Contents

The following Help Topics are available:

Introduction to Polish Grammar

Nouns

Pronouns

Case

Adjectives

Numerals

Verbs

Adverbs

Prepositions

Particles

Interjections

Conjunctions

Sentences

For Help on Help for Windows, press F1

For Help on Help for Macintosh, select Help with Quick Help from the [image] menu.


Introduction to Polish Grammar

Polish belongs to the Western Slavic group of languages, together with Czech. It is spoken by over 38 million people in Poland, over 3 million in the United States, and over a million elsewhere in the world. Unlike other Slavic languages, Polish has retained nasal vowels, ¹ and ê. Stress is usually applied to the penultimate (next to last) syllable. Polish capitalization and punctuation is similar to English, except that proper adjectives, and names of the months and of the days of the week are not capitalized, and commas are used with restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses. Modern Polish came into being in the 16th century. The following grammar guide is meant as a general overview of the parts of speech and their functions in Polish.

The Polish Alphabet:

Letter	Sound
A a	like a in car
¥ ¹	nasal, like the French don (gift)
B b	like b in ball. Pronounced as p at endsof words
C c	like ts in tsunami
§ ¤	like ch in chair
D d	like d in dog. Pronounced as t at ends of words
E e	like e in bet
µ ²	nasal, like the en in fen
F f	like f in fox
G g	like g in goat. Pronounced as k at ends of words
H h	like h in house
I i	like ea in mean
J j	like y in boy
K k	like k in kite
L l	like l in love
£ ³	like w in water
M m	like m in mom
N n	like n in not
¼ ¬	like ny in canyon
O o	like o in or
Ó ó	like oo in foot
P p	like p in peace
R r	a rolled R, as in Russian or Spanish
S s	like s in soft
„ ƒ	like sh in shoe
T t	like t in truck
U u	like oo in foot
V v	only in words of  foreign origin
W w	like v in vine. Pronounced as f at ends of words
X x	only in words of  foreign origin
Y y	like i in big
Z z	like z in zoo
­ Ÿ	a soft zh
¯ ¾	a hard zh

In English, the role of words in a sentence is indicated by the word order.  For example, the subject normally appears before the object.  In the sentence, Bob ate the fish, there is no confusion as to which is eating which.  Most of the information conveyed by word order in English is conveyed in Polish by the grammatical endings of the words, so Polish word order is far more flexible.  This means that, in Polish, more information can often be conveyed with fewer words than are needed in English.  It also means that to understand a Polish sentence, one must understand the grammatical characteristics of each word.  For this reason, our discussion of nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, and numerals will center on grammatical endings.

The terms case, declension (decline), and agreement will be used throughout the discussion of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and numerals.  There are seven cases in modern Polish, which apply to these parts of speech.  The case of a word tells how it is being used in a sentence.

The seven cases and their most common meanings are:

Nominative	the subject of a sentence
Genitive	possession; absence or negation; the object of some verbs and prepositions
Dative	the indirect object; used in impersonal constructions; the object of some verbs and prepositions
Accusative	the direct object of most verbs; the object of some prepositions
Instrumental	shows the means by which an action is performed; the object of some verbs and prepositions
Prepositional (also called Locative)	used only with certain prepositions, often showing location
Vocative	the person being addressed

The nominative subject form is considered the root word and is the form found in the dictionary.  The cases other than nominative are collectively called the oblique cases.  The full declension of the noun, pronoun, adjective, or numeral is the application of the seven case endings.

Each word in a sentence reflects its role in the sentence with its ending.  An adjective has the same case, number, and gender (when singular) as the noun that it modifies. In other words, adjectives agree with the nouns they modify.  There is also agreement between subjects and verbs.

On your screen the following information is given for each word in a Transparent Language title: the dictionary entry; the word translation, which may differ from the translation given in the segment translation; and the grammatical comments, which describe, as applicable, the case, gender, number, tense, and other aspects of the word as it is used in the sentence.  Sometimes a phrase translation is also given, where the meaning of a group of words cannot easily be inferred from the meanings of each individual word.

Suggestions for Getting Started

Because Polish is so different from English in its vocabulary, grammar, and syntax, it presents special challenges to the beginning student.  Here are some suggestions for getting started.

1. Start with pronunciation.  When you can associate a sound with most of the letter and letter combinations, you are ready to move to the next step.

2. Refer to Grammar Basics (this Help file) for grammatical answers about any word in a Title.  With the word in question highlighted, either use the Link button on the Grammar window or click the opposite button on your mouse to jump to a grammar topic in Grammar Basics.  In this Help file you will find concise information highlighting the major points of Polish grammar.

3. Familiarize yourself with the different case forms of nouns and pronouns.  See how a word is used in different cases with the Find Root command.  This will show you the other occurrences of a word in a Title.  This exercise will help you become familiar with the different case forms of a word and show you how different cases are used to give different meanings in a sentence.  Remember to learn new words by the root form of the word (the nominative form), not by one of the oblique cases.

4. As you progress, you will notice that the English translation of a Polish sentence may be entirely different in its formation from the Polish.  To see how Polish sentences are formed, read a sentence word-by-word with the individual English word translations.  This step between the two languages lets you experience the logic of Polish grammar with English words.

5. Everyone has his or her own optimal learning style.  Experiment with the many features of Transparent Language to find what works best for you.

6. To learn a foreign language is to learn how another people lives, thinks, and feels. Enjoy the adventure!


Nouns

As in English, a Polish noun names a person, place, thing, or abstract idea.  However, Polish nouns have different endings to reflect three different attributes - gender, number and case.  Unlike English, Polish nouns are either masculine, feminine, or neuter. The number of a noun is either singular or plural.  The use of a noun in a sentence is shown by the case ending.  There are seven cases in Polish, as described in the topic, Introduction to Polish Grammar.

Gender

Nouns are divided into three genders: masculine, feminine and neuter.  This is true not only of people and animals, but of inanimate objects as well.  In addition there is a category of nouns known as the masculine person category.   Nouns which refer to male persons fall into that category.

Masculine nouns end in a consonant  (note that-j is a consonant).

Feminine nouns end in the vowels -a or -i; a few end in soft consonants.

