Barsorro - A Booklet on Polish Declension

8/12/2019 Barsorro - A Booklet on Polish Declension

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/barsorro-a-booklet-on-polish-declension 1/90

Polish Declension in Use

a booklet by barsorro

Preface (... you've guessed right — you can skip that part :))

The following is my attempt to familiarize foreign learners of Polish with the su!ect of declension and casegovernment.

" am a complete amateur in languages and language teaching. The idea to produce a guide like this has comeout of internet friendships and meeting people attracted to Polish language and interested in learning it.#eing myself fond of languages " have understood my friends' impractical fancy $) and wanted to do all " canto keep up their interest and help their study. %nfortunately& maye !ust on account of an inadeuate search&

" was unale to find much free selfstudy material for them on the "nternet . (...at the time.)

s a result& "'ve een rought to try and e*plain the intricacies of Polish grammar y myself. " realize that thisis a old endeavour& oth generally (as Polish is proaly one of the more difficult languages to learn& uitedifferent from the non+lavic languages of the ,est that "'m ale to compare it with& and featuring somegrammatical concepts that may prove a sustantial challenge to everyday users of -nglish& +panish& orPortuguese)& and — especially — for a person like me& who lacks any advanced formal education in the fieldof languages. ot only did " have to learn up on some of the essential grammar theory and terminology as " went along& " also struggled with methodology and composition. " have simply never done anything like this efore& nor learned how to do it.

"n conseuence& the script you have in front of you can proaly serve as a good e*ample of how this kind ofthings should not e written :). "ts use of terminology is intuitive in places& and more than once — !ust plain

inventive. ,hat is proaly worse& the te*t features a multitude of digressions and sidenotes& loosely relatedto the main threads of thought they appear in. This has een proaly my iggest fault at the work: " !ustcouldn't help myself e*plain almost everything at once :)

/f course& "'m offering you this selfcritiue (... rememer: " come from a postcommunist country :)) as asort of caveat. " wouldn't have finished writing the script& and& uite surely& " wouldn't have sumitted it here&if " had thought that it was useless. o& " elieve that& actually& it is not too ad :) " think " have reached mygoal of presenting a concise& ut possily comprehensive& overview of the system of declension cases in Polishlanguage: of showing — oth in a sketchy theoretical description and on e*amples — when and what for eachcase is used. 0y goal was to inform aout and to acuaint with the usage& so " think " can e pardoned forsome theoretical imprecisions — in fact& as it is& " elieve " might have used an e*cessive amount ofterminology.

" chose declension& ecause " suppose that must e the most alien and intimidating area of Polish grammarfor most foreign learners. "n the numerous sidenotes "'ve also smuggled in elements from other areas$ mostof them deserve a separate and much more detailed treatment& ut " felt it was impossile to leaveune*plained some of the grammatical structures that surface in the e*amples.

n important note: this is a guide on function and usage. " haven't dealt in any way with the patterns ofmorphological changes in inflected words. " will speak straight with you: the patterns are rather numerousand not all that simple. "n my opinion& trying to learn them synthetically would e e*tremely difficult andtedious. There are& of course& reakdowns of the morphological paradigms& and you are welcome to checkthem out — for e*ample& here:http://free.of.pl/g/grzegorj/gram/en/deklin00.html

ut " suggest that you don't spend too much time on them. 1ou can use those tales to get a general overview&and later& if necessary& to try and construct — or confirm your speculations on — inflected forms of somenouns you need (when you do that& watch out for the changes that have to e made to many of the endingstemconsonants2). 1et& as far as learning is concerned& " think it is etter to set on acuiring the patterns

http://free.of.pl/g/grzegorj/gram/en/deklin00.html

http://free.of.pl/g/grzegorj/gram/en/deklin00.html



more intuitively: y reading te*ts — seeing words& realizing what a word's function in a sentence is and whatdeclension case it must e in — and thus& slowly and naturally& tuning your mind in to them. "f you would stillrather get some 3clinical3 e*posure first& " suppose this set of tales should e a it etter for that than thosefrom the previous link:http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Polish/Masculine_noun_declension

(feminine and neuter noun charts are hyperlinked at the ottom of the page)

" really wish " could offer you a we address of a 3declinator3 — an applet that would present you with the fulldeclensions of any given sustantive. %nfortunately& " haven't een ale to find anything like that& so it lookslike there's no real way around using the declension tales once in a while.

