How to Talk About Your Parents and Siblings

Dialogue

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Notes

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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 parents and siblings in Polish.

For example, "This is my family. My father, my mother, my brother, my sister, and me." is

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

Kaja Kowalski is at a coffee shop with her classmate, Anna Kowalska.

Kaja is showing some pictures to Anna. She points to one of them and asks about the people visible in it.

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

Ojciec.

"father"

Ojciec.

Matka.

"mother"

Matka.

Brat.

"little brother"

Brat.

Siostra.

"sister"

Siostra.

Listen to the conversation.

Czy to jest twoja rodzina?

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

Once more with the English translation.

Czy to jest twoja rodzina?

"Is this your family?"

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

"Yes. This is my family. My father, my mother, my brother, my sister, and me."

Let's break down 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 Kaja says,

"Yes. This is my family. My father, my mother, my brother, my sister, and me."

Tak. To jest moja rodzina. Mój ojciec, moja matka, mój brat, 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, Kaja 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 masculine 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.

Next is mój brat. "My brother.” Mój brat.

Let’s start with brat, "brother." Brat. Brat.

Brat is masculine and singular.

Before this is mój. "My."

Mój is masculine and singular to agree with brat.

Mój brat.

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, mój brat, moja siostra i ja. "Yes. This is my family. My father, my mother, my brother, my sister, and me."

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

The pattern is

To jest moja rodzina. FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER i ja.

This is my family. FAMILY MEMBER, 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 sisters and you.

Siostry is "sisters." Siostry. Siostry. Siostry is feminine and plural. Therefore, "my sisters" is moje siostry. Moje siostry.

Say

"This is my family. My father, my mother, my sisters, and me."

Ready?

To jest moja rodzina. Mój ojciec, moja matka, moje siostry i ja.

"This is my family. My father, my mother, my sisters, and me."

To jest moja rodzina. Mój ojciec, moja matka, moje siostry 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.

Again, the key pattern is

To jest moja rodzina. FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER i ja.

This is my family. FAMILY MEMBER, 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 ojciec, moja matka, mój brat, moja siostra i ja.

"This is my family. My father, my mother, my brother, my sister, and me."

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

To jest moja rodzina. Mój ojciec, moja matka, moje siostry i ja.

"This is my family. My father, my mother, my sisters, and me."

To jest moja rodzina. Mój ojciec, moja matka, moje siostry i ja.

To jest moja rodzina. Moja matka, mój ojciec, moja siostra i ja.

"This is my family. My father, my mother, my sister, and me."

To jest moja rodzina. Moja matka, mój ojciec, moja siostra i ja.

To jest moja rodzina. Moja siostra, mój brat, mój ojciec, moja matka, i ja.

"This is my family. My sister, my brother, my father, my mother, and me."

To jest moja rodzina. Moja siostra, mój brat, mój ojciec, moja matka, i ja.

To są moi rodzice i ja.

"These are my parents and me."

To są moi rodzice i ja.

Did you notice how the native speaker replaced mój ojciec, moja matka with moi rodzice?

To są moi rodzice i ja.

"These are my parents and me."

The phrase, moi rodzice, means, "my parents." Moi rodzice.

Remember, in Polish, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Rodzice is masculine and plural — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence.

Rodzice. "Parents." Rodzice. Rodzice.

Before this is moi, "my." Moi. Moi.

Moi is masculine and plural to agree with rodzice.

To są moi rodzice i ja.

"These are my parents and me."

You should be aware of the plural form, but you won’t need it for this lesson.

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.

Do you remember how Kaja says,

"This is my family."

To jest moja rodzina.

Do you remember how to say "father?"

Ojciec.

And how to say "my father?"

Mój ojciec.

Do you remember how to say "mother?"

Matka.

And how to say "my mother?"

Moja matka.

Do you remember how to say "brother?"

Brat.

And how to say "my brother?"

Mój brat.

Do you remember how to say "sister?"

Siostra.

And how to say "my sister?"

Moja siostra.

Do you remember how to say "and?"

And how to say "me?"

Ja.

Do you remember how Kaja says,

"Yes. This is my family. My father, my mother, my brother, my sister, and me."

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

Do you remember how to say "your family?"

Twoja rodzina.

And do you remember how Anna asks,

"Is this your family?"

Czy to jest twoja rodzina?

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Konrad Kowalski. Kaja's younger brother, and you have a father, ojciec, mother, matka, and sisters, siostry.

Respond to your friend'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. Mój ojciec, moja matka, moje siostry i ja.

Listen again and repeat.

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

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Kaja's classmate, Wojciech Wieczorek.

You have a father, ojciec, mother, matka, and sister, siostra.

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.

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Kaja's classmate, Anna Kowalska ,

You have a father, ojciec, mother, matka, sister, siostra, and brother, brat.

Ready?

Czy to jest twoja rodzina?

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

Listen again and repeat.

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

Well Done! This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about your parents and siblings, an important skill for talking about your family.

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

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