A1.25 - Emotions and feelings

Demonstrative pronouns: ten, ta, to...

Zaimki wskazujące: ten, ta, to...

Zaimki wskazujące to słowa używane do wskazywania konkretnych osób, rzeczy lub miejsc, określające ich odległość od mówiącego.

(Demonstrative pronouns are words used to point to specific people, things, or places, showing how far they are from the speaker.)

What these words do (demonstratives)

Polish uses different words for this/these (near) and that/those (far).

  • Near you / in your focus: ten, ta, to, ci, te
  • Further away / “over there”: tamten, tamta, tamto, tamci, tamte

They work like English “this/that”, but in Polish they also change for gender and number.

Step 1: Choose the distance

  • Close (in your hand, next to you, in this room, current topic): use ten/ta/to (singular) or ci/te (plural).
  • Far (across the room, outside, not the one here): use tamten/tamta/tamto (singular) or tamci/tamte (plural).

Tip: “Far” is often a contrast: ten… but tamten… (“this one… but that one…”).

Step 2: Match the noun’s gender (singular)

Gender of the noun Near Far Example
Masculine (e.g., pan, autobus) ten tamten Ten pan jest zdenerwowany. / Tamten autobus jest mój.
Feminine (e.g., kobieta, kawa) ta tamta Ta kobieta się uśmiecha. / Tamta kawa jest zimna.
Neuter (e.g., dziecko, biuro) to tamto To dziecko płacze. / Tamto biuro jest nowe.

Step 3: Plural forms (and the one form that surprises people)

Plural type Near Far Typical nouns
Masculine personal (a group of men / mixed group) ci tamci panowie, koledzy, lekarze
Non-masculine-personal (women, things, animals, children) te tamte kobiety, klucze, psy, dzieci
  • Ci is mainly for groups of people (masculine personal): Ci panowie są zaskoczeni.
  • Te is for everything else in plural: Te klucze są moje. Te kobiety są miłe.

Where it goes in the sentence (simple A1 word order)

  • Most common pattern: demonstrative + noun
    • Ten pan… / Ta kobieta… / To dziecko…
    • Tamten pan… / Tamta kobieta… / Tamto dziecko…
  • With to be (jest/są): Ten autobus jest mój. / Tamte klucze są moje.

Note: In Polish you usually don’t say just “This is…” + noun with “this” the English way. Instead, you typically specify the noun: Ten pan…, Ta kawa…, etc.

Common mistakes (quick fixes)

  • Gender mismatch
    • Ten kobieta → Ta kobieta
    • Ta dziecko → To dziecko
  • Plural mismatch (ci vs te)
    • Te panowie → Ci panowie
    • Ci klucze → Te klucze
  • Distance confusion
    • If you mean “over there”, add tam-: tamten/tamta/tamto, tamci/tamte.

Self-check (30 seconds)

  1. Am I pointing to something near or far?
  2. Is the noun masculine, feminine, or neuter (singular)?
  3. If plural: is it masculine personal (→ ci/tamci) or not (→ te/tamte)?
  4. Did I put it directly before the noun? ten/ta/to + noun
  1. Ten, ta, to, ci, te point to something nearby.
  2. Tamtem, tamta, tamto, tamci, tamte point to something farther away.
Odległość (Distance)Liczba (Number)R. męski (Masculine gender)R. żeński (Feminine gender)R. nijaki (Neuter gender)
blisko (nearby)pojedyncza (singular)ten (this)ta (this)to (this)
blisko (nearby)mnoga (plural)ci (these)te (these)te (these)
dalej (farther away)pojedyncza (singular)tamten (that (over there))tamta (that (over there))tamto (that (over there))
dalej (farther away)mnoga (plural)tamci (those (over there))tamte (those (over there))

 

Exercise 1: Multiple choice

Instruction: Choose the correct answer

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1. ___ pan jest zdenerwowany, bo spóźnia się na spotkanie.

___ gentleman is nervous because he is late for a meeting.

2. ___ kobieta się uśmiecha, bo jest szczęśliwa.

___ woman is smiling because she is happy.

3. ___ dziecko płacze, bo jest smutne.

___ child is crying because they are sad.

4. ___ panowie są zaskoczeni, bo to nowa informacja.

___ gentlemen are surprised because it's new information.

Exercise 2: Rewrite the phrases

Instruction: Transform the sentences by replacing the demonstrative pronouns according to distance and gender: near → this/these; far → that/those (example: “This is a book.” → “This book is mine.”).

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  1. To jest mój długopis. (blisko, r. męski)
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Ten długopis jest mój.
    (This pen is mine.)
  2. To jest moja kawa. (blisko, r. żeński)
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Ta kawa jest moja.
    (This coffee is mine.)
  3. To jest moje biuro. (blisko, r. nijaki)
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    To biuro jest moje.
    (This office is mine.)
  4. To są moi koledzy. (blisko, liczba mnoga, r. męski osobowy)
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Ci koledzy są moi.
    (These colleagues are mine.)
  5. To są moje klucze. (dalej, liczba mnoga)
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Tamte klucze są moje.
    (Those keys are mine.)
  6. To jest mój autobus. (dalej, r. męski)
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Tamten autobus jest mój.
    (That bus is mine.)

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

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Joanna Majchrowska

Master of Spanish Philology

University of Lodz

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Poland


Last Updated:

Tuesday, 24/03/2026 22:19