4/,-5-6& for a piece of good news& as " am writing this " have looked in to Wikisłownik& which is thePolish part of the Wiktionary& and " can see that many (perhaps even: most) of the popular nouns are giventhere together with their full declensions2

,ikis7ownik:http://pl.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wikis!"#$ownik:%trona_g!"#$!&'&wna

The declensions are presented on the page of an entry word& under the title: 3odmiana3. The 3lp" markerstands for 3liczba pojedyncza3 8 singular$ 3lm3 ( 3liczba mnoga3 8 plural. 9eclensions are listed after eachmarker in the regular order: 1. nominative, 2. genitive, 3. dative, 4. accusative,

5. instrumental, 6. locative, 7. vocative — ut most of the forms are presented as only the suffi* that has to e added to the wordstem$

the nominative is given as a whole word& and the stem is the part of it that comes left of the verticaldividing line 33 (if there is no such dividing line& then it means that the nominative form has no suffi* andthat the whole of the word in nominative is the stem)$

in situations of a stemchange in an inflection form& the whole inflected word is shown." think that the ,ikis7ownik can to some degree stand as a surrogate 3declinator3.

Things are easier the opposite direction. 1ou can enter any word found in a Polish te*t into the 3znajdźsłowa3 ( find words) searcho* of this dictionary:

http://so.pwn.pl/ (P, dictionary of Polish orthography)

and you will get the ase form (the nominative) of the word (plus select irregular inflection forms if that wordhas such — ut those are not presented in a particularly clear way& "'m sorry)

Then& once you have that ase form& you can use these online dictionaries to look up its meaning in -nglish:

http://www.angool.com/

http://www.dict.pl/dict_iso

http://slowniki.pwn.pl/angielski/pl/polski

(these are the ones " use and like$ there are others around& too... and let's not forget aout the ,ikis7ownik which works very well as an interlingual dictionary)

t the end of this foreword& "'d like to recommend to you three "nternet addresses with valuale resources tohelp you e*tend your knowledge of Polish& and of Polish grammar in particular:

" A Grammar of the Polish Language" — a rilliant pulic domain compendium of Polish grammar y;rzegorz <agodzi=ski:http://free.of.pl/g/grzegorj/gram/en/gram00.html

/scar -. +wan's " Polish Grammar in a Nutshell " http://polish.sla*ic.pitt.edu/firstyear/nutshell.pdf

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Polish/Masculine_noun_declension

http://pl.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wikis?ownik:Strona_g??wna

http://so.pwn.pl/




http://free.of.pl/g/grzegorj/gram/en/gram00.html

http://polish.slavic.pitt.edu/firstyear/nutshell.pdf

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Polish/Masculine_noun_declension




http://so.pwn.pl/

http://so.pwn.pl/

http://so.pwn.pl/





http://polish.slavic.pitt.edu/firstyear/nutshell.pdf



(had I found that one earlier, maybe I wouldn't hae written this booklet !

a very impressive (at the first look at least) Polish section on the Transparent Language site (featuring a really& really nice log in -nglish aout Poland's current events& curiosities and trivia& as well assome language games and interactive tests):http://www.transparent.com/languagepages/polish/polish.htm

" suppose that the only thing left for me to do now is to wish you pleasant and fruitful studies :) " really hope you don't get discouraged easily — Polish may not e an easy language to learn& ut there are areas of itsgrammar in which it is actually much simpler than& for e*ample& -nglish (tenses& the coordination of tenses&the conditional mood)$ in addition to that: Polish vocaulary tends to e markedly more specific than that of-nglish& so the conte*t is much less of an issue in the interpretation of things said.

s far as declension and inflection patterns are concerned& it might all look terrifying when approached fromthe angle of classifications and charts. "n practice& however& as soon as you get to know >??@?? sustantives with a few (a random > or @& not necessarily all) inflection forms for each of them& your mind will e ready tosupply the missing forms y making them up& ased on the memory and on intuitive perception of themorphological changes occuring in similar words in the desired declension case form. +ome of the formsdeduced this way will& oviously& e wrong& ut you can always try crosschecking them with a declensionchart and with the dictionary of orthography... nd esides — you don't e*pect to learn without makingmistakes& do youA :) "'ve got a Polish prover for you that fits the occasion:

"Jak się nie przewrócisz, to się nie nauczysz."

