How to Talk About Your Spouse and Children

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Polish by PolishPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about your spouse and children in Polish.

For example, "My husband, my son, my daughters, and me." is

To jest moja rodzina. Mój mąż, mój syn, moje córki i ja.

Karolina Kowalski is studying with her Polish teacher, Zuzanna Zajac.

The teacher notices a picture on Karolina's computer and asks about the people visible in the picture.

Before you hear their conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

Mąż.

"husband"

Mąż.

Syn.

"son"

Syn.

Córki.

"daughters"

Córki.

Listen to the conversation, and focus on the response.

Note: Zuzanna uses formal Polish.

Ready?

Czy to jest pani rodzina?

Tak. To jest moja rodzina. Mój mąż, mój syn, moje córki i ja.

Once more with the English translation.

Czy to jest pani rodzina?

"Is this your family?"

Tak. To jest moja rodzina. Mój mąż, mój syn, moje córki i ja.

"Yes. This is my family. My husband, my son, my daughters, and me."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Zuzanna asks,

"Is this your family?"

Czy to jest pani rodzina?

Let's start with the word, 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 pani, translating as "your," in this formal context. Pani. Pani.

Note, pani is a formal way to address a female, and it often translates as "Ms'."

Together, pani rodzina, "Your family." Pani rodzina.

Now, you might be more familiar with twoja rodzina, an informal way to say "your family." In this situation, where two adults are getting to know each other, formal Polish is more appropriate.

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.

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 pani rodzina? Literally "This is Ms.’ family?" But it translates as "Is this your family?"

Czy to jest pani rodzina?

Note the rising intonation of the sentence to indicate that it’s a question.

Czy to jest pani rodzina?

Remember this question. You’ll hear it again later.

Let's take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Karolina says,

"Yes. This is my family. My husband, my son, my daughters, and me."

Tak. To jest moja rodzina. Mój mąż, mój syn, moje córki i ja.

This starts with tak, meaning "yes." Tak. Tak.

It answers Zuzanna's yes-or-no question, "Is this your family?"

Czy to jest pani rodzina?

After this, Karolina 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, it’s moja. "My." Moja. Moja.

Moja is feminine and singular to agree with rodzina.

Together, moja rodzina translates as "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 mąż, "my husband." Mój mąż.

Let's start with Mąż, "husband." Mąż. Mąż.

Mąż is masculine and singular.

Before this is mój, "my." Mój.

Mój is masculine and singular to agree with mąż.

Mój mąż.

Next is mój syn, "my son." Mój syn.

Let's start with syn, "son." Syn. Syn.

Syn is masculine and singular.

Before this is mój, "My." Mój.

Mój is masculine and singular to agree with syn.

Mój syn.

After this is moje córki, "my daughters." Moje córki.

Let's start with córki, "daughters." Córki. Córki.

Remember, in Polish, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Córki is feminine and plural — a fact that determines the form of other words in the sentence.

Córki is the plural form of córka, "daughter." Córka.

Before this is moje, "my." Moje.

Moje is feminine and plural to agree with córki.

Moje córki.

Note, to say "my sons," moi synowie. Moi synowie.

To refer to a group of children, "my children," moje dzieci. Moje dzieci.

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 mąż, mój syn, moje córki i ja. "This is my family. My husband, my son, my daughters, and me."

Tak. To jest moja rodzina. Mój mąż, mój syn, moje córki 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 wife, your son, your daughters, and you.

Żona is "wife." Żona. Żona, which is feminine and singular. Therefore "my wife" is moja żona. Moja żona.

Say

"This is my family. My wife, my son, my daughters, and me."

Ready?

To jest moja rodzina. Moja żona, mój syn, moje córki i ja.

"This is my family. My wife, my son, my daughters, and me."

To jest moja rodzina. Moja żona, mój syn, moje córki i ja.

Again, the key 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.

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

To jest moja rodzina. Mój mąż, mój syn, moje córki i ja.

"This is my family. My husband, my son, my daughters, and me."

To jest moja rodzina. Mój mąż, mój syn, moje córki i ja.

To jest moja rodzina. Moja żona, mój syn, moje córki i ja.

"This is my family. My wife, my son, my daughters, and me."

