swojego

Swojego is a form of the Polish possessive determiner swój, used to express reflexive possession—ownership by the subject of the sentence. It signals that the possessor belongs to the same entity performing the action, rather than a third party. The sense conveyed is “one’s own,” as in something that belongs to the speaker or the person who is the subject.

Grammatically, swojego is the masculine singular genitive and accusative form of swój. It agrees with the noun it modifies, not with the possessor. For example: Zobaczyłem swojego brata (I saw my own brother); Nie mam swojego samochodu (I don’t have my own car). Forms for other genders and cases exist, and different endings are used to match the possessed noun (e.g., feminine or neuter nouns require their own corresponding forms).

Usage notes and nuances: swój functions to contrast ownership within a sentence, often to avoid repeating a name or pronoun. It is commonly used in statements about family members, belongings, or actions performed by the subject using their own property or body parts, such as swojego życia (one’s own life) or swoimi rękami (with one’s own hands). Because the possessor is identified by context rather than a fixed form, swój can occasionally introduce ambiguity if the subject is not clear; reordering the sentence or adding context helps clarify who owns what.

In summary, swojego is the masculine singular genitive/accusative form of swój, a key tool in Polish for expressing that something belongs to the subject of the clause.