("If you don't stumble and fall een once, then you will not learn for good#" :)

" keep my fingers crossed for you2 1ou have no reasons to worry — after all there are aout B? millionspeakers of Polish& and "'d venture to say that at least half of them can e called fairly articulate and fluent $) 1ou wouldn't think those >? million are are all e*ceptionally gifted for languages& would youA :)

zatem... Powodzenia2

(,ell then... " wish you success2)

Zaczynamy! (Cet's go2 Dliterally: 3,e start E commence23F )

The declension chart numer G. 4ere is an e*ample of all declension forms of three nouns (selected uiterandomly) of three different genders (the masculine& the feminine& and the neuter). "'ll try to use those nouns

in many of the e*ample sentences "'m going to make in the course of this ooklet& ut it's not always possileto use !ust those three — so& this chart is meant as a general overview of the numer of declension cases andthe way they modify the nouns. Pay attention to the ordinal numers for the cases — they are traditionallyalways listed in that very order — "'m going to use those numers to refer to specific declension cases.

ord.num. Polish name int. name e+.noun.masc. e+.n.fem. e+.neut., mianownik nominati*e kot truskawka dziecko

$ dopełniacz geniti*e kota truskawki* dziecka& celownik dati*e kotu truskawce dziecku

- biernik accusati*e kota truskawkę dziecko

" narzę dnik instrumental kotem truskawką dzieckiem

miejscownik locati*e kocie truskawce dziecku wołacz *ocati*e kocie truskawko dziecko

*) in case of all nouns ending in 3ka3 the form of genitive (singular) is identical to the plural nominative —

http://www.transparent.com/languagepages/polish/polish.htm

http://www.transparent.com/languagepages/polish/polish.htm



the word 3truskawki 3 also stands for plural: 3strawberries3.

Hrom now on "'ll e either using the name of a case or — and "'ll e doing that most of the time — an acronym with the case's numer& e*ample:

Przynieś (r4) tu kota (d4, kot). — Bring the cat here.

d4 = declension (case number) 4 = the accusative ( biernik )

r4 8 case government for case 4 — "'m going to use the letter 3r3 here& ecause 3case government3 is called3rekc!a3 in Polish (we've orrowed the term from ;erman)& and " think that the letter 3r3 will stand out etterand e more noticeale in the te*t. Possily& "'m also going to use 3rekc!a3 in the e*plaining te*t& ecause itseems a handy& singleword term. 0ore aout the idea of case government:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/!ase_go*ernment

nd now let's get down to usiness and see what those cases are all aout2 :)

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: >>> d1. the nominative (mianownik) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

This case is used for the words (mainly a noun& ut it can also e a personal pronoun& or even aproper/personal name Dbecause they also undergo declension in $olishF) that is the su!ect of a sentence.

-*amples:

ot (d1) !i"e mleko (d4). — #$%he cat drinks milk.

%ruska&ka (d1) rośnie na krzaku (d6). — #$%he stra&berry gro&s on a shrub.

'ziecko (d1) grzecznie (adv.) si ba&i (v).

— #$%he child is !laying in a nice and orderly manner.

1the *erb in that e+ample is 2bawić się2 1it3s a refle+i*e *erb in Polish45e+planations of the reason for a *erb3s position at the end of the sentences andof an in*ersion like the one to 2... się bawi2 will appear later on in the

booklet5 let me just say that 2Dziecko bawi się grzecznie.2 would ha*e beencorrect as well4

a (d1) "em śniadanie (d4). — *+m eating breakast.

-na (d1) my"e naczynia (d4). — he is &ashing$&ashes dishes.

/y (d1) chodzicie na d0ugie s!acery (d4). — 1ou (plural) go or long &alks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_government

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_government



#nia (d1) mieszka teraz & #nglii (d6). — #nia lives in 2ngland no&.

/o"tek (d1) uczy0 si (r2) angielskiego (d2) ze (r5) mn3 (d5).

— /o"tek learned$used to learn 2nglish &ith me.

