Grammatical cases in Polish
Grammatical cases in Polish can be quite difficult to learn, especially considering that Polish has exactly seven grammatical cases (compared to barely three in the English language). In fact, you only have to know two grammatical cases in English (the nominative form and the possessive form) to be a fully functional English speaker. That’s not the case in Polish (pun intended…) 😉 . In Polish, we have seven grammatical cases and all of them are in everyday use.
Vocative (wołacz)
When is the nominative case used?
The nominative (mianownik) is the first and simplest grammatical case of all seven grammatical cases in Polish. It can describe both people as well as objects. The nominative case is used in a number of situations. Let’s take a look at the nominative case in Polish.
+ when talking about the subject of a sentence
Pies szczeka.
+ after the phrase „to jest…” and „to…”
Marek to mężczyzna.
+ when expressing a comparison
radosny jak skowronek
The nominative case answers the questions: who? (kto?) and what? (co?).
Nominative case in Polish: examples
Examples of the nominative case in Polish:
Susan to angielskie imię.
As previously mentioned, in English there are three grammatical cases: the subjective, the possessive, and the objective case also called nominative, genitive, and accusative respectively. Though it’s much easier to learn English, as only the pronouns change their forms in the accusative case (object pronouns: me, you, him, her, it, us, them) as well as who (acc. whom) and whoever (acc. whomever).
When is the genitive case in Polish used?
The genitive case is usually a grammatical case that signalizes possession, that something belongs to someone. In English, the genitive grammatical case is signalized by adding ‘s (apostrophe + s) to nouns. When is the genitive case used?
+ when expressing negation
Nie mam pomidorów.
+ when expressing ownership
mama mojej koleżanki
+ with specified and unspecified quantity
dużo przemyśleń
+ with the prepositions:
niedaleko (near), bez (without), dla (for), do (to, into), od (from), koło/obok (near, by), podczas (during), wzdłuż (along), z/ze (from)
Ona idzie wzdłuż rzeki.
+ with some verbs expressing absence or the lack of something:
szukać (to search for, to look for), potrzebować (to need), uczyć się (to study), zapomnieć (to forget), życzyć (to wish), oczekiwać (to expect), słuchać (to listen)
Adam lubi słuchać muzyki poważnej.
+ after number 5 and above
pięć szklanek
+ when describing a specific time
pewnego lata
The genitive case answers the questions: whose? (kogo? czego?).
wieczoru or wieczora: what’s the genitive case?
Some nouns in Polish have two forms in the genitive case and both are correct. This is the case with the word „wieczór” where the genitive form can either be „wieczoru” or „wieczora”
Genitive case in Polish: examples
Examples of the genitive case in Polish:
Wczorajszego dnia spadł śnieg.
When is the accusative case in Polish used?
When is the accusative case used?
+ with transitive verbs (czasowniki przechodnie):
robić (to do, to make), czytać (to read), jeść (to eat), kupić (to buy), znać (to know) etc.
Jemy lody.
+ when the object in an affirmative sentence
Znam angielski.
+ with prepositions: przez, po, na
iść na spotkanie
+ when expressing time with days of the week and certain temporal phrases such as:
cały dzień (all day), całą dobę (all day), za godzinę (in an hour)
Za godzinę mam spotkanie.
+ when describing a mental condition or physical condition
Ten kawał go rozśmieszył.
The accusative case answers the questions: who? (kogo?) and what? (co?).
Accusative case in Polish: examples
Examples of the accusative case in Polish:
Ten film nudzi Adama.
When is the instrumental case in Polish used?
+ when expressing professions, relationships, nationalities + to be
On jest Amerykaninem.
+ with the preposition: z (with)
herbata z cukrem
+ with some verbs:
interesuję się (I am interested in…), zostać (to become), okazać się (to prove to be) etc.
Ona okazała się kłamczuchą.
+ with the prepositions: nad, przed, pod, za, między
za szafą
+ when expressing the instrument or tool you use when doing something and means of transportation
Jadę samochodem.