Neuter nouns end in vowels -o, -e; a few end in the nasal -².

In English the plural of a noun is usually formed by adding -s/-es.  In Polish the form of the plural depends on its case and gender.  The formation of plural nouns of each gender in the cases is shown in the table further below.

Case

A noun may appear in any of the seven cases, depending on its function in a sentence.  The seventh case, the vocative, is used  as a form of address and, is, therefore, mostly limited to people and pets.  Note that in the plural, the vocative is always the same as the nominative. In contemporary colloquial Polish the vocative can be replaced by the nominative case on most occasions.  The vocative ending for masculine first names is -either -e or -u and the vocative ending for feminine first names is -o or -u. The vocative case of Mr. is Panie and the vocative of Mrs. is Pani.The last name does not change in the vocative.  Therefore in addressing a person you would say the following:

Addressing men using the first name	Addressing women using the first name

Panie Janie                                                                     Pani Ewo

Panie Andrzeju                                                              Pani Zosiu

Addressing men using the last name	Addressing women using the last name

Panie Zielinski                                                               Pani Zielinska

Masculine nouns denoting animals, things and persons

In the masculine singular declension pattern of nouns and in plural nouns, a distinction exists between male persons, masculine animals and things.

All masculine nouns which refer to animals take the genitive ending in the singular accusative and the nominative ending in the plural accusative.

All masculine nouns which refer to things take a nominative ending in the accusative case in both singular and plural.

All masculine nouns which refer to persons take a genitive ending in the accusative case. in both singular and plural.

Declension of Masculine Nouns

Masculine nouns denoting things:

Case	Endings Singular/Plural	Singular Noun	Plural  Noun	Translation
Nominative		-i or -y	budynek	budynki	building(s)
Genitive	-u	-ów	budynku	budynków	of (the/a) building(s)
Dative	-owi	-om	budynkowi	budynkom	to/for (the/a) building(s)
Accusative		-i	budynek	budynki	building(s)
Instrumental	-em	-ami	budynkiem	budynkami	by (the/a) building(s)
Prepositional	-u	-ach	o budynku	o budynkach	about  (the/a) building(s)

Masculine nouns denoting animals:

Case	Endings Singular/Plural	Singular Noun	Plural Noun	Translation
Nominative		-i or -y	kot	koty	cat(s)
Genitive	-a	-ów	kota	kotów	of (the/a) cat(s)
Dative	-u	-om	kotu	kotom	to/for (the/a) cat(s)
Accusative	-a	-i	kota	koty	cat(s)
Instrumental	-em	-ami	kotem	kotami	by (the/a) cat(s)
Prepositional	-e	-ach	o kocie	o kotach	about  (the/a) cat(s)

Masculine nouns denoting persons:

Case	Ending Singular/Plural	Singular Noun	Plural Noun	Translation
Nominative		-y	pracownik	pracownicy	employee(s)
Genitive	-a	-ów	pracownika	pracowników	of (the/a) employee(s)
Dative	-owi	-om	pracownikowi	pracownikom	to/for (the/a) employee(s)
Accusative	-a	-ów	pracownika	pracowników	employee(s)
Instrumental	-iem	-ami	pracownikiem	pracownikami	by (the/a) employee(s)
Prepositional	-u	-ach	o pracowniku	o pracownikach	about  (the/a) employee(s)
Vocative	-u	-y	(Panie) pracowniku!	(Panstwo) pracownicy!	Employee(s)!

Declension of Feminine Nouns

Feminine singular noun:

Note that for all feminine nouns, the singular dative and prepositional (also called locative) endings are the same.

Case	Endings Singular/Plural	Singular Noun	Plural Noun	Translation
Nominative	-a	-y	lampa	lampy	lamp
Genitive	-y or -i		lampy	lampy	of (the/a) lamp
Dative	-ie	-om	lampie	lampom	to/for (the/a) lamp
Accusative	-²	-y	lamp²	lampy	lamp
Instrumental	-¹	-ami	lamp¹	lampami	by (the/a) lamp
Prepositional	ie	-ach	o lampie	o lampach	about (the/a) lamp

Feminine nouns ending in soft consonants:

Case	Endings Singular/Plural	Singular Noun	Plural Noun	Translation
Nominative	-a	-e	twarz	twarze	face(s)
Genitive	-y or -i	-y	twarzy	twarzy	of (the/a) face(s)
Dative	-y	-om	twarzy	twarzom	to/for (the/a) face(s)
Accusative		-e	twarz	twarze	face(s)
Instrumental	-¹	-ami	twarz¹	twarzami	by (the/a) face(s)
Prepositional	-y	-ach	o twarzy	o twarzach	about (the/a) face(s)

Feminine nouns ending in -ni:

Case	Endings Singular/Plural	Singular Noun	Plural Noun	Translation
Nominative	-i	-ie	gospodyni	gospodynie	hostess(es)
Genitive	-i	zero ending	gospodyni	gospodyn	of (the/a) hostess(es)
Dative	-i	-iom	gospodyni	gospodyniom	to/for (the/a) hostess(es)
Accusative	-ie	-e	gospodynie	gospodynie	hostess(es)
Instrumental	-ia	-ami	gospodynia	gospodyniami	by (the/a) hostess(es)
Prepositional	-i	-ach	o gospodyni	o gospodyniach	about (the/a) hostess(es)
Vocative	-i	-ie	(Pani) gospodyni!	(Panie) gospodynie	hostess(es)!

Declension of Neuter Nouns

Neuter  nouns end in -o, -e,  -², and -um

Case	Endings Singular/Plural	Singular Noun	Plural Noun	Translation
Nominative	-o	-a	okno	okna	window(s)
Genitive	-a	zero ending	okna	okien	of (the/a) window(s)
Dative	-u	-om	oknu	oknom	to/for (the/a) window(s)
Accusative	-o	-a	okno	okna	window(s)
Instrumental	-em	-ami	oknem	oknami	by (the/a) window(s)
Prepositional	-e	-ach	o oknie	o oknach	about (the/a) window(s)

Note: The prepositional case of neuter nouns ending in -e ends in -u.   So in the window in Polish would be w oknie, but in the field would be w polu.