12angielskiego 2 is the geniti*e form of the noun/adjecti*e 2angielski25 2mną2 isthe instrumental case form of the personal pronoun 2ja25

don3t get terrified with the symbols 6 73m putting so many of them here toshow you that the use of the geniti*e form 1d$4 of 2angielski2 is enforced by

the case go*ernment 12rekcja24 1r$4 of the *erb 2uczyć się2 1to learn: in Polishit3s a refle+i*e *erb 6 something like "to teach oneself"48 and that theinstrumental form 1d"4 of 2ja2 is enforced by the rekcja 1r"4 of the preposition

2z/ze2 1with4... yes... prepositions8 too8 ha*e their own case go*ernments inPolish: they re9uire a specific declension form in the words that followthem...5 7 will not use so many symbols at once in other e+amples: just rememberthe rule 6 a symbol refers to the word/words that come immediately before it4

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: >>> d2. the genitive (dopełniacz) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The functions of the genitive:

a) to indicate possession — it doesn't have to e something material& it can e some uality or either a

physical or a nonphysical state. "t is the sustantive that stands for the possessor which comes in thegenitive. The genitive is also used to indicate a elonging to specific sucategory: where the noun in genitiveis the one that defines the category and allows for a precise distinction of what we're talking aout (look atthe e*ample with 3krzak truskawki3 elow).

utro kota (d2) "est mikkie. — %he ur o a$the cat is sot.

rzak truska&ki (d2) "est niski. — # shrub o stra&berry is lo&.

1note that in nglish it is more correct to say: "% strawberry shrub is low#" 4

5aba&ka dziecka (d2) "est bez!ieczna. — %he toy o the child is sae.

olczyki te" s0a&ne" aktorki (d2) by0y z !latyny (d2).

— %he earrings o that amous actress &ere 6made6 o !latinium.

1the nominati*es ; 21ta4 1s<awna4 aktorka2 1fem.48 2platyna2 1fem.45 the e+planation for why it3s 2z platyny 2 and why 2platyna2 comes in thegeniti*e here you will find in point 2e42 of this section on the geniti*e4

-d!o&ied7 tego !ana (d2) by0a !ra&id0o&a.

— %he ans&er o this gentleman &as correct.

1in a better nglish: "&his gentleman's answer was correct#" 5 the nominati*e ; 21ten4 pan2 1masc.44

akoś8 tych zd"8 (d2) "est marna. — %he 9uality o these !hotos is !oor.



1the nominati*e ; 21te4 zdj=cia2 1plural4( singular nominati*e ; 21to4 zdj=cie2 1neut.44

Pla:e Brazylii (d2) s3 !ikne. — %he beaches o Brazil are beautiul.

1the nominati*e ; 2'razylia2 1fem.44

k;ra #ni (d2) "est doś8 ciemna. — %he skin o #nia <#nia+s skin is 9uite dark.

1the nominati*e ; 2>nia2 1personal 1first4 name44

/0osy >anueli (d2) s3 d0ugie, rude i lśni3ce.

— >anuela+s hair is long, red and shiny.

1the nominati*e ; 2Manuela2 1personal 1first4 name44 in Polish we don3t use a collect*e noun for 2hair25 instead8 we employ the

plural of 2włos" (a hair45 that3s why the grammar number mismatch between theoriginal sentence and the translation:

2Włosy ... są... an! ere comes a list o# a!jecti$es in teir plural #orm%2 6 2(The) hair... is...25

one more thing: the adjecti*e 2ru!y" (here inflected into plural adjecti*e

"ru!e" to fit the plural 2w<osy24 is used specifically and solely with reference

to the red colour of the hair8 or to a red?head person :44

s you can see& oth regular nouns and proper (personal) names are inflected into the genitive form and usedin the function descried y this point (3a)3). 4owever& notice that this is not so with personal pronouns — when a 3possessor3 is to e denoted y a personal pronoun (3!a3& 3ty3& 3on3& etc.)& we have to use anappropriate possessive pronoun :

?m;"$mo"a$mo"e..mo"e$moi (@)? — my , ?t&;"$t&o"a$t&o"e..t&o"e$t&oi (@)? — your ,

?"ego? — his , ?"e"? — her , ?"ego? — its (for "ono" — 3.person.neuter),

?nasz$nasza$nasze..nasze$nasi (@)? — our , "&asz$&asza$&asze..&asze$&asi (@)" — yourA!l.,

?ich? their

(*) 6 these two last forms refer to two plural genders: nonpersonal

!asculine and personal!asculine 6 we are not oin into the #etails of that now, $ut if you%re intereste# in the

&uestion of en#ers, look there'

http://free.of.pl/g/grzegorj/gram/en/gram0&.html@rodzaj 6 5the three forms that come before the two marked with the asteri+ 1A4 apply to

the 2possessed2 things being of the masculine8 the feminine8 and the neutergender8 respecti*ely 1so8 we ha*e8 e.g.8 2mBj kot 1m428 2moja truskawka 1f428

2moje dziecko 1n4245 when the 2possessor2 is in the third person8 there is just one possessi*epronoun ser*ing for e*ery gender of the things posessed 1e.g.8 2jej kot28 2jejtruskawka28 2jej dziecko245 possessi*e pronouns follow declension 6 what is presented abo*e are possessi*epronouns in their nominati*e forms5 we3ll get to the inflection patterns forpossessi*e pronouns some other time...

