Adjective agreement

Adjective agreement

In Polish, adjectives match the gender of the noun they describe. The basic endings are:

  • Masculine: -y
  • Feminine: -a
  • Neuter: -e

Notice how the adjective ending adapts to the noun while the core of the word stays the same.

This is a new phone.
To jest nowy telefon.
This new newspaper is very interesting.
Ta nowa gazeta jest bardzo ciekawa.
Is this a new window?
Czy to jest nowe okno?

Men are masculine

Remember that mężczyzna (man) is a masculine noun despite ending in -a. Adjectives describing it take the masculine ending.

This young man is reading.
Ten młody mężczyzna czyta.

Adjectives ending in -i

Some masculine adjectives end in -i instead of -y (such as drogi — expensive, and tani — cheap).

For these words, the feminine ending is -a or -ia (droga, tania), and the neuter ending is -ie (drogie, tanie).

This expensive car is very big.
Ten drogi samochód jest bardzo duży.
Where is this expensive chair?
Gdzie jest to drogie krzesło?
This book is very cheap and interesting.
Ta książka jest bardzo tania i ciekawa.

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