Indeclinable Nouns

In Polish, as in English, many words have been borrowed from other languages.  Often, these words do not change their case endings to reflect their use in a sentence.  However, adjectives modifying them reflect the correct case, number and gender. These nouns can be masculine, feminine or, almost always, neuter.

Polish Names

As in English, Polish names consist of three parts: the first, the middle and the last name. The middle name, in practice, is not often used, other than on ones birth certificate. The polite form of address among close friends is the use of the first name.  The polite form of address among acquaintances is the use of the address Pan or Pani with the first name.  The polite form of address with those who are neither good friends nor close acquantances is the use of the address Pan or Pani with the last name.

Diminutive Form

Diminutive forms of nouns are commonly used in Polish to express not only smallness, but also different emotional nuances.  Diminutive forms of first names often express endearment:

For example, for the name Aleksandra the common nickname is Ola.  From Ola one makes diminutives (Olenka or Olusia) in order to express a degree of closeness or emotion.

A large scarf is a chusta, while a handkerchief is a chusteczka.  A large bench as in a courtroom is a ³awa, while a park bench is a ³awka.  A stó³ is a table, but a night table is a stolik.


Adjectives

An adjective modifies a noun or pronoun.  In Polish, adjectives agree with the nouns they modify.  If the noun is singular, then the adjective will agree with the noun in gender, number (singular), and case.  If the noun is plural, the adjective will agree in gender, number (plural) and case.

Remember the masculine noun distinction between persons, animals and things.  If a singular noun is masculine and denoting a person  or an animal and is in the accusative, which takes the genitive ending, all the modifying adjectives should be as well.  If a singular noun is masculine and denotes a thing and is in the accusative case which takes the nominative endings, all the modifying adjectives should be as well.

In the plural, if the noun is masculine and denotes an animal or a thing and is in the accusative case which takes the nominative endings, the modifying adjectives will be in the nominative case as well.

In the plural, if the noun is masculine and denotes a person and is in the accusative case which takes the genitive endings, the modifying adjectives will be in the genitive  case as well.

Presented below are the declensions for the two most common types of adjectives: those ending in the masculine form in -y and those ending in -ski.  Du¾y is large and polski is Polish.  Note that names of nationalities are not capitalized.

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Nominative	du¾y	du¾a	du¾e	du¾e
Genitive	du¾ego	du¾ej	du¾ego	du¾ych
Dative	du¾emu	du¾ej	du¾emu	du¾ym
Accusative	du¾y / du¾ego	du¾¹	du¾e	du¾e / du¾ych
Instrumental	du¾ym	du¾¹	du¾ym	du¾ymi
Prepositional	du¾ym	du¾ej	du¾ym	du¾ych
Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Nominative	polski	polska	polskie	polskie
Genitive	polskiego	polskiej	polskiego	polskich
Dative	polskiemu	polskiej	polskiemu	polskim
Accusative	polski /polskiego	polsk¹	polskie	polskie / polskich
Instrumental	polskim	polsk¹	polskim	polskimi
Prepositional	polskim	polskiej	polskim	polskich

Comparative Degree

The comparative degree of most common adjectives is formed in Polish with the addition of the suffix -szy for masculine adjectives, -sza for feminine adjectives, -sze for neuter adjectives and the suffix -sze for plural adjectives.

Masculine                   Feminine	                 Neuter	                   Plural

stary+szy > starszy	stara+sza > starsza	stare+sze > starsze	stare+sze > starsze

old + suffix > older    old + suffix > older	old + suffix > older	old + suffix > older

The comparative can also be formed by adding the adverb bardziej (more) or mniej (less) before the adjective. The adverbs bardziej  and mniej do not decline or change according to number, case or gender.

Masculine                          Feminine                                  Neuter

bardziej niewygodny     bardziej niewygodna            bardziej niewygodne

(more uncomfortable)

mniej wygodny              mniej wygodna                    mniej wygodne

(less comfortable)

Adjectives ending in -ki, -oki, and -eki drop these endings before adding the comparative suffix.

szeroki + szy > szerszy  (masc.)       wide > wider

gleboka + sza > glebsza (fem.)         deep > deeper

daleki + sze > dalsze (neut.)              far > farther

Superlative Degree

The superlative degree is formed by adding the prefix naj-  to the front of the  comparative form of the adjective.  Remember that adjectives ending in -ki, -oki, and    -eki drop these endings before adding the comparative suffix.

naj+starszy > najstarszy=prefix + older > oldest (masculine)

naj+starsza > najstarsza=prefix + older > oldest (feminine)

naj+starsze > najstarsze=prefix + older > oldest (neuter)

naj+starsze > najstarsze=prefix + older > oldest (plural: fem., inanimate masc. and neuter)

naj+starsi > najstarsi     =prefix + older > oldest (plural: masc. persons)

The superlative degree can also be formed by adding the adverb najbardziej (most) or the adverb najmniej (least) to the adjective.

Masculine                           Feminine                        Neuter

najbardziej wygodny     najbardziej wygodna         najbardziej wygodne

(most comfortable)

najmniej wygodny         najmniej wygodna            najmniej wygodne

(least comfortable)


Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns refer to a person or thing that has been previously mentioned.  For example, Kasia went to the game. I met her there. (The pronoun her refers to  Kasia.  Kasia is the antecedent of her.) I hit the ball. It went far. (The pronoun it refers to ball. Ball is the antecedent of it.)  Pronouns agree in gender and number with their antecedents.  The case of a pronoun is determined by its use in the sentence or clause, just as with nouns.

Personal pronouns may be singular or plural, and 1st, 2nd or 3rd person.  They are commonly used in six cases.  The vocative of personal pronouns is very seldom used, and, in any case, it does not ever have a separate form.

Person	Singular Form	Plural Form
1st person	ja              (I)	my          (we)
2nd person	ty              (you)	wy          (you)
3rd person feminine	ona           (she)	one         (they)
3rd person masculine (animate and inanimate)	on             (he)	oni   (they, masc. animate)   one   (they, masc. inanimate)
3rd person neuter	ono           (it)	one          (they)

Presented below are the personal pronouns in their six cases.  Note that the oblique forms of the personal pronouns  on, ona, ono and oni have an n added when they are followed by a preposition.  Note also that unlike English the equivalent of  I (ja), is not capitalized unless it begins a sentence.  For some of the pronouns there exist two forms: a short form and a long form  (mi (to/for me) is short and mnie (to/for me)  is long, ci (to/for you) is short and tobie (to/for you) is long, etc.)  The long form is used for emphasis and after prepositions.