— for comparison8 here are the geniti*e case forms for personal pronouns:

?mnie? (en. of "ja")8 ?ci $ ciebie? (... of "ty"),

?"ego? ("on"), ?"e"? ("ona"), ?"ego? ("ono"),

?nas? ("!y"), ?&as? ("wy"), ?ich? ("oni")

( as you can see some of the forms are identical ).

http://free.of.pl/g/grzegorj/gram/en/gram03.html#rodzaj






nd note: while the 3possessor3 noun in genitive nearly always comes second in the word order& to the

3thing that is possessed3& a possessive pronoun nearly always comes efore the thing possessed.

Cook:

>o"e (possessi$e pronoun& &0osy s3 kr;tkie. — >y hair is short.(notC D ?/0osy mnie (pers.pron. in !'& s3 kr;tkie.? —WCDEF

?/0osy mo"e (poss.pron.& s3 kr;tkie.? —not plain wrong8

but most unnatural in normal usage)

%&;" (poss.pron.& !ies "est milutki. — 1our dog is cute.

(notC D ?Pies ciebie (pers.pron. in !'& "est milutki.? —WCDEFC

?Pies %&;" (poss.pron.& "est milutki.? —not plain wrong8

but most unnatural in normal usage)

ego (poss.pron.& motocykl "est bardzo g0ośny. — Eis motorbike is very loud.

1here8 there would ha*e been less difference8 because8 as we ha*e noticed

earlier8 the geniti*e form of the personal pronoun 2on2 (he is identical to thepossessi*e pronoun for that person5 howe*er8 if the 2jeo2 were to be placed

after the subject 2!otocykl", then the resulting sentence 6 2otocykl jego jest

gło)ny.2 6 would ha*e looked *ery unnatural and stilted: this 2jeo2 would ha*ebeen percei*ed as being the possessi*e pronoun 6 for8 as we know8 a personalpronoun geniti*e in the possessi*e role is a grammatical error 6 and thepositioning of a possessi*e pronoun after a subject is only allowable in solemnutterances and in *erse4

b) as the direct object in negative sentences. This is very characteristic of Polish grammar: in all the

instances where a positive sentence has a direct o!ect in the accusative (and this is so proaly in more thanI?J of all direct o!ects)& the corresponding negative sentence must have this direct o!ect set in thegenitive.(sidenote: uite a numer of careless andEor undereducated native Polish speakers have some difficulty with that rule& ut it sounds really ad if someone& who otherwise speaks fluent Polish& makes the mistake ofleaving direct o!ects in the accusative in negative sentences).

Fote: a very typical e*ample of this usage is the Polish way of saying

?there is not Gsomething H Ihere, thereJ

$ there are not Gsome things H Ihere, thereJ

$ Gsomething, some things H isn+t (aren+t) Ihere, thereJ? — ?Kie ma Itu, tamJ Gnoun in genitiveH? D

the cause for the use of the genitive lies in the literal reading of a sentence of this type:

?Gindeinite sub"ect <L=, M.!erson.singular H nie ma Gob"ect <N=H?

?Gindeinite sub"ect <L=, M.!erson.singular H doesn+t have Gob"ect <N=H?

<L A in this case: an unidentified 3somebody3 representing us all

<N A in this case: the thing that is 3missing38 ... and an additional important fact is that the 2rekcja2 for the *erb2mieG2 1to hae4 wants an object in the accusati*e



— as you can see& the thing that is 3missing3 — the 3thing3 from the sentence 3there isn't a 'thing'3 — is thedirect object (of the ver 3mieK3)& and so in the negative sentence (3### nie ma ### 3) the 3thing3 must e putin the genitive.

%u nie ma mo"ego kota (d2). — >y cat isn+t here .

