A2 · Pronouns · about 7 minutes
swój: one’s own
the reflexive possessive
When something belongs to the subject itself, it is swój — for every person.
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Words you will need5
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- sprzedawaćto sell
- zdanieopinion; sentence
- opowiedziećto tell (about)
- rodzinafamily
- mążhusband
Understand
RememberWhat belongs to the subject itself is swój — jego, jej and ich belong to somebody else.
- Signal words
- swój
- swoja
- swoje
- swojego
- swoją
The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in Polish.
| masculine | swój — swojego, swojemu, swoim |
| feminine | swoja — swojej, swoją |
| neuter | swoje — swojego, swojemu, swoim |
| plural | swoi (Männer), swoje — swoich, swoim, swoimi |
| own or somebody else’s | kocha swoją żonę — kocha jego żonę |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
swój is used when the thing belongs to the subject.
Ania czyta swoją książkę.Ania is reading her (own) book.
jego, jej, ich mean a different owner.
Ania czyta jej książkę.Ania is reading her book (another woman’s).
In the first and second person both are possible.
Lubię swoją pracę.I like my job.
swój never goes with the subject.
Mój brat mieszka w Krakowie.My brother lives in Kraków.
swój is declined like mój.
Piotr dzwoni do swojej mamy.Piotr is ringing his mum.
Example sentences
Marek sprzedaje swój samochód.Marek is selling his car.
Dzieci szukają swoich zabawek.The children are looking for their toys.
Kasia rozmawia ze swoim szefem.Kasia is talking to her boss.
5 more example sentences
Każdy ma swoje zdanie.Everybody has their own opinion.
Opowiedz mi o swojej rodzinie.Tell me about your family.
Pokażesz mi swoje zdjęcia?Will you show me your photos?
Piotr i Ewa odwiedzają swoich rodziców.Piotr and Ewa are visiting their parents.
Zostawiłam swój parasol w pracy.I left my umbrella at work. (a woman speaking)
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English says “his wife” and lets the context decide whose. Translated with jego, it becomes a different Polish sentence: jego żonę is somebody else’s wife. If she is Piotr’s own, it is swoją.
Quick check
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The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
Polish has a possessive English lacks: swój, “one’s own”. It is used when the thing owned belongs to the subject of the sentence. Piotr kocha swoją żonę means “Piotr loves his (own) wife”.
In the third person the difference matters, because English is ambiguous here. “Piotr loves his wife” could, in the right story, be somebody else’s wife. Polish decides: Piotr kocha jego żonę means Piotr loves another man’s wife. With swój you say clearly that she is his own; with jego, jej, ich you mean somebody else.
In the first and second person you can say swój or mój, twój: Lubię swoją pracę and Lubię moją pracę are both right, and swój is the more common.
swój never belongs to the subject itself, because it refers back to the subject: “My brother lives in Kraków” is Mój brat mieszka w Krakowie. swój is declined like mój: swojego, swojej, swoją, swoim.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
Where English is ambiguous
“Anna gives Kasia her book” — whose book? English leaves it open. Polish decides: Anna daje Kasi swoją książkęis Anna’s bookAnna daje Kasi jej książkęis Kasia’s
Anna daje Kasi swoją książkę.Anna gives Kasia her (own) book.
Worth knowing
po swojemu
In the fixed phrase po swojemu the word means “in one’s own way”. You hear it whenever somebody does something differently from everybody else.
Każdy robi to po swojemu.Everybody does it their own way.
The verbs on this page, in every form: mieć · czytać · mieszkać · lubić · szukać · rozmawiać · dzwonić · sprzedawać