Two Plural Groups in Polish
In the plural, Polish divides nouns into two categories:
- Virile (Masculine Personal): Groups of people that include at least one male.
- Non-virile: Everything else (objects, animals, concepts, and groups consisting only of females).
The forms of possessive pronouns like "my" or "our" will change depending on which of these two groups the noun belongs to, and whether it is the subject (Nominative) or direct object (Accusative) of the sentence.
Non-virile Plural: Nominative (Subjects)
When non-virile nouns are the subject of a sentence, their possessive pronouns end in -e:
- mój -> moje (my)
- twój -> twoje (your, singular)
- nasz -> nasze (our)
- wasz -> wasze (your, plural)
| These are my matters. | To są moje sprawy. |
| I like your ideas very much. | Wasze pomysły bardzo mi się podobają. |
Non-virile Plural: Accusative (Direct Objects)
When a non-virile noun is the direct object of a verb, it takes the Accusative case. For this group, the Accusative forms of the possessive pronouns are exactly the same as the Nominative forms (moje, twoje, nasze, wasze).
| I respect your decisions because you are right. | Szanuję twoje decyzje, bo masz rację. |
| I see our mistakes. | Widzę nasze błędy. |
Virile Plural: Nominative (Subjects)
When talking about a group of people that includes at least one man, the Nominative possessive pronouns change to end in -i:
- mój -> moi
- twój -> twoi
- nasz -> nasi
- wasz -> wasi
| My cousins live in Warsaw. | Moi kuzyni mieszkają w Warszawie. |
| Are your acquaintances from Poland? | Czy twoi znajomi są z Polski? |
Virile Plural: Accusative (Direct Objects)
Unlike the non-virile group, virile pronouns change their form when they become the direct object of a sentence. In the Accusative case, they take the endings -ich or -ych:
- mój -> moich
- twój -> twoich
- nasz -> naszych
- wasz -> waszych
| I support my cousins. | Wspieram moich kuzynów. |
| I respect your parents very much. | Bardzo szanuję waszych rodziców. |