Declension of Singular Personal Pronouns:

Case	1st sing. (I)	2nd sing. (you)	3rd sing. Masc. (he)	3rd sing Fem. (she)	3rd sing Neut. (it)
Nominative	ja	ty	on	ona	ono
Genitive	mnie	ci², ciebie	go, jego (niego)	jej (niej)	go, jego (niego)
Dative	mi, mnie	ci, tobie	mu, jemu (niemu)	jej (niej)	mu, jemu (niemu)
Accusative	mi², mnie	ci², ciebie	go, jego (niego) / je (nie)	j¹ (ni¹)	go, jego (niego) / je (nie)
Instrumental	mn¹	tob¹	nim	ni¹	nim
Prepositional	mnie	tobie	nim	niej	nim

Declension of Plural Personal Pronouns:

Case	1st person	2nd person	3rd  person masculine (persons)	3rd person feminine. / neuter / masculine inanimate
Nominative	my	wy	oni	one
Genitive	nas	was	ich (nich)	ich (nich)
Dative	nam	wam	im (nim)	im (nim)
Accusative	nas	was	ich (nich)	je (nie)
Instrumental	nami	wami	nimi	nimi
Prepositional	nas	was	nich	nich

In the following sentence, the pronoun on (he) is the subject of the sentence, and is in the nominative case, while the pronoun ja (her), as the direct object, is in the accusative:

On kocham ja. (He loves her.)

The Reflexive Pronoun

The reflexive pronoun always refers back to the nearest subject.  Since it cannot be a subject itself, there is no nominative form.  It means: Ômyself, yourself, himself/herself/itself, themselves,Õ depending on its antecedent. It does not change for gender or number.  It declines as follows:

Case	The Reflexive Pronoun
Nominative	no reflexive in the nominative
Genitive	si², siebie
Dative	sobie
Accusative	si², siebie
Instrumental	sob¹
Prepositional	sobie

Ona kupi³a sobie nowe buty. (She bought [for] herself new shoes.)

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns show to whom something belongs. They answer the question - whose?.  In English, they are: my, our, your, his/her/its, their.  In Polish, the possessive pronouns agree with the noun they modify in gender (except the 3rd person singular and plural), number and case.

The nominative, singular forms of these possessive pronouns are:

Possessive Pronouns  (masculine, feminine, neuter, plural)	Person
mój,                moja,       moje,      moi	1st person, singular (my)
twój,               twoja,       twoje,    twoi	2nd person, singular (your)
jego	3rd person, singular (his/its)
jej	3rd person, singular (her)
nasz,                nasza,      nasze     nasi	1st person, plural (our)
wasz,               wasza,     wasze    wasi	2nd person, plural (your)
ich	3rd person, plural (their)
Reflexive Possessive Pronoun	Person
swój, swoja, swoje	ones own - all persons, singular
swoi, swoje, swoje	ones own - all persons, plural

Remember the masculine noun distinction between persons, animals and things.  If a singular noun is masculine and denoting a person or an animal and is in the accusative which takes the genitive ending, all the modifying pronouns should be as well.  If a singular noun is masculine and denotes a thing, and is in the accusative case which takes the nominative endings, all the modifying pronouns should be as well.

In the plural, if the noun is masculine and denotes an animal or a thing and is in the accusative case which takes the nominative endings, the modifying pronouns will be in the nominative case as well.

In the plural, if the noun is masculine and denotes a person and is in the accusative case which takes the genitive endings, the modifying pronouns will be in the genitive case as well.

The following sets of possessive pronouns have similar declensions.  Please note that some of them have alternate short forms, which are used mainly in poetry and high rhetoric. However, both forms are acceptable in contemporary conversational Polish.

The pronouns mój, moje, moja and twój, twoje, twoja decline according to the same pattern.

When modifying a singular noun:

Case	Masculine	Neuter	Feminine
Nominative	mój	moje	moja
Genitive	mojego / mego	mojego / mego	mojej / mej
Dative	mojemu / memu	mojemu / memu	mojej / mej
Accusative	mój, mojego / mego	moje / me	moja / m¹
Instrumental	moim / mym	moim / mym	moja / m¹
Prepositional	moim / mym	moim / mym	mojej / mej
When modifying a plural noun:

Case	Feminine and Inanimate	Male persons
Nominative	moje / me	moi
Genitive	moich / mych	moich / mych
Dative	moim / mym	moim / mym
Accusative	moje / me,	moich  /  mych
Instrumental	moimi / mymi	moimi / mymi
Prepositional	moich / mych	moich / mych

The pronouns nasz, nasze, nasza  and wasz, wasze, wasza decline according to the same pattern.

When modifying a singular noun:

Case	Masculine	Neuter	Feminine
Nominative	nasz	nasze	nasza
Genitive	naszego	naszego	naszej
Dative	naszemu	naszemu	naszej
Accusative	nasz, naszego	nasze	nasz¹
Instrumental	naszym	naszym	nasz¹
Prepositional	naszym	naszym	naszej

When modifying a plural noun:

Case	Feminine and Inanimate	Male persons
Nominative	nasze	nasi
Genitive	naszych	naszych
Dative	naszym	naszym
Accusative	nasze	naszych
Instrumental	naszymi	naszymi
Prepositional	naszych	naszych

The possessive pronouns for the 3rd person singular and plural  (his, her, its, and their)  do not agree with the noun they modify.  They do not decline.  Instead, they reflect the gender and number of their antecedent (as in English).

On zna jego brata.	On zna jej brata.	On zna ich brata.
He knows his brother.	He knows her brother.	He knows their brother.

Note: When the subject and the possessor are the same, the possessive/reflexive pronoun swój, swoja, swoje is used:

On zna jego brata. (He knows his [someone elses] brother.)

On zna swojego brata. (He knows his [own] brother.)

