The Two Theys: oni & one — Polish Masculine-Personal Plural
Here it is: the grammar wall Polish is famous for, taken at a walk. The plural splits into two worlds — groups that include a man, and everyone else. Once you see the split, it's everywhere; once you drill it, it's yours.
oni or one
oni — any group containing at least one man. one — groups of women, children counted alone, animals, things. One man in a stadium of women tips the whole crowd to oni. (Grammar, not fairness.)
byli and były
The past-tense hint from Chapter 3, made official: Oni byli w pracy. One były w domu. The -li ending is the masculine-personal badge; -ły covers the rest.
Dziewczyny były w kinie, a chłopcy byli na meczu.
The girls were at the cinema and the boys at the match.
Note: były / byli — one sentence, both theys.
ci/te, dobrzy/dobre
Demonstratives and adjectives take sides too: ci studenci / te studentki; dobrzy nauczyciele / dobre nauczycielki; nowi koledzy / nowe koleżanki.
The Men's Plural Reshapes the Noun
Masculine-personal nouns soften in the plural — recognize now, produce later: student → studenci, Polak → Polacy, sąsiad → sąsiedzi (neighbor), kolega → koledzy. Compare the untouched non-personal plural: kot → koty, dom → domy.
Counting People — and the 5+ Rule, Named
Two men: dwaj studenci (or dwóch studentów). Five men: pięciu mężczyzn. And here the złotych mystery from Shopping finally gets its name: from five up, Polish counts in the genitive plural — pięć złotych, pięć kotów, pięć kobiet, dwadzieścia lat.
Common Mistakes
- one for mixed groups. One man makes it oni — always.
- byli for all-female groups. One były; oni byli. The -li belongs to the men-included world.
- studenty. The men's plural reshapes: studenci. (studenty is what the wall sounds like when you hit it.)
What You Can Do Now
You can pick the right they, the right past ending and the right adjective for any group — the plateau-maker of Polish, walked over instead of into.