2. Other pronouns are czyj (whose), twój (your [speaking to a person one is on first-name terms with]), nasz (our), wasz (your [speaking to persons one is on first-name terms with]), ten (this, that), and on (he, it). Note that these inflected pronouns differ from the uninflected possessive forms introduced in the last lesson. The forms are:

In contrast to English where every inanimate is "it", in Polish ono is used only with reference to something denoted by a neuter noun. With reference to something denoted by a masculine noun "it" is on, and with reference to something denoted by a feminine noun "it" is ona.

3.1 Noun gender. Nouns denoting persons have natural gender. Those that denote male persons are masculine, e.g., pan (gentleman, master, Mr.), ojciec (father, pron. "oj-ćec";), brat (brother), student, nauczyciel, gość (guest), kolega (colleague, friend), Kościuszko ("ko-śću-szko), Dąbrowski ("dom-brof-ski"). Those that denote female persons are feminine, e.g., pani (lady, mistress, Ms.), matka (mother), siostra (sister), studentka (student), nauczycielka (teacher), koleżanka (colleague, friend), Dąbrowska. Under natural gender may be included also neuter dziecko ("dźec-ko"; child), as well as nouns like zwierzę (zwie-że"; animal), since nouns ending in -ę mostly denote the young of the species.

3.2 Nouns denoting things have arbitrary gender. Gender in these nouns is not motivated by meaning,but in most cases one can at least tell the gender of a noun on the basis of its nominative singular form (the name form, given first in dictionaries).

4. Adjectives also show agreement with the noun they modify. For example, "good" is

As with pronouns, agreement takes place both within a noun phrase, as in dobre dziecko, and between subject and predicate, as in Dziecko jest dobre

5. Sound changes. Inflecting words, i.e., joining stems and endings, sometimes involves a change in one or both. For example, the masculine and neuter adjective endings -y and -e are front vowels (produced with the body of the tongue forward in the mouth). There are adjective stems ending in k and g, which are back consonants (produced with the body of the tongue in the back of the mouth). When followed by -y or -e, k and g assimilate by shifting slightly forward. In the case of -e, the slightly more front pronunciation of k and g is represented with a silent i. Thus the adjective stem polsk- (Polish) and dług- (long) combine with the neuter ending -e as polskie and długie. In the case of -y, the forward shift of k and g is accompanied by the raising of -y to -i. Hence the masculine forms of "Polish" and "long" are polski and długi.

5.1 The forward shift of k and g before a high front vowel is a general rule in Polish. Nouns like kilogram and gitara (guitar), although their English counterparts are pronounced with the y of hymn, in Polish are pronounced with i as spelled. In Polish, k and g are never followed by y, always by i. The forward shift of k and g before e, resulting in kie and gie, is likewise a rule of Polish. In inflection it operates without exception; for example, polsk- and dług- combine with the genitive endings -ego and -ej as polskiego, polskiej, długiego, and długiej). It is reflected also in assimilated borrowings like kierunek (direction) and Jagiełło, although not in newer borrowings like kelner (waiter) and generał (general).

6. Soft Adjectives. Some Polish adjectives have stems ending in a consonant that is soft, i.e., pronounced with the body of the tongue high and forward in the mouth, as for i. Two such adjectives are tani (cheap) and głupi (stupid). All forms of these adjectives are written with i. In feminine tania and głupia and in neuter tanie and głupie, the i indicates only the softness of the stem consonant. In masculine tani and głupi the i represents both the softness of the consonant and the ending. Although their name forms similarly end in -i, soft adjectives like tani and głupi differ from velar-stem adjectives like polski and długi. Velar-stem adjectives show i only in forms with endings that would otherwise begin with y or e, but soft adjectives show i in all forms (compare tania and głupia with polska and długa).

8. Polish names. The names of persons and places are nouns because they have fixed gender. Thus the name Stanisław Kowalski consists of two masculine nouns and the name Jadwiga Krasicka consist of two feminine nouns. As regards their form, some names are adjectives. Polish last names with the suffix -sk- or -ck- take the same endings as the adjective polski. The given name Jerzy (George) takes the same endings as the adjective duży, and the city name Zakopane, which is neuter, mostly takes the same adjective endings as ładne.