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Lesson 7A1

Sentence Structure

Sentence Structure

Polish word order will feel familiar coming from English, including where it puts adjectives — one less thing to unlearn than you might expect.

Grammar Comparison

Grammar Comparison

Basic Order Is Subject–Verb–Object, But Flexible

Polish

Maria czyta książkę.

English

Maria reads the book.

Polish's default order matches English: subject, then verb, then object. But because word endings mark grammatical roles far more than English word order does, sentence order can shift for emphasis much more freely than in English without becoming confusing or ungrammatical — something to notice as you read more, even if you stick to the safe SVO order yourself for now.

Adjectives Come Before the Noun

Polish

czerwony samochód

English

the red car

Polish puts the adjective first, just like English: czerwony samochód, literally 'red car'. Your English instinct for adjective placement transfers directly here — one less thing to consciously reorder as you build sentences.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary

jeśćyeshch
English
to eat
pićpeech
English
to drink
czytaćCHIH-tahch
English
to read
pisaćPEE-sahch
English
to write
mówićMOO-veech
English
to speak
widziećVEE-jyech
English
to see
dziśjeesh
English
today
jutroYOO-troh
English
tomorrow
zawszeZAHF-sheh
English
always
częstoCHEN-stoh
English
often
tutajTOO-tie
English
here
tamtahm
English
there