<9uite literallyD Eere (it) doesn+t have my cat. 1the corresponding positi*e sentence would be 6 and watch out for a totallydifferent grammatical construction8 including the fact that in this one 2kot2 isthe subject (!!):

?>;" kot (d1) "est tu.? — >y cat is here .)

O

/ther e*amples of negative sentences:

Kie g0aszcz mo"ego kota (d2) zbyt czsto. — * don+t stroke my cat too oten.

1notice8 howe*er8 that the noun 2kot2 has identical forms for the geniti*e (d2)

and the accusati*e (d4)8 so that a positi*e sentence8 which takes the object inaccusati*e8 looks practically the same:

0aszcz mo"ego kota (d4) bardzo czsto. — * stroke my cat very oten.)

Kie "em truska&ki (d2). — *+m not eating a stra&berry.

1Hhe positi*e would be: 2Iem truskawk= (d4).24

Kie gryz truska&ki (d2). — *+m not che&ing a stra&berry.

1P: 2Fryz= truskawk= (d4).24

Kie mam dziecka (d2). — * don+t have a child.

1P: 2Mam dziecko (d4).2 : notice that the accusati*e in the neuter nouns 1i.e.those ending in 2?o2 is always the same as the nominati*e 1d,8 the 2basic2form44

Kie lubi "e" dziecka (d2). — * don+t like her child.

1P: 2Jubi= jej dziecko (d4).24

#y negatives we don't only mean negative statements ut also negative interrogatives (8 uestion sentences)and negative imperatives (8 orders or reuests):

Kie g0aszcz ich dziecka (d2)C — 'on+t stroke their childC

1a positi*e imperati*e sentence would be: 2F<aszcz ich dziecko (d4)2...

although a more natural one would actually be 2Pog<aszcz ich dziecko (d2)2: whyis that so is a subject for another lecture... 5 as for now8 we3re trying toconcentrate on the fact that where positi*e sentences of any kind 6 includingimperati*es8 like here 6 ha*e objects in the accusati*e8 the correspondingnegati*e sentences ha*e them in the geniti*e4

Kie "ad0eś "eszcze nigdy & :yciu truska&ki (d2)Q

— Eave you never eaten a stra&berry in your lieQ

1note that in Polish we use a double negati*e in such sentences:

2ie ja#*e+ ... ni#y ...2 6 2nigdy2 means 2ne*er2 6 while in nglish youeither say 2Ka*en3t you e*er ...2 or 2Ka*e you ne*er ...25 a positi*e 9uestion here would be: 2!zy jad<eL ju kiedyL 1w yciu4 truskawk=(d4)N2 6 2Ka*e you already Oe*er eaten a strawberry 1in QyourQ life4N24



nd let's stress that once again: we are talking here of sentences whose vers take direct objects in theaccusative — which is the asolute ma!ority of vers that take direct o!ects (more aout direct o!ects andthe accusative case in the section aout the accusative — further on in the te*t). These vers include thoseused in the e*amples aove: 3mieK3 (to hae& 3!eLK3 (to eat& 3g7askaK3 (to stroke (gie caress

c) Hor some verbs the object must always e in te genitive (instead of the usual accusative—dB). "n

other words: they present a (fi*ed) case government for the genitive. mong those vers are:

3dotyka8? (to touch)& 3u:y&a83 (to use)& 3doś&iadcza83 (to e)perience (sth, to suffer (sth)&

3!ozby&a8 si3 (to get rid of )& Mbroni83 (to defend )&

3!ilno&a83 (to watch oer sth*sb + to stand guard to sth*sb + to keep an eye on sth*sb)

Pozby&am si tego kota (d2)C — *+m getting rid o that catC

R:y&am truska&ki (d2) do zrobienia tego kokta"lu.

— * use a stra&berry to make that cocktail.

1... literally it3s more like: 2(...) for the !akin of that cocktail.28 butthat3s not really important right now4

%a kobieta !ilnu"e mo"ego dziecka (d2), gdy "estem & !racy.

— %hat &oman &atches over my child &hen *+m at &ork.

Bezdomni czsto doś&iadcza"3 zimna (d2). — %he homeless oten suer cold.

1the nominati*e ; 2zimno2 1noun8 neuter44

'otkn0am gor3cego garnka (d2) i si !o!arzy0am.

— * touched < fe!. a hot cookingA!ot and * burned < fe!. mysel.

