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. We’ll also introduce the Nominative Case (Mianownik), which is used for basic sentence building.

Step 1: Family Members (Członkowie Rodziny)

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

Polish	English
mama	mom
tata	dad
brat	brother
siostra	sister
dziadek	grandfather
babcia	grandmother
syn	son
córka	daughter
wujek	uncle
ciocia	aunt
kuzyn / kuzynka	cousin (male / female)
mąż	husband
żona	wife

📌 Practice Tip: Try writing a short paragraph introducing your family using these words. Example:

👉 Mam brata i siostrę. Moja mama ma na imię Anna, a mój 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:

Polish	English
duży / duża	big (masculine / feminine)
mały / mała	small (masculine / feminine)
piękny / piękna	beautiful (masculine / feminine)
brzydki / brzydka	ugly (masculine / feminine)
wysoki / wysoka	tall (masculine / feminine)
niski / niska	short (masculine / feminine)
młody / młoda	young (masculine / feminine)
stary / stara	old (masculine / feminine)
miły / miła	nice (masculine / feminine)
inteligentny / inteligentna	intelligent (masculine / feminine)

📌 Practice Tip: Write simple sentences describing your family members.

👉 Mój brat jest wysoki i inteligentny. Moja siostra jest mała, ale bardzo miła. (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 – brother)
Feminine (siostra – sister)
Neuter (dziecko – child)

Adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe:

Gender	Adjective Example	Sentence
Masculine	duży brat (big brother)	Mój brat jest duży. (My brother is big.)
Feminine	piękna siostra (beautiful sister)	Moja siostra jest piękna. (My sister is beautiful.)
Neuter	małe dziecko (small child)	To dziecko jest małe. (This child is small.)

📌 Practice Tip: Try forming sentences about different family members using adjectives.

Step 4: Case 1 – Nominative (Mianownik)

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

Sentence structure: 👉 Subject + Verb + Adjective/Noun

Examples:

✅ Mój brat jest wysoki. (My brother is tall.) ✅ Moja babcia jest miła. (My grandmother is nice.) ✅ To jest moja rodzina. (This is my family.)

📌 Practice Tip: Try building your own sentences using the nominative case.

Step 5: 🎧 Practice – Describe Your Family

Activity 1: Record Yourself

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

👉 Mam dużą rodzinę. Mój tata jest wysoki i ma czarne włosy. Moja mama jest bardzo miła i inteligentna. Mam młodszą siostrę i starszego brata.

Activity 2: Answer Questions

Jak ma na imię twój tata? (What is your dad’s name?)
Ile masz rodzeństwa? (How many siblings do you have?)
Jaka jest twoja mama? (What is your mom like?)
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: ✅ Writing a short paragraph about your family. ✅ Using adjectives to describe their appearance and personality. ✅ Recording yourself speaking about your family. ✅ Asking and answering family-related questions.

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

Lesson 6