Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Let's take a closer look at the conversation.
Note: the speakers in this conversation use informal Polish.
Do you remember how Anna Kowalska asks,
"Is this your family?"
Czy to jest twoja rodzina?
Let's start with rodzina, "family." Rodzina. Rodzina.
In Polish, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Rodzina is feminine and singular — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence.
Before rodzina is twoja, "your." Twoja. Twoja.
Twoja is feminine and singular to agree with rodzina.
Together, twoja rodzina. "Your family." Twoja rodzina.
Moving to the start of the sentence, czy to, literally, “Whether this…," but translating as, “This,” here. Czy to.
First is czy, something like "whether," in this context. Czy. Czy.
Note, there is no corresponding English translation here.
Next is to, "this." To. To.
Together it's czy to, "this." Czy to.
Next is jest, "is," as in "this is..." Jest. Jest.
Jest is from the verb być, meaning "to be." Być.
All together, it’s Czy to jest twoja rodzina? “This is your family,” but translating as "Is this your family?"
Czy to jest twoja rodzina?
Note the rising intonation of the sentence to indicate that it’s a question.
Czy to jest twoja rodzina?
Remember this question. You’ll hear it again later.
Let's take a closer look at the response.
Do you remember how Ben says,
"Yes. This is my family. My father, my mother, my sister, and me."
Tak. To jest moja rodzina. Mój ojciec, moja matka, moja siostra i ja.
This starts with the expression Tak, meaning "yes." Tak. Tak.
It answers Anna’s yes-or-no question, "Is this your family?"
Czy to jest twoja rodzina?
After this, Ben points to the picture, and says, To jest moja rodzina.
“This is my family.”
Let’s start with rodzina, "family." Rodzina.
Do you remember the gender and number of rodzina?
Feminine and singular.
Before this is moja. "My." Moja.
Moja is feminine and singular to agree with rodzina.
Moja rodzina, "my family." Moja rodzina.
Moving to the start of the sentence, to, "this." To.
Next is jest, "is." Jest.
All together, it’s To jest moja rodzina. "This is my family." To jest moja rodzina.
After this is mój ojciec, "my father." Mój ojciec.
Let’s start with Ojciec, “father.” Ojciec. Ojciec.
Ojciec is maculine and singular.
Before this is Mój, "My." Mój.
Mój is masculine and singular to agree with ojciec.
Mój ojciec.
Next is moja matka. "My mother." Moja matka.
Let’s start with Matka, "mother." Matka. Matka.
Matka is feminine and singular.
Before this is moja. "My."
Moja is feminine and singular to agree with matka.
Moja matka.
After this is moja siostra, "my sister." Moja siostra.
Let’s start with Siostra, "sister." Siostra. Siostra.
Siostra is feminine and singular.
Before this is Moja. "My."
Moja is feminine and singular to agree with siostra.
Moja siostra.
Next is i, "and." I. I.
And last is ja, which translates as "me" in this context. Ja. Ja.
All together, Tak. To jest moja rodzina. Mój ojciec, moja matka, moja siostra i ja. "This is my family. My father, my mother, my sister, and me."
Tak. To jest moja rodzina. Mój ojciec, moja matka, moja siostra i ja.
The pattern is
To jest moja rodzina. FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER i ja.
This is my family. FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER and me.
To use this pattern, simply replace the {FAMILY MEMBER} placeholders with the members of your family.
Note: this pattern requires a noun preceded by the corresponding adjectival possessive pronoun.
Imagine your family members are your father, your mother, your brother and you.
Brat is "brother." Brat. Brat. Brat is masculine and singular. Therefore, "my brother" is mój brat. Mój brat.
Say
"This is my family. My father, my mother, my brother, and me."
Ready?
To jest moja rodzina. Mój ojciec, moja matka, mój brat i ja.
"This is my family. My father, my mother, my brother, and me."
To jest moja rodzina. Mój ojciec, moja matka, mój brat i ja.
Matka, “mother,” and ojciec, “father,” are formal terms for parents. In Polish, you may hear children and teenagers referring to parents using more casual language: mama "mom," and tata "dad."
To jest moja rodzina. Mój tata, moja mama, mój brat i ja.

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