Breakdown of Zawsze jem obiad z rodziną.
zawsze
always
jeść
to eat
obiad
dinner / lunch (midday meal)
z
with
Questions & Answers about Zawsze jem obiad z rodziną.
Why does rodzina (family) end with an -ą in this sentence?
Because it follows the preposition z (meaning "with"). When you do something "with" someone, Polish uses the Instrumental case. For feminine nouns that end in -a (like rodzina), the Instrumental case ending is always -ą.
Where is the word for "I" in this sentence?
It is built right into the verb! Jem is the "I" form of the verb jeść (to eat). In Polish, you usually drop the pronoun ja (I) because the verb's ending already tells us who is doing the action.
Since obiad (dinner) is the thing being eaten, shouldn't its ending change?
It actually is in the object case (the Accusative), but it just doesn't look different! Obiad is a masculine inanimate noun (a non-living thing). For these types of nouns, the Accusative form looks exactly the same as the basic dictionary form.
I've seen obiad translated as "lunch" too. Which is it?
It can be both! Obiad is the main hot meal of the day in Poland, traditionally eaten in the mid-to-late afternoon. Depending on your own eating schedule, it translates best as either a late lunch or an early dinner.