Interrogative/Relative Pronouns

These pronouns can either ask a question or act as the subject of a clause in a sentence. The interrogative/relative pronouns include:

kto	who
co	what
czyj	whose
jaki	what sort
który	which

Kto napisa³ Ogniem i mieczem? (Who wrote With Fire and Sword?)

T² ksia¾k² napisa³ ten sam autor, który napisa³ Potop. (This book was written by the same author who wrote The Flood.)

The full declension of who and what:

Case	Who	What
Nominative	kto	co
Genitive	kogo	czego
Dative	komu	czemu
Accusative	kogo	co
Instrumental	kim	czym
Prepositional	o kim	o czym

Whose, what kind and which all agree in number, gender and case with the noun they refer to.  They all decline like adjectives.

Masculine Singular	Neuter Singular	Feminine Singular	Plural:  Feminine, Neuter and Masculine Inan.	Plural:  Masculine Persons
czyj	czyje	czyja	czyje	czyi
jaki	jakie	jaka	jakie	jacy
który	które	która	które	którzy

Czyja to jest walizka? (Whose suitcase is this?)

Jaka jutro b²dzie pogoda? (What kind of weather will there be tomorrow?)

To jest ta ulica, na której  znajduje si² Muzeum Narodowe. (This is the street on which the National Museum is located.)

Demonstrative Pronouns

Two common demonstrative pronouns in English are this and that.  In English and in Polish  these words can be used to modify a noun or can stand alone.  This is good juice. This juice is good.  In Polish, demonstrative pronouns agree with the noun they modify in gender, number and case when they are used as adjectives.  When the equivalent of this is used as the subject, it is always used in the neuter, nominative, singular form and gives the meaning: This/that is.

The main demonstrative pronoun, this, that, shown here in the nominative form, is:

Masculine Singular	Feminine Singular	Neuter Singular	Plural:  Feminine, Neuter and Masculine Inanimate	Plural:  Masculine Persons
ten	ta	to	te	ci

Note: The demonstrative pronouns decline like adjectives.

Negative Pronouns

These pronouns act as they do in English with one important exception.  Negative pronouns, most of which begin with the prefix  ni- require the use of the negative particle  nie in the sentence.  Double or triple negatives are poor grammar in English, but required grammar in Polish.

Nikt nigdy nie mo¾e zapomnie¤. (No one can ever forget.)

Some negative pronouns include:

nikt	no one
nic	nothing
¾aden / ¾adna / ¾adne	none
niczyj / niczyja / niczyje	nobodys

The first two of these pronouns decline like the relative pronouns kto / co.  The pronoun  ¾aden declines like the demostrative pronoun ten, and niczyj declines like czyj.

Indefinite Pronouns

These pronouns give the meaning of some or any.  Some indefinite pronouns are:

ktoƒ	someone
coƒ	something


Numerals

Ordinal Numerals

All ordinal numerals act as adjectives and agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case.  For example, first, second, and third are presented below in masculine, nominative, singular form:

pierwszy, drugi, trzeci

Cardinal Numerals

Cardinal numerals are divided into groups, each of which has its own set of rules.  A summary of the rules governing cardinal numerals and the nouns and adjectives they modify is presented below:

1 - Jeden

The numeral 1 agrees with the noun it modifies in gender, number and case.  When this numeral stands alone, it agrees with its antecedent in gender and number.  The forms in the nominative case are:

Masculine Singular	Feminine Singular	Neuter Singular	Plural:  Feminine, Neuter and Masculine Inanimate	Plural:  Masculine Persons
jeden	jedna	jedno	jedne	jedni

The plural form of the numeral 1 is used to modify nouns which only have a plural form. The nouns no¾yczki (scissors) and drzwi (door) only have a plural form.  As with the singular forms, the meaning can also be only or certain.

Note: Compound numerals ending in jeden (1) (21, 31, 41, etc.) require that the noun they modify be in the genitive plural form.

Agreement with Nouns

Numerals in oblique (animate accusative, genitive, prepositional, dative, instrumental) cases agree with the noun they modify.

2 - dwa is the masculine and neuter nominative form, dwie is the feminine nominative form

3 - trzy

4 - cztery

The numeral 2 has both a masculine/neuter and a feminine form, as noted above. When 2, 3, or 4 is in the nominative or feminine and inanimate accusative form, the case of the noun and any modifying adjectives are governed by these numerals.  They require that the noun they modify be in the nominative plural form.  In oblique cases, the case of the numeral 2, 3 or 4 is governed by the case of the noun it modifies.

5-999

These numerals require the noun and adjective to be in the genitive plural case (when the numeral is in the nominative form).  They also have a special form for denoting male persons.  This form ends in u.

Pi²¤ budynków (five buildings) but Pi²ciu ch³opców (five boys).

1,000, 1,000,000, 1,000,000,000

These numerals require the genitive plural of the noun and adjective regardless of their own case.

Ta fabryka produkuje milion m²skich pó³butów na rok.

This factory produces a million men shoes a year.

Both the noun and its modifying adjective are in the genitive plural form.

Note: In written Polish, the function of the period and the comma is reversed.  The comma is used to indicate a decimal and the period is used to separate the thousands from the hundreds etc.

Indefinite Numerals

ma³o	few
du¾o	many / much
kilka	several
ile	how many
tyle	so many

Some grammar books will describe these words of quantity as indefinite numerals, and others as adverbs of measure.  These words are used with the genitive singular or plural of the noun, depending on whether the noun refers to a substance (singular) or is countable (plural).


Verbs

Verbs express action, state, existence or occurrence.  A sentence is not complete without at least an implied verb.  In general, Polish verbs act as verbs do in English. There is, however, one important concept that must be understood to use Polish verbs properly, namely, verbal aspect.

Verbal Aspect - Perfective and Imperfective

Almost every verb in Polish has 2 forms: the imperfective and the perfective aspect.  Most verbs, therefore, come in pairs (imperfective and perfective).

The imperfective form of the verb denotes the process of an action or a state without any reference to its completion.  It also may refer to a repeated action.  For example, in English, the following sentences have an imperfective meaning: Yesterday I was writing. or I always write letters. or I will always be writing letters.

A perfective verb denotes an action which has been completed in the past, or will be completed in the future, and results in a change in the state of affairs.  There can be no present tense, since it implies a process that is already completed, therefore, the perfective version of the verb has only two tenses: past and future.

