Breakdown of Dyrektor i jego żona byli zmęczeni, ale przyszli na przyjęcie.
być
to be
i
and
ale
but
na
on, at / to (motion toward) / for (a meal) / for (waiting for)
żona
the wife
dyrektor
director
zmęczony
tired
jego
his, its
przyjść
to come, to arrive
przyjęcie
reception
Questions & Answers about Dyrektor i jego żona byli zmęczeni, ale przyszli na przyjęcie.
Why are the verbs byli and przyszli in the masculine-personal (virile) form when the subject includes a woman (żona)?
In Polish, if a compound subject includes at least one male person (here, dyrektor), the entire group is treated as masculine-personal (virile). This means all verbs relating to them must take the virile endings, which is why we see byli and przyszli instead of the non-virile były and przyszły.
Does this masculine-personal rule apply to adjectives too, like zmęczeni?
Exactly. Just like the verbs, any adjective describing a group that includes at least one male person must take the virile plural form. So we use zmęczeni. If the subject were just women or non-personal nouns, it would be the non-virile zmęczone.
Why do we say jego żona instead of swoja żona here?
The reflexive possessive pronoun swój (one's own) refers back to the subject of the sentence, but it cannot be part of the nominative subject itself. Since żona is part of the compound subject performing the action, you must use the standard pronoun jego (his). You would use swoją if she were the object, like in Dyrektor kocha swoją żonę (The director loves his wife).
Why is na przyjęcie in the accusative case here?
The preposition na takes the accusative case when it shows motion toward a destination. Because they came to the reception (przyszli na), it takes the accusative przyjęcie. If you wanted to say they were already resting at the reception, you would use the locative case: Byli na przyjęciu.
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