec in gender, number, and case.

• ojciec is masculine singular
• the sentence uses the nominative case, because ojciec is the subject

So the correct form is:

• mój ojciec = my father

Compare:

• moja matka = my mother
• moje dziecko = my child

So mój / moja / moje work like gender-matching forms of my.

Why is ojciec in this form?

Ojciec is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence — the person doing the action.

In this sentence:

• Mój ojciec = the subject
• wraca = the verb
• z pracy = from work
• późno = late

You may see other forms of ojciec in different sentences, for example:

• Widzę ojca = I see my father
• Mówię o ojcu = I’m talking about my father

But here, since he is the subject, Polish uses ojciec.

Why is the verb wraca, and what form is it?