A1.1 - Greetings and Farewells

Personal pronouns: ja, ty on, ona...

Zaimki osobowe: ja, ty on, ona...

W języku polskim główne zaimki osobowe to: ja, ty, on, ona, ono, my, wy, oni, one.

(In Polish, the main personal pronouns are: ja, ty, on, ona, ono, my, wy, oni, one.)

What these pronouns do (and why Polish often drops them)

In Polish, the verb ending usually shows who the subject is.

  • Pracuję = “(I) work” → ja is often unnecessary.
  • Pracujesz = “(you) work” → ty is often unnecessary.

So pronouns are used mainly for clarity or emphasis.

  • Emphasis / contrast: Ja pracuję, a ty odpoczywasz. (I work and you rest.)
  • Clarity: when the subject could be misunderstood, or in short answers.

Quick choice guide: which “they” and which “you”?

Meaning Polish pronoun Use when…
he / it (male person) on you talk about a man
she ona you talk about a woman
it (neuter) ono rare; often about dziecko (a child)
they (mixed group or all men) oni at least one man is in the group
they (all women / things) one only women, or only “things”
  • Rule of thumb: If there is one man in the group → choose oni.
  • Only women (e.g., Anna and Ewa) → one.

Formal “you”: Pan / Pani / Państwo (polite and professional)

In formal situations, Polish often uses Pan / Pani / Państwo instead of ty / wy.

Who you speak to Polish Verb form
one man (Mr.) Pan 3rd person singular: Pan jest…, Pan ma…
one woman (Ms.) Pani 3rd person singular: Pani jest…, Pani ma…
two+ people (formal) Państwo 3rd person plural: Państwo są…, Państwo mają…
  • Important: This is why you may see sentences like Pan jest nauczycielem? (not *Pan jesteś…*).
  • In a workplace, you typically start with Pan/Pani until invited to use ty (often: Możemy mówić sobie na ty?).

When you should (and shouldn’t) say the pronoun

  • Usually OK to omit: Jestem Anna. (I’m Anna.)
  • Add the pronoun to stress “who”: Ja jestem Anna, a on jest Marek.
  • Add the pronoun to correct: Nie ty, tylko ja. (Not you, but me.)

Common beginner mistake: using pronouns in every sentence (English habit). In Polish it can sound heavy or repetitive.

“Ono” in real life (why it feels rare)

  • Ono matches neuter nouns, but in everyday speech it’s limited.
  • Most common with dziecko (child): Ono śpi.
  • For objects, Polish often prefers just the noun (or drops the subject): Gdzie jest krzesło? Jest tu.

Self-check: can you choose the right form?

  1. Are you speaking informally or formally? → ty/wy vs Pan/Pani/Państwo
  2. If it’s “they”: is there at least one man in the group? → oni; otherwise one
  3. Does the sentence need emphasis or contrast? If not, consider dropping the pronoun

Mini test: Anna i Ewa są w biurze. → One są w biurze. (all women)

Mini test: Anna i Marek są w biurze. → Oni są w biurze. (mixed group)

  1. Pronouns are not always needed in Polish because verb forms show the subject.
Osoba (person)Liczba pojedyncza (singular)Liczba mnoga (plural)
1. osoba (1st person)ja  (I)my (we)
2. osoba (2nd person)ty  (you (singular, informal))wy (you (plural, informal))
3. osoba męski (3rd person masculine)on  (he)oni (they (masculine-personal))
3. osoba żeński (3rd person feminine)ona  (she)one  (they (non-masculine-personal))
3. osoba nijaki (3rd person neuter)ono (it)—

Exceptions!

  1. “Ono” is rarely used and most often refers to the word dziecko, e.g. Ono (dziecko) śpi spokojnie.
  2. Formal “you” forms – Pan / Pani / Państwo are used instead of ty/wy in polite or formal situations.

Exercise 1: Multiple choice

Instruction: Choose the correct answer

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1. Dzień dobry, ___ jestem Anna.

Good morning, ___ I'm Anna.

2. Cześć! A ___ jak się masz?

Hi! And ___ how are you?

3. Dzień dobry, ___ jest nauczycielem?

Good morning, ___ are you the teacher?

4. To jest Marta. ___ mówi po polsku.

This is Marta. ___ speaks Polish.

Exercise 2: Rewrite the phrases

Instruction: Rewrite the sentences, replacing the listed people with the appropriate personal pronoun (I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they (masculine), they (feminine)).

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  1. Anna jest w pracy. Anna pije kawę.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Ona jest w pracy. Ona pije kawę.
    (Ona jest w pracy. Ona pije kawę.)
  2. Tomek ma spotkanie o 10:00. Tomek ma laptop.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    On ma spotkanie o 10:00. On ma laptop.
    (On ma spotkanie o 10:00. On ma laptop.)
  3. Dziecko jest zmęczone. Dziecko śpi.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Ono jest zmęczone. Ono śpi.
    (Ono jest zmęczone. Ono śpi.)
  4. Piotr i Marek są w biurze. Piotr i Marek pracują.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Oni są w biurze. Oni pracują.
    (Oni są w biurze. Oni pracują.)
  5. Anna i Ewa są w sklepie. Anna i Ewa kupują chleb.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    One są w sklepie. One kupują chleb.
    (One są w sklepie. One kupują chleb.)
  6. Ja i ty jesteśmy w domu. Ja i ty oglądamy telewizję.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    My jesteśmy w domu. My oglądamy telewizję.
    (My jesteśmy w domu. My oglądamy telewizję.)

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This content has been designed and reviewed by the coLanguage pedagogical team: About coLanguage

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Urszula Jablonska

Faculty of Modern Languages

University of Warsaw

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Last Updated:

Thursday, 12/03/2026 13:37