Past: Wczoraj napisa³am do niego list.  (Yesterday I (feminine) wrote him a letter)

Future: Jutro napisz² do niego list. (Tomorrow I will write him a letter.)

Both of these sentences in English and in Polish have a  perfective  meaning, stressing completion of the action.

Usually the imperfective form is unprefixed, and the perfective form is formed from it with a prefix.  This is the basic concept of verbal aspect.  You will see that every verb is described in the Comments Window as imperfective or perfective.  Pay attention to the many shades of meaning that can be expressed through the imperfective and perfective aspects of different verbs.

Infinitive

The infinitive is considered the dictionary form, or the root word of the verb.  In English, the infinitive is expressed as to read, to eat etc., as in the sentence I love to read.  Infinitives are recognized in Polish by the ending  -¤ (and, rarely, -c).  For example: czyta¤ (to read), pisa¤ (to write), by¤ (to be), móc (to be able to).

Reflexive Verbs

Many verbs in Polish have a reflexive form which is formed by adding the particle si² to any form of the verb.  The particle si² does not change, can be added to all forms of the reflexive verbs, and can be placed before or after the verb form in the sentence. It can even be separated from the verb form by another word.

On si² myje.  On myje si².  (He washes.)

Oni si² spotkali. Oni spotkali si².  (They met.)

Cos si² sta³o.  Cos sta³o si².  (Something happened.)

Jak si² on czuje? Jak on si² czuje? Jak on czuje si²? (How does he feel?)

Reflexive verbs are intransitive verbs, meaning that there can be no direct object of a reflexive verb.  Often, the subject and object of the verb are the same, as in I wash myself..  Besides this primary meaning, reflexive verbs can describe actions directed to each other, as in zna¤ si² (to know each other.) Other reflexive verbs can refer to feelings or conditions

Present Tense

The present tense exists only for imperfective verbs.  Since perfective verbs refer to the decisive completion of an action, they can only have a past and a future meaning.  Imperfective verbs, on the other hand, express the process of carrying out an action.  One important difference between the use of the present tense of a verb in Polish and in English is how the action in a sentence like I have been exercising is expressed.  This action started in the past and is continuing in the present.  Grammar books refer to this type of action as the present progressive tense.  In Polish, this idea is expressed by the imperfective present form of the verb.

Conjugation

A verb conjugation consists of the six forms of a verb in the present tense that correspond to 1st, 2nd and 3rd person, singular and plural (in English: I, you, he/she/it, we, you, they).  Polish verbs fall into one of three conjugation patterns.  These are described as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations.  There are many spelling rules which affect verb conjugation, and there are a very small number of irregular verbs which have unique conjugations.

The distinctive differences between the three conjugations are the endings of the 1st and 2nd person singular.

First Conjugation:

1st person singular ending in -²

2nd person singular ending in-esz

Example:

pisa¤	infinitive	to write
pisz²	1st person singular	I write
piszemy	1st person plural	we write
piszesz	2nd person singular	you write
piszecie	2nd person plural	you write
pisze	3rd person singular	he, she, it writes
pisz¹	3rd person plural	they write

Second conjugation:

1st person singular ending in -²

2nd person singular ending in-isz or -ysz

Example:

mówi¤	infinitive	to speak
mówiê	1st person singular	I speak
mówimy	1st person plural	we speak
mówisz	2nd person singular	you speak
mówicie	2nd person plural	you speak
mówi	3rd person singular	he, she, it speaks
mówi¹	3rd person plural	they speak

Third conjugation

1st person singular ending in -am or -em

2nd person singular ending in -asz or -eƒ

Example:

czyta¤	infinitive	to read
czytam	1st person singular	I read
czytamy	1st person plural	we read
czytasz	2nd person singular	you read
czytacie	2nd person plural	you read
czyta	3rd person singular	he, she, it reads
czytaj¹	3rd person plural	they read
umie¤	infinitive	to know how to
umiem	1st person sinular	I know how to
umiemy	1st person plural	we know how to
umiesz	2nd person singular	you know how to
umiecie	2nd person plural	you know how to
umie	3rd person singular	he, she, it knows how to
umiej¹	3rd person plural	they know how to

Past Tense

The past tense is formed by removing the infinitive ending and adding the correct marker which shows if the subject of the verb is masculine, feminine or neuter.  An easy marker for recognizing the past tense is the ³ or l which appears in all the forms of the past tense.  Most past tense forms are formed according to the same pattern, so there is no need to distinguish between conjugational types:

Masculine Singular	Feminine  Singular	Neuter  Singular	Plural (feminine, neuter, masculine inanimate)	Plural Masculine Persons
pisa³em  (I wrote)	pisa³am  (I wrote)	-----	pisa³yƒmy	pisaliƒmy
pisa³eƒ  (you wrote)	pisa³aƒ  (you wrote)	-----	pisa³yƒcie	pisaliƒcie
pisa³  (he wrote)	pisa³a  (she wrote)	pisa³o  (it wrote)	pisa³y	pisali
Masculine Singular	Feminine  Singular	Neuter  Singular	Plural (feminine, neuter, masculine inanimate)	Plural Masculine Persons
mówi³em (I spoke)	mówi³am (I spoke)	----------	mówi³yƒmy (we spoke)	mówiliƒmy (we spoke)
mówi³eƒ (you spoke)	mówi³aƒ (you spoke)	----------	mówi³yƒcie (you spoke)	mówiliƒcie (you spoke)
mówi³ (he spoke)	mówi³a (she spoke)	mówi³o (it spoke)	mówi³y (they spoke)	mówili (they spoke)

Future Tense

Future Tense: Perfective

The future tense perfective is formed by following the present tense conjugation rules, but using the perfective (not the imperfective) infinitive as the form from which to build.

Compare the present imperfective and the future perfective forms:

Imperfective: (Ja) czytam. (I am reading.)

Perfective: (Ja) przeczytam. (I will read.) with emphasis on the completion of the action

Future Tense: Imperfective

The future tense of an imperfective verb is formed with the conjugated future tense of the verb to be (by¤) plus the imperfective infinitive:

Ja b²d² pisa¤. (I will write/be writing).

