The difference between the possessive pronoun mój and the reflexive possessive pronoun swój
Sidney Polak sings in one of his songs:
„Otwieram wino ze swoją dziewczyną."
Literal translation:
„I'm opening wine with my girlfriend."
Wait a moment – "my girlfriend" in Polish is moja dziewczyna, right?
So who did he open the wine with? Or more precisely: with whose girlfriend?
Don't worry – he drank the wine with his own girlfriend.
„Pił wino ze swoją dziewczyną."
Why swoją again?
"His girlfriend" in Polish is jego dziewczyna, isn't it?
Yes – but not always.
When do you use swój?
In Polish you normally use swój (and its declined forms: swoja, swojego, swojej, swojemu, etc.) when the person something "belongs to" is simultaneously the subject of the sentence.
A reminder:
The subject is the person or thing performing the action.
In our example:
- subject → the singer who opens the wine
- the person the pronoun refers to → also the singer
("Owner" is of course only meant in a grammatical sense – a girlfriend is not property.)
That is why we write:
ze swoją dziewczyną
and not:
z moją / jego / twoją dziewczyną
Examples with swój
When the subject and the person the pronoun refers to are the same:
| Polish | English |
|---|---|
| Długo nie widziałem swojej dziewczyny. | I haven't seen my girlfriend for ages. |
| Długo nie widziałam swojego chłopaka. | I haven't seen my boyfriend for ages. |
| Dałem prezent swojej dziewczynie. | I gave my girlfriend a present. |
| Dałam prezent swojemu chłopakowi. | I gave my boyfriend a present. |
| Bardzo kocham swoją dziewczynę. | I love my girlfriend very much. |
| Bardzo kocham swojego chłopaka. | I love my boyfriend very much. |
| Otwieram wino ze swoją dziewczyną. | I open wine with my girlfriend. |
| Cały dzień myślę o swojej dziewczynie. | I think about my girlfriend all day long. |
In many such contexts mój is also possible.
Swój, however, is considered the more neutral form and the one preferred in standard Polish.
Swój works in all persons
The subject does not have to be in the 1st person.
2nd person
Kiedy idziesz ze swoją dziewczyną do kina?
(When are you going to the cinema with your girlfriend?)
→ ty idziesz + twoja dziewczyna → subject = the person the pronoun refers to
3rd person
Adam jutro posprząta swój pokój.
(Adam will tidy his room tomorrow.)
→ Adam posprząta + pokój Adama → subject = the person the pronoun refers to
When do you use mój / twój / jego / jej?
When the subject and the person the pronoun refers to are not the same, you use the ordinary possessive pronouns.
Imagine the following situation:
Someone opens a bottle of wine with his neighbour's girlfriend and sings:
„Otwieram wino z jego dziewczyną."
Now we have:
- subject → the singer
- the person the pronoun refers to → the neighbour
That is why we write:
jego, not swój
Example:
Długo nie widziałem jego dziewczyny.
And once more with Adam:
Mama Adama jutro posprząta jego pokój.
(Adam's mother will tidy his room tomorrow.)
→ mama posprząta → pokój Adama
subject ≠ the person the pronoun refers to
Summary
Remember this simple rule:
- swój → refers to the subject of the sentence ("one's own")
- mój / twój / jego / jej / nasz / wasz … → refer to someone other than the subject, or serve for emphasis
Important: The Polish possessive pronouns "mój", "twój", "swój", etc. must agree in gender, number and case with the noun that follows.
The Polish possessive pronouns "jego", "jej", "pana", "pani" and "państwa", on the other hand, are not declined – their form always stays the same.
