Asking 'Whose?'
To ask who something belongs to, Polish uses the word for 'whose'. This word changes depending on the gender of the object being owned:
- czyj (masculine objects)
- czyja (feminine objects)
- czyje (neuter objects)
| Whose is this computer? | Czyj jest ten komputer? |
| Whose is this desk? | Czyje jest to biurko? |
| Whose is this bag? | Czyja jest ta torba? |
Expressing Ownership (The Genitive Case)
In English, we use an apostrophe 's' (the boss's computer) or the word 'of' (an employee of the company) to show possession. Polish expresses this by putting the owner in the Genitive case.
When indicating ownership, the word order is usually the object first, followed by the owner: komputer (computer) + szefa (of the boss).
Masculine Owners
For masculine nouns referring to people, form the Genitive case by adding -a to the end of the word. If there is an adjective describing the owner, add -ego to the adjective.
| Nominative (Dictionary form) | Genitive (Possessive form) |
|---|---|
| szef (boss) | szefa |
| dyrektor (director) | dyrektora |
| nowy pracownik (new employee) | nowego pracownika |
| This is the boss's new computer. | To jest nowy komputer szefa. |
| This is the new employee's desk. | To jest biurko nowego pracownika. |
| Where is the director's car? | Gdzie jest samochód dyrektora? |
Feminine Owners
For most feminine nouns ending in -a, form the Genitive case by changing the -a to a -y (or -i after certain consonants). Feminine adjectives describing the owner take the ending -ej.
Note: The noun *szefowa (female boss) actually follows the adjective pattern, changing to szefowej.*
| Nominative (Dictionary form) | Genitive (Possessive form) |
|---|---|
| firma (company) | firmy |
| nasza (our) | naszej |
| szefowa (female boss) | szefowej |
| Is the company's new project there? | Czy tam jest nowy projekt firmy? |
| This is the female boss's bag. | To jest torba szefowej. |
| This is an employee of our company. | To jest pracownik naszej firmy. |