Another way to form the future tense of an imperfective verb is with the conjugated future of the verb to be (by¤) plus the gender and number marked part of the past tense verb: -³ for masculine singular, -³a for feminine singular, -³o for the neuter singular. -li for the masculine persons plural, -³y for the feminine, neuter, and masculine inanimate plural. Note that the personal ending of this form is omitted (for example:  my pisaliƒmy [we were writing] > my b²dziemy pisali [we will be writing] ).

Masculine Singular	Feminine Singular	Neuter  Singular	Plural:  (Fem, Neut, Masc Inan.)	Plural: (Masculine Persons)
ja b²d²  pisa³ (I will write)	ja b²d²  pisa³a (I will write)	---------------	my b²dziemy pisa³y  (we will write)	my b²dziemy  pisali (we will write)
ty b²dziesz pisa³ (you will write)	ty b²dziesz pisa³a (you will write)	ty b²dziesz pisa³o (you will write)	wy b²dziecie  pisa³y (you will write)	wy b²dziecie  pisali (you will write)
on b²dzie  pisa³ (he will write)	ona b²dzie pisa³a (she will write)	ono b²dzie pisa³o (it will write )	one b²d¹  pisa³y (they will write)	oni b²d¹  pisali (they will write)

Conjugation of the Verb to be

Infinite: by¤

Present Tense

Singular	Plural
ja jestem (I am)	my jesteƒmy (we are)
ty jesteƒ (you are)	wy jesteƒcie (you are)
on, ona, ono jest (he, she, it is)	oni / one s¹ (they are)

Future Tense

Singular	Plural
ja b²d² (I will)	my b²dziemy (we will)
ty b²dziesz (you will)	wy b²dziecie (you will)
on. ona, ono b²dzie (he, she, it will)	oni / one b²d¹ (they will)

Past Tense

Masculine Singular	Feminine Singular	Neuter  Singular	Plural: Masculine Persons	Plural: Fem., Neut, & Masc. inan.
ja by³em  (I was)	ja by³am (I was)	------	my byliƒmy (we were)	my by³yƒmy (we were)
ty by³eƒ (you were)	ty by³aƒ (you were)	------	wy byliƒcie (you were)	wy by³yƒcie (you were)
on by³ (he was)	ona by³a (she was)	ono by³o (it was)	oni byli (they were)	one by³y (you were)

Conditional (Subjunctive) Mood

Masculine Singular	Feminine Singular	Neuter  Singular	Plural: Masculine Persons	Plural: Fem., Neut, & Masc. inan.
ja by³bym	ja by³abym	------	my bylibyƒmy	my by³ybyƒmy
ty by³byƒ	ty by³abyƒ	------	wy bylibyƒcie	wy by³ybyƒcie
on by³by	ona by³aby	ono by³oby	oni byliby	one by³yby

Imperative

The imperative is formed by dropping the ending from the 3nd person plural form of the present tense and adding the following imperative endings for the 1st and 2nd persons:

2nd person singular, add nothing

1st person plural, add the ending  -my

2nd person plural, add the ending -cie

2nd person singular form is ty	stem > mów	you (singular.) speak!
1st  person plural form is my	stem + my > mówmy	lets speak!
2nd person plural form is wy	stem + cie > mówcie	you (plural) speak!

The 3rd person imperatives (let him, let her, let it) are formed by adding the particle niech in front of the regular conjugated 3rd person form for the informal singular and for the plural .

Niech on czyta.   (Let him read.)

Niech ona czyta.  (Let her read.)

Niech oni czytaj¹, niech one czytaj¹. (Let them read.)

In situations where the person addressed is either much older than the speaker or a person with whom the speaker is not well acquainted, a polite usage of the pan or pani form is required.

Niech pan siada. (Sit down, sir.)

Niech pani siada. (Sit down, madam.)

Niech pa¬stwo si¹d¹. (Sit down, ladies and gentlemen.)

Conditional

The conditional (sometimes called the subjunctive) mood is used to express the idea of one would if one could.  It is most often used in the so called if clauses.  In colloquial English this mood is often forgotten and the grammatically correct if I were (but I am not) is often replaced by if I was.  In Polish the conditional form must be used.

The conditional (subjunctive) is formed by adding an infix -by- to the past tense form of the verb.

Masculine Singular	Feminine  Singular	Neuter Singular	Plural: Masculine Persons	Plural: Fem., Neut, &  Masc. inan.
ja mówi³bym  (I would speak)	ja mówi³abym (I would speak)	-------	my mówlibyƒmy (we would speak)	my mówi³ybyƒmy (we would speak)
ty mówi³byƒ (you would speak)	ty mówi³abyƒ (you would speak)	-------	wy mówilibyƒcie (you would speak)	wy mówi³ybyƒcie (you would speak)
on mówi³by (he would speak)	ona mówi³aby (she would speak)	ono mówi³oby (it would speak)	oni mówiliby (they would speak)	one mówi³yby (they would speak)

Note: Sometimes the infix -by- and the following conjugational past tense ending can be separated from the rest of the verb form and can stand in front of it.  It can even be separated from the verb form by other words.

Gerunds

Gerunds are also called verbal adverbs or adverbial participles in Polish, although they really act like a subjectless verb form.

Imperfective gerunds are used when one subject is performing two actions at the same time:  While reading a book, I was listening to music.  In Polish they are formed by adding -j¹c or -i¹c to the present tense stem of the verb.  The gerunds themselves do not change form.

Ja czytam > czytaj¹c

Czytaj¹c ksi¹¾k², s³ucha³am muzyki. (While reading a book, I was listening to music.)

Ja mówi² > mówi¹c

Mówi¹c po polsku, robi² du¾o b³²dów. (While speaking Polish, I make many mistakes.)

Perfective gerunds are used when one subject performs two actions one after the other.  In English this is often denoted by the grammatical structure having done something.  The perfective gerund is formed by adding the suffix -wszy to the past tense stem of the verb.

Note: This form is becoming less and less frequently used.

on powiedzia³ > powiedziawszy

Powiedziawszy kilka s³ów, on wyszed³ z pokoju.  (Having said a few words, he left the room.)

