mój / twój / nasz / wasz

Possessive Agreement

Level 2

In Polish, possessive pronouns (my, your, our) act like adjectives. This means they change their endings to match the object being owned, not the person who owns it.

How It Works

Unlike English where 'my' never changes, Polish possessives are highly flexible:

  • Gender Agreement: A man and a woman both say moja kawa (my coffee) because kawa is feminine. The gender of the owner does not matter for these specific pronouns.
  • Stem Changes: The pronouns mój and twój have a special ó to o change. The 'ó' appears in the masculine nominative singular and the masculine inanimate accusative (e.g., mój dom). In most other forms, it becomes 'o' (e.g., mojego).
  • Accusative Distinction: For masculine nouns, the ending depends on animacy. Masculine animate nouns take the -ego ending (matching the genitive), while masculine inanimate nouns keep the nominative form.
  • Plural Split: In the plural, these pronouns distinguish between masculine-personal (groups with at least one man) and non-masculine-personal (everything else). For example: moi koledzy vs. moje koleżanki.
  • Invariable Exceptions: Note that the third-person possessives jego (his), jej (her), and ich (their) are invariable and do not change their endings to match the noun.

Examples (5)

  1. Gdzie jest moja kawa?

    Where is my coffee?

    Word by Word: Where is my coffee?

    Uses 'moja' (feminine nominative) to match the feminine noun 'kawa'.

  2. To jest nasz nowy dom.

    This is our new house.

    Word by Word: This is our new house.

    Uses 'nasz' (masculine nominative) to match the masculine noun 'dom'.

  3. Szukam mojego telefonu.

    I am looking for my phone.

    Word by Word: I-look-for my phone.

    The 'ó' in 'mój' changes to 'o' in 'mojego' to match the genitive case required by the verb.

  4. Czy to są wasze dzieci?

    Are these your children?

    Word by Word: Whether this are your children?

    Uses 'wasze' (non-masculine-personal plural) to match 'dzieci'.

  5. Moi bracia mieszkają w Krakowie.

    My brothers live in Krakow.

    Word by Word: My brothers live in Krakow.

    Uses 'moi' (masculine-personal plural) because 'bracia' refers to male people.

Common Mistakes

  • Matching the pronoun to the owner's gender instead of the object's gender.

    Mój mama jest tutaj.
    Moja mama jest tutaj.

    Even if the speaker is male, 'mama' is feminine, so the pronoun must be 'moja'.

  • Using 'wasz' as a formal singular 'your'.

    Gdzie jest wasz samochód, panie Marku?
    Gdzie jest Pański samochód, panie Marku?

    In modern Polish, 'wasz' is only for plural 'you'. For a formal singular 'your', use 'Pański' or 'Pani'.

  • Forgetting the ó to o stem change in masculine animate nouns.

    Widzę mój psa.
    Widzę mojego psa.

    Masculine animate nouns in the accusative take the genitive form. 'Mój' must change to 'mojego'.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

mój / twój / nasz / waszLevel 2Possessive Agreement

Learn This First

Learn Adjective Agreement before Possessive Agreement.

Words in This Pattern

twójnaszwasz