To jest moja rodzina. Moja żona, mój syn, moje córki i ja.

To jest moja rodzina. Moja żona, moja córka i ja.

"This is my family. My wife, my daughter, and me."

To jest moja rodzina. Moja żona, moja córka i ja.

To jest moja rodzina. Mój mąż, mój syn i ja.

"This is my family. My husband, my son, and me."

To jest moja rodzina. Mój mąż, mój syn i ja.

To jest moja rodzina. Mój mąż, moi synowie i ja.

"This is my family. My husband, my sons, and me."

To jest moja rodzina. Mój mąż, moi synowie i ja.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "yes?"

Tak.

And how to say "family?"

Rodzina.

Do you remember how to say "my family?"

Moja rodzina.

And do you remember how Karolina says,

"This is my family."

To jest moja rodzina.

Do you remember how to say "husband?"

Mąż.

And how to say "my husband?"

Mój mąż.

Do you remember how to say "son?"

Syn.

And how to say "my son?"

Mój syn.

Do you remember how to say "daughters?"

Córki.

And how to say "my daughters?"

Moje córki.

Do you remember how to say "and?"

And how to say "me?"

Ja.

Do you remember how Karolina Kowalski says,

"Yes. This is my family. My husband, my son, my daughters, and me."

Tak. To jest moja rodzina. Mój mąż, mój syn, moje córki i ja.

Do you remember the formal way to say "your family," when talking to a woman?

Pani rodzina.

And do you remember how Zuzanna Zajac asks,

"Is this your family?"

Czy to jest pani rodzina?

Do you remember how to say "wife?"

Zona.

And how to say "my wife?"

Moja żona.

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Karol's colleague, Jarosław Jabłoński.

You have a wife, żona, and a daughter, córka.

Respond to Karol's question referring to the photo.

Don't forget to include the word for "yes" at the beginning of your response.

Ready?

Czy to jest twoja rodzina?

Tak. To jest moja rodzina. Moja żona, moja córka i ja.

Listen again and repeat.

Tak. To jest moja rodzina. Moja żona, moja córka i ja.

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Karol's boss Grazyna Grabowska.

You have a husband, mąż, daughter, córka, and son, syn.

Ready?

Czy to jest pani rodzina?

Tak. To jest moja rodzina. Mój mąż, moja córka, mój syn i ja.

Listen again and repeat.

Tak. To jest moja rodzina. Mój mąż, moja córka, mój syn i ja.

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Karol's friend Renata Raczkowska.

You have a husband, mąż, and a son, syn.

Ready?

Czy to jest twoja rodzina?

Tak. To jest moja rodzina. Mój mąż, mój syn i ja.

Listen again and repeat.

Tak. To jest moja rodzina. Mój mąż, mój syn i ja.

Did you notice how Karol uses twoja rodzina when asking about his friend’s and colleague’s families?

Czy to jest twoja rodzina?

Is this your family?

In less formal situations, like speaking with a friend or close colleague, the less formal, twoja, is more appropriate.

Twoja, "your." Twoja. Twoja.

Note: Twoja is feminine and singular to agree with rodzina.

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about your spouse and children in Polish. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of talking about family. Let’s review the family members.

Do you remember how to say "sister”?

Siostra.

And how to say "my sister”?

Moja siostra.

Do you remember how to say "brother?"

brat

And how to say "mother”?

matka

Do you remember how to say "father”?

ojciec

Imagine you're Ben Lee , and you have a mother, matka, father, ojciec, and sister, siostra.

Respond to your classmate Anna Kowalska , who sees a picture in your wallet, and asks for the people in it.

Ready?

Czy to jest twoja rodzina?

Tak. To jest moja rodzina. Mój ojciec, moja matka, moja siostra i ja.

Listen again, and repeat.

Tak. To jest moja rodzina. Mój ojciec, moja matka, moja siostra i ja.

Now imagine that you're Ben's mother, Karen Lee , and your friend asks about the people in the picture on your phone.

Czy to jest pani rodzina?

Tak. To jest moja rodzina. Mój mąż, mój syn, moja córka i ja.

Listen again, and repeat.

Tak. To jest moja rodzina. Mój mąż, mój syn, moja córka i ja.

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Talk About Family unit of this course.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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