Personal pronouns in the nominative (ja, ty, on, ona, etc.)

Personal pronouns replace people, animals or things. In Polish the nominative case (mianownik) is the base form of a noun or pronoun and is used for the subject of a sentence — the “doer” of the action.

[list]
[*]ja — I
[*]ty — you (singular, informal)
[*]on — he / it (masculine)
[*]ona — she / it (feminine)
[*]ono — it (neuter)
[*]my — we
[*]wy — you (plural)
[*]oni — they (masculine personal or mixed groups)
[*]one — they (non-masculine personal: all-female groups, neuter/inanimate)
[/list]

Use the nominative pronouns when the pronoun is the subject of a sentence — the person or thing performing the action.

Examples (Polish — English):

[list]
[*]Ja czytam książkę. — I am reading a book.
[*]Ty piszesz list. — You are writing a letter.
[*]On idzie do pracy. — He is going to work.
[*]Ona śpiewa. — She is singing.
[*]Ono (dziecko) śpi. — It (the child) is sleeping.
[*]My mieszkamy w Warszawie. — We live in Warsaw.
[*]Wy mówicie zbyt głośno. — You (plural) speak too loudly.
[*]Oni jadą na wycieczkę. — They (men or mixed group) are going on a trip.
[*]One czekają na autobus. — They (women or non-masculine group) are waiting for the bus.
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No. Polish verbs are conjugated for person and number, so the subject pronoun is often omitted unless you want to emphasize or contrast. Compare:

Polish: Idę do sklepu. — (I) am going to the store. (no pronoun needed)
Polish: Ja idę do sklepu; ty zostajesz. — I am going to the store; you stay. (pronouns add emphasis or contrast)

In English you normally keep the pronoun (I go, you go); in Polish the pronoun is optional and often dropped in normal speech.

Polish verbs and adjectives agree in person, number and sometimes gender. That means the verb form already shows the subject, and adjectives or predicate adjectives change to match gender and plural type.

Examples:

- On jest wysoki. — He is tall. (masculine singular: wysoki)
- Ona jest wysoka. — She is tall. (feminine singular: wysoka)
- Ono jest wysokie. — It is tall. (neuter singular: wysokie)
- Oni są wysocy. — They are tall. (masculine personal plural: wysocy)
- One są wysokie. — They are tall. (non-masculine plural: wysokie)

Verb forms show person clearly:

- (ja) czytam — I read / I am reading
- (ty) czytasz — you read
- (on/ona/ono) czyta — he/she/it reads
- (my) czytamy — we read
- (wy) czytacie — you (pl.) read
- (oni/one) czytają — they read

Use oni when the group contains at least one male human or when the group is masculine personal. Use one when the group is all-female or contains only non-masculine personal nouns (including inanimate or neuter nouns).

Examples:

- Jan i Piotr są zmęczeni. Oni odpoczywają. — Jan and Piotr are tired. They (men) are resting.
- Anna i Kasia są zmęczone. One rozmawiają. — Anna and Kasia are tired. They (women) are talking.
- Samochody stoją na parkingu. One są nowe. — The cars are in the parking lot. They are new. (cars → non-masculine plural: one)

Polish uses titles for formal second-person address:

- Pan — Mr. / formal 'you' when addressing a man (nominative)
- Pani — Ms./Mrs. / formal 'you' when addressing a woman
- Państwo — formal plural 'you' or "ladies and gentlemen"

Important points:

- When you address someone as Pan or Pani, verbs normally take third-person singular forms: "Czy Pan rozumie?" (Do you understand?, formal) — note the verb rozumie (3rd sg.), not rozumiesz (2nd sg.).
- Państwo takes third-person plural verbs: "Czy Państwo chcą kawę?" — Do you (plural, formal) want coffee?
- Pan/Pani behave grammatically like nouns (they decline), not like ordinary personal pronouns. In written correspondence Pan/Pani are often capitalized for respect.

Examples:

- Dzień dobry, Panie Nowak. Czy Pan ma chwilę? — Good morning, Mr. Nowak. Do you have a moment?
- Czy Pani pracuje tutaj? — Do you (ma'am) work here?
- Proszę Państwa, proszę wejść. — Ladies and gentlemen, please come in.

The nominative forms are only the start: Polish pronouns change depending on case (genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, locative). Here are the common forms you will meet frequently (short forms and clitics exist too):

- ja (nom) → mnie (gen/acc), mi (dat), mną (instr)
- ty → ciebie/cię (acc), tobie/ci (dat), tobą (instr)
- on → jego/niego (gen/acc), jemu/niemu (dat), nim (instr)
- ona → jej (gen/dat/poss), ją (acc), nią (instr)
- ono → jego/niego (like on)
- my → nas (gen/acc), nam (dat), nami (instr)
- wy → was (gen/acc), wam (dat), wami (instr)
- oni/one → ich/nich (gen/acc), im (dat), nimi (instr)

Note: spoken Polish uses short/clitic forms (cię, ci, go, mu, ją, etc.). You will learn them as you study object and possessive forms.

[list]
[*]Overusing subject pronouns: English speakers often say the pronoun every time. In Polish the verb usually shows the subject, so pronouns are dropped unless they add emphasis: "Idę" (I go) is usually enough.
[*]Mixing up oni vs one: Remember that "oni" is used if the group includes at least one male (or is masculine-personal), while "one" is used for all-female groups or non-masculine nouns.
[*]Using "ty" in formal situations: With strangers, older people or in formal settings use Pan/Pani rather than ty.
[*]Wrong verb agreement with Pan/Pani: Use third-person verb forms with Pan/Pani: "Czy Pan rozumie?" (not "Czy Pan rozumiesz?").
[*]Using "ono" for adults: "Ono" is for neuter nouns or small children; using it for an adult person is usually rude or dehumanizing.
[*]Confusing nominative with possessive forms: Example: don’t confuse "ja" (I) with "mój" (my). They are different categories.
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- Ja mam trzy siostry. — I have three sisters.
- Czy ty możesz mi pomóc? — Can you help me?
- On pracuje w szpitalu. — He works at the hospital.
- Ona uczy się angielskiego. — She is learning English.
- My jedziemy na wakacje w lipcu. — We are going on vacation in July.
- Wy jesteście bardzo mili. — You (pl.) are very kind.
- Oni oglądają mecz. — They (men or mixed) are watching the match.
- One lubią słodycze. — They (women or non-masculine) like sweets.
- Pan Nowak czeka w recepcji. — Mr. Nowak is waiting at the reception.
- Czy Państwo chcą jeszcze herbaty? — Do you (formal plural) want more tea?
- To ja zrobię to zadanie. — I will do this task (emphatic: It’s me who will do it).
- Dziecko płacze. Ono jest głodne. — The child is crying. It is hungry.

- Nominative (mianownik): the base case used for the subject of a sentence.
- Personal pronoun (zaimek osobowy): a word that replaces a person or thing (ja, ty, on...).
- Masculine personal (męskoosobowy): a category for masculine human nouns that affects plural agreement (use "oni").
- Polite forms: Pan/Pani/Państwo — titles used for formal address.

[list]
[*]Polish nominative personal pronouns are: ja, ty, on, ona, ono, my, wy, oni, one.
[*]Use nominative pronouns for subjects; most of the time you can omit them because verbs show person.
[*]Pay attention to gender and the difference between oni and one for plural "they."
[*]Use Pan/Pani/Państwo for formal address and match verb forms accordingly (third-person forms).
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If you like, I can also show full declension tables for each pronoun, contrast clitic vs full object forms (e.g., go vs jego), or provide short drills to practice choosing oni vs one.