Breakdown of Jesteśmy u niego, a oni są u niej.
być
to be
on
he / it (m)
ona
she / it (f)
oni
they (masculine personal)
a
and / whereas (contrast)
u
at, at the place of
Questions & Answers about Jesteśmy u niego, a oni są u niej.
Why is it niego and niej instead of jego and jej?
When third-person pronouns (like he, she, it, or they) come directly after a preposition like u, they add an n- at the beginning. So, the Genitive form of on changes from jego to niego, and the Genitive of ona changes from jej to niej. This is a strict rule in Polish that makes the words flow better together.
Does the preposition u always mean at someone's place?
Mostly, yes! It usually translates to 'at the home of' or 'at the workplace of' a person. For example, u niego means 'at his place', and u lekarza means 'at the doctor's office'. Just remember that u is only used with people or animals, never with physical buildings like a shop or a cinema.
Why is the word for 'we' (my) missing at the beginning, but 'they' (oni) is included in the second half?
In Polish, you usually drop subject pronouns because the verb ending already tells you who is doing the action (the -śmy in Jesteśmy means 'we'). However, pronouns are kept when you want to show emphasis or contrast. Here, oni is included to strongly contrast where 'they' are compared to where 'we' are.
Why does the Polish sentence use a for 'and' instead of i?
The word a is used to show a contrast, often translating to 'while', 'but', or a contrasting 'and'. Because this sentence compares two different situations (where we are versus where they are), a is the correct choice. The word i is generally used just for adding things together, like items in a list.
Learn Jesteśmy u niego, a oni są u niej and more in Polish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free