+ when expressing a certain period of time and location
Wieczorem Maria poszła do teatru.
+ as a logical subject
W samochodzie śmierdzi papierosami.
+ when talking about part of a bigger group
Jaskinie są domem dla nietoperzy.
+ when describing body movements
Agata pstryknęła palcami.
The instrumental case answers the questions: with who? (kim?) and with what? (czym?).
Instrumental case in Polish: examples
Examples of the instrumental case in Polish:
Pachniało wiosną.
When is the locative case in Polish used?
The locative case, as its name may suggest, indicated a location. When exactly do we use the locative case in Polish?
+ after the prepositions:
w (in), na (on, at), po (after), o (about, of), przy (next to, by, near)
Opowiadam o książce.
The locative case answers the questions: about who? (o kim?) and about what? (o czym?).
Locative case in Polish: examples
Examples of the locative case in Polish:
Sklep stoi przy parku.
When is the dative case in Polish used?
The dative case (celownik) in Polish is very similar to the dative case in German, so if you happen to know German it might come in handy! Though, the dative case isn’t used in Polish too often.
+ in impersonal phrases:
miło mi, zimno mi, gorąco ci
+ to express a recipient
Otwórz jej drzwi.
+ with certain verbs:
przeszkadzać (to disturb), pomagać (to help), zazdrościć (to envy), wierzyć (to believe), dawać/dać (to give), (po)darować (to donate), dziękować (to thank), gratulować (to congratulate), imponować (to impress), odpowiadać (to answer), odmawiać (to refuse), opowiadać (to tell sb sth), pasować (to fit), podobać się (to like), pozwolić (to let), pożyczyć (to lend), smakować (to taste), przebaczyć (to forgive) etc.
Uwierz mi!
+ after the prepositions:
dzięki (thanks to), przeciwko (against), wbrew (against, in spite of, despite)
Nie postępuj wbrew zaleceniom.
+ after adjectives:
wierny (faithfull), przychylny (well disposed)
Ona jest mu wierna.
The dative case answers the questions: who? (komu?) and what? (czemu?).
Dative case in Polish: examples
Examples of the dative case in Polish:
On jest wierny swoim przekonaniom.
When is the vocative case in Polish used?
+ to address someone
Mamo! Chcę nową zabawkę!
Vocative case in Polish: examples
Examples of the vocative case in Polish:
Proszę pani! Zgubiła pani rękawiczkę.
Can we use the nominative case instead of the vocative?
The vocative case is oftentimes substituted by the nominative case, especially in informal language.
Kasia! Uważaj! (nominative)
Comparison of grammatical cases in Polish
When you decline nouns indicating people you use questions: kto, kogo, komu, z kim, o kim.
| PRZYPADEK | LICZBA POJEDYNCZA (singular) |
LICZBA MNOGA (plural) |
|---|---|---|
| Mianownik kto? co? |
lekarz | lekarze |
| Dopełniacz kogo? czego? |
lekarza | lekarzy |
| Celownik komu? czemu? |
lekarzowi | lekarzom |
| Biernik kogo? co? |
lekarza | lekarzy |
| Narzędnik z kim? z czym? |
lekarzem | lekarzami |
| Miejscownik o kim? o czym? |
lekarzu | lekarzach |
| Wołacz | lekarzu | lekarze |
When you decline nouns indicating objects you use questions: co, czego, czemu, z czym, o czym.
| PRZYPADEK | LICZBA POJEDYNCZA (singular) |
LICZBA MNOGA (plural) |
|---|---|---|
| Mianownik kto? co? |
długopis | długopisy |
| Dopełniacz kogo? czego? |
długopisu | długopisów |
| Celownik komu? czemu? |
długopisowi | długopisom |
| Biernik kogo? co? |
długopis | długopisy |
| Narzędnik z kim? z czym? |
długopisem | długopisami |
| Miejscownik o kim? o czym? |
długopisie | długopisach |
| Wołacz | długopisie | długopisy |
