Questions & Answers about Szyja mnie boli.
Why is there no word for "my" in this sentence?
In Polish, you usually leave out possessive pronouns like moja (my) when talking about your own body parts. Since you are saying it hurts mnie (me), it is already obvious whose neck it is.
Why is mnie (me) used instead of ja (I)?
When talking about pain in Polish, the body part is the subject doing the action. So szyja (neck) is in the basic nominative case, and it hurts mnie (me). You are the object receiving the action, so you use the accusative case.
Could I change the word order to Boli mnie szyja?
Yes, Boli mnie szyja is completely natural and actually very common! Polish word order is flexible. Just remember that short pronouns like mnie usually prefer to stand in the middle of a sentence, rather than at the very beginning or the very end.
If my legs hurt, would the verb boli stay the same?
No, it would change. Because the body part is the grammatical subject, the verb must match it. For a plural subject like nogi (legs), you need the plural form of the verb, which is bolą: Nogi mnie bolą (My legs hurt).
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