Pointing to People and Objects
When managing an event, you often need to direct specific groups of people or point out specific objects. In Polish, the plural word for "these" depends on the gender of the noun you are pointing to.
The Masculine Personal "Ci"
If you are talking about a group of people that includes at least one male (such as male volunteers, organizers, or a mixed crowd of fans), use ci. You will use this form in the Nominative case, typically when these people are the subject of the sentence.
| these (masculine personal plural) | ci |
The Non-Masculine Personal "Te"
For absolutely everything else—inanimate objects, animals, and groups made entirely of women or children—use te. You will use te to point out things at an event, like queues (kolejki), sectors (sektory), and wristbands (opaski).
"Te" in the Accusative Case
Conveniently, for non-masculine personal nouns, the demonstrative pronoun remains exactly the same in the Accusative case. You will use te when the object is receiving the action of a verb (like checking tickets) or following a preposition indicating motion (like directing fans into these sectors).
Putting It Together
Because event staff (masculine personal subjects) frequently handle event materials (non-masculine personal objects), you will often see both pronouns in the same sentence. Notice how ci acts as the subject (Nominative) while te acts as the direct object (Accusative).