Participles

Participles are formed from verbs and decline like adjectives.  In a sentence they have an adjectival use and are, usually, translated into English as a relative adjective.  Therefore the participle has the following characteristics: aspect, tense, gender, number and case.  There are both active and passive participles.  Active participles describe the doer of an action, while the passive participles describe the object of an action.  In Polish participles are mostly used in the formal, written language as in articles in newspapers and magazines, but some are also common in the spoken language.  These more common participles are discussed below.

Active Participles

The Active Participle is formed by replacing the final letter of the 3rd person plural present form with the correct ending for the masculine, feminine, neuter or plural for the required case.

3rd person plural, present tense: oni czytaj¹ (they read)

czytaj¹cy (he, who is reading)

czytaj¹ca (she, who is reading)

czytaj¹ce (it, which is reading)

czytaj¹cy (they  [masc. persons], who are reading)

czytaj¹ce (they [fem., neut. or masc inan.] who are reading

Kobieta czytaj¹ca ksi¹¾k², podnios³a g³ow².

(The lady who was reading a book lifted her head.)

Passive Participle

These participles are formed only from transitive  (those which require an object) verbs.  They describe an object of a given action in terms of the action performed on this object.  In English they are often denoted by the -ed or -en ending, as in the opened door, lesson learned or the broken window.

In most cases the Passive Participle is formed by adding either the infix -n- or the infix -t- to the past tense stem form with the correct adjectival ending for the masculine, feminine, neuter or plural for the required case.

narysowany obraz - the painted picture

napisana ksi¹¾ka - the written book

zamkni²ty sklep - the closed shop

otwarte okno - the opened window

uczesane w³osy - combed hair

Past Impersonal Particle

A frequently encountered verb form in Polish is the Past Impersonal Participle, a subjectless verb form that is formed by adding an -o to the stem of the passive participle.

For example:

zrobiono - done by somebody


Adverbs

As in English, adverbs  in Polish can modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.  Adverbs do not decline in Polish and are easy to spot by the ending -o or -e/-ie, although some adverbs are formed differently.  Adverbs are formed by removing the adjectival ending from an adjective and replacing it with the adverbial ending.

stary > star + o > staro (old)

g³oƒny > g³oƒn + o > g³oƒno (loudly)

³adny > ³adn + ie > ³adnie (nicely)

dobry > dobr + ze > dobrze (well)

z³y > z³ + e > z³e (badly)

Among basic adverbs that are not derived from adjectives are:

Interrogative adverbs, such as jak (how), gdzie (where), dlaczego (why)

Adverbs of intensity or frequency, such as bardzo (very), jeszcze (still), ju¾ (already).


Preposition
Prepositions

Prepositions are used with nouns in every case except the nominative.  They are identified in all Transparent Language Polish Titles by their meaning and by the case they require.  Many prepositions can be followed by different cases to give different meanings.

Prepositions with Verbs of Motion

You will see that prepositions are identified by location or direction.  This is an important distinction in Polish, because, very often, the same preposition used with different cases will indicate the location of an activity or the direction in which the action of the verb of motion is moving.

Jestem na koncercie.  (I am at a concert.)

Id² na koncert.  (I am going to a concert.)


Particles

Particles are words which add different shades of meaning to other words in a sentence or to the sentence as a whole. In Polish there are several types of particles.

Reflexive Particles  si² described in the section on Reflexive Verbs.

Conditional Particles  by described in the section on the Conditional Mood.

Negative Particles  nie negate the meaning of the word that follows with the general meaning of not.

Ja nie wiem, co mam robi¤. (I dont know what I am supposed to do.)

Interrogative Particles  czy is used to form yes-no questions, as in:

Czy jesteƒ gotów? (Are you ready?)

Note: this particle can also function as a subordinate conjunction with the meaning whether.


Sentences

Sentences are made up of one or more clauses.  A clause consists of a subject (a noun or a pronoun)  and a predicate (what is said about the noun or pronoun).  The predicate contains a verb.

Poci¹g jedzie. ( The train is moving.)

In this simple sentence, poci¹g is the subject and jedzie is the predicate.

Adjectives or nouns used along with the verb in order to describe what is being asserted about someone or something, are in the predicative position.

Ten m²¾czyzna by³ dobrym dyrektorem.  (This man was a good director.)

In this sentence dyrektorem is a predicate noun.

Ta kobieta by³a wysoka.  (This woman was tall.)

In this sentence wysoka is a predicate adjective.

Nouns or pronouns which are related to (objects or receivers of) the action of the verb or  related to (objects of) a preposition are called objects.  There are direct and indirect objects.

The direct object of a verb is a noun or a pronoun which receives the action of the verb directly.

Ja czytam ksi¹¾k².  (I am reading a book.)

In this sentence ksi¹¾k² is the direct object of the verb.

Some verbs take an indirect object.  Indirect objects are sometimes preceded by a preposition.

On da³ ksi¹¾k² temu dziecku. (He gave the book to the child.)

In this sentence ksi¹¾k² is the direct object and dziecku is the indirect object.


Conjunctions

Conjunctions join words, phrases, clauses and sentences.

Ja si² ƒmiej², a ty p³aczesz.  (I am laughing, but you are crying.)

Daj mi klucz i moj¹ torebk².  (Give me the key and my purse.)

Ubierz sie dobrze, bo dzisiaj jest zimno.  (Dress well, because today is cold.)

Interrogative adverbs may also function as subordinate conjunctions, as in:

Nie wiem, gdzie on mieszka. (I dont know where he lives.)


Interjections

An interjection is a word or expression which gives added emotional emphasis in speech.  In print an interjection will most likely be followed by an exclamation mark.  Interjections can express awe, disgust, pain, and joy.  Below are several common Polish interjections with examples of how to use them in a sentence:

Ach! /O!    joy; awe; surprise

Ach, jak tu ³adnie. (Oh, how beautiful it is here!)

Tfu!     disgust

Fu, jak tu smierdzi! (Yuck, how it stinks here!)

Och!    Complaint

Och, jak mi zimno! (Oh, Im so cold!)


Case

Case of Nouns

Case of Pronouns

Case of Adjectives


Gender

Gender of nouns

Gender of adjectives

Gender and verbs

Gender and pronouns