Lesson 5

In this lesson, we will cover essential vocabulary related to family, learn how to describe people using adjectives, and understand how nouns and adjectives agree in gender. Weโ€™ll also introduce the Nominative Case (Mianownik), which is used for basic sentence building.


Step 1: Family Members (Czล‚onkowie Rodziny)

Talking about family is an essential part of any language. Here are the key family vocabulary words:

PolishEnglish
mamamom
tatadad
bratbrother
siostrasister
dziadekgrandfather
babciagrandmother
synson
cรณrkadaughter
wujekuncle
ciociaaunt
kuzyn / kuzynkacousin (male / female)
mฤ…ลผhusband
ลผonawife

๐Ÿ“Œ Practice Tip: Try writing a short paragraph introducing your family using these words. Example:

๐Ÿ‘‰ Mam brata i siostrฤ™. Moja mama ma na imiฤ™ Anna, a mรณj tata to Piotr. (I have a brother and a sister. My mom’s name is Anna, and my dad is Piotr.)


Step 2: Descriptive Adjectives (Przymiotniki Opisowe)

Adjectives allow us to describe people and objects. In Polish, adjectives must agree with the gender and number of the noun they describe.

Common Adjectives:

PolishEnglish
duลผy / duลผabig (masculine / feminine)
maล‚y / maล‚asmall (masculine / feminine)
piฤ™kny / piฤ™knabeautiful (masculine / feminine)
brzydki / brzydkaugly (masculine / feminine)
wysoki / wysokatall (masculine / feminine)
niski / niskashort (masculine / feminine)
mล‚ody / mล‚odayoung (masculine / feminine)
stary / staraold (masculine / feminine)
miล‚y / miล‚anice (masculine / feminine)
inteligentny / inteligentnaintelligent (masculine / feminine)

๐Ÿ“Œ Practice Tip: Write simple sentences describing your family members.

๐Ÿ‘‰ Mรณj brat jest wysoki i inteligentny. Moja siostra jest maล‚a, ale bardzo miล‚a. (My brother is tall and intelligent. My sister is small but very nice.)


Step 3: Noun Genders & Adjective Agreement

In Polish, nouns belong to one of three genders:

  • Masculine (brat โ€“ brother)
  • Feminine (siostra โ€“ sister)
  • Neuter (dziecko โ€“ child)

Adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe:

GenderAdjective ExampleSentence
Masculineduลผy brat (big brother)Mรณj brat jest duลผy. (My brother is big.)
Femininepiฤ™kna siostra (beautiful sister)Moja siostra jest piฤ™kna. (My sister is beautiful.)
Neutermaล‚e dziecko (small child)To dziecko jest maล‚e. (This child is small.)

๐Ÿ“Œ Practice Tip: Try forming sentences about different family members using adjectives.


Step 4: Case 1 โ€“ Nominative (Mianownik)

The Nominative Case (Mianownik) is used for the subject of the sentence. It is the base form of the noun.

Sentence structure: ๐Ÿ‘‰ Subject + Verb + Adjective/Noun

Examples:

โœ… Mรณj brat jest wysoki. (My brother is tall.) โœ… Moja babcia jest miล‚a. (My grandmother is nice.) โœ… To jest moja rodzina. (This is my family.)

๐Ÿ“Œ Practice Tip: Try building your own sentences using the nominative case.


Step 5: ๐ŸŽง Practice โ€“ Describe Your Family

Activity 1: Record Yourself

๐ŸŽค Say a few sentences about your family and record yourself. Example:

๐Ÿ‘‰ Mam duลผฤ… rodzinฤ™. Mรณj tata jest wysoki i ma czarne wล‚osy. Moja mama jest bardzo miล‚a i inteligentna. Mam mล‚odszฤ… siostrฤ™ i starszego brata.

Activity 2: Answer Questions

  1. Jak ma na imiฤ™ twรณj tata? (What is your dadโ€™s name?)
  2. Ile masz rodzeล„stwa? (How many siblings do you have?)
  3. Jaka jest twoja mama? (What is your mom like?)
  4. Kto w twojej rodzinie jest najstarszy? (Who in your family is the oldest?)

Conclusion: Keep Describing and Practicing!

Talking about family is a great way to practice Polish and build confidence. Keep practicing by: โœ… Writing a short paragraph about your family. โœ… Using adjectives to describe their appearance and personality. โœ… Recording yourself speaking about your family. โœ… Asking and answering family-related questions.

๐ŸŒŸ Next Step: In the next lesson, we will cover forming negative sentences, using past tense verbs, and describing past events!


One response to “Lesson 5”

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