Learn Polish: Proszę pana, czy to pana samochód? - Excuse me sir, is this your car?

Proszę pana, czy to pana samochód?

Excuse me sir, is this your car?

Breakdown of Proszę pana, czy to pana samochód?

excuse me, sir (getting attention; f: proszę pani)

Questions & Answers about Proszę pana, czy to pana samochód?

Why does the word pana appear twice in this sentence?

It serves two different purposes! Proszę pana is a polite set phrase that translates to "Excuse me, sir" (literally "I ask the gentleman"). The second pana is the formal way to say "your" when talking to a man (literally "the gentleman's").

Why didn't we use twój to say "your" car?

Twój is informal, used only when talking to friends, family, or children. Because we are addressing a stranger politely as "sir", we have to use the formal possessive pana.

Where is the verb "is" (jest) in the second half of the sentence?

In Polish, when using to to mean "this is" or "that is", the verb jest is frequently skipped in everyday conversation. You could say czy to jest pana samochód?, but leaving jest out is very natural and common.

How would this sentence change if I were speaking to a woman?

You would replace both instances of pana with pani (madam). The polite phrase becomes Proszę pani (Excuse me, ma'am), and the formal "your" also becomes pani. So you would say: Proszę pani, czy to pani samochód?