1the nominati*e ; 21gorRcy ?adj.4 garnek2 1masc.45 the refle+i*e pronoun 2si=2 6which8 in Polish8 is the same for all persons8 i.e.8 it stands e9ually for:2myself28 2yourself8 2himself28 ...8 2yoursel*es28 2themsel*es2 6 is usually notplaced 2hanging out2 as the last word in a sentence4

Pra&o !o&inno broni8 ka:dego oby&atela (d2). — %he la& should deend every citizen.

1the nominati*e ; 21kady4 obywatel2 1masc.44

BroS mnie (d2)C — 'eend meC

d) when a certain !uantit" of a sustance (or even of something astract) is the complement (the o!ector a 3uasio!ect3) of a ver — that sustance comes in the genitive in those situations. /ften (ut notalways) a word like 3trochN3 (some)& or 3odroinN3 (a little bit of ) precedes a sustantive put in genitive usedthis way:

Kale" mi &ina (d2), !rosz. — Pour me (some) &ine, !lease.

1in nglish you need to add the word 2some28 in Polish 6 because the *erb choice

and the geniti*e complement 6 it is not strictly necessary: it becomes e*identthat it3s some 9uantity of wine that is meant5 the nominati*e ; 2wino2 1neutr.44



%rzeba doda8 odrobin cukru (d2).

— %here is a need to $ *t is necessary (= %rzeba...) to add a little bit o sugar.

<in English it would probably be best to sayD ?*t needs a some$a little more sugar.? 1the nominati*e ; 2cukier2 1m44

%ego (d2) "est tu mn;st&oC — %here is a lot o that in hereC

12Hego2 ; enit. of "to" ("thisthat") ; 2of that2 6 it3s abstract: we don3tknow what the speaker was talking about8 but it3s not important: the speakerwants to inform us about the 9uantity of so!ethin 6 we are probably e+pected toknow from the conte+t what it is that he/she means4

>am "u: doś8 "ego zacho&ania (d2)C — * already have enough o his behaviourC

1the nominati*e ; 21jego4 zachowanie2 1fem.45 in proper nglish8 one that ismore remote from Polish synta+8 this sentence would be: 273*e already had enoughof his beha*iour.24

e) many prepositions (and prepositional e*pressions) are always followed with nouns in the genitive. "n

other words: those prepositions govern the genitive case. +ome of them are (" cannot asolutely warrant thatthe list is complete& ut " guess " managed to rememer most of them :)):

A ?dla? (or )

A ?od? (rom D for all situations not covered y the preposition 3z$ze3 Dlook elowF: and especially& when you

get something from a person)

A ?do? (to, into )

A ?z$ze? (out o — in the sense that something is made of something (parts& materials)$

out o $ rom (inside) — to say that someody or something comes from a place& is taken out of

a place& or has this place as the origin$ in case of people& it can e used to denote the country& the city& etc.&that they come from$ generally speaking& this is the preposition to which the -nglish 3 from3 would etranslated in clear ma!ority of situations$

?ze? is a phonetic variant used in those situations in which the first sound of the following word

would make pronounciation nearly impossile: so& we have 3ze srebra3 and not 3z srebra3)

A ?bez? (&ithout )

A ?obok? (beside, neTt to )

A ?&e&n3trz? = ?& środku? (inside )

A ?na ze&n3trz? (outside )

A ?!o&y:e"? (higher than, above )A ?!oni:e"? (lo&er than, belo& )

A ?&zd0u:? (along, alongside )

A ?zamiast? (instead o )

A ?!odczas? = ?& czasie? (during )

Uaz & tygodniu ku!u" "edzenie dla kota (d2). — -nce in a &eek * buy ood or the cat.

Vhyba z"em gruszk zamiast truska&ki (d2). — * think (" chyba" = I think that / it seems to me that / probably) * &ill eat a !ear instead o a stra&berry.



'osta0a to & !rezecie od dziecka (d2). — he got this as a !resent rom a$the$her child.

ome eTam!les using other nouns to demonstrate the use o the remaining !re!ositions ollo&ed

by nouns in the genitiveD

'la >anueli (d2) !ortugalski "est 0at&y. 'la mnie (d2) "est trudny.

— 4or >anuela Portuguese is easy. 4or me 6it6 is diicult.

1the nominati*es ; 2Manuela2 1... yes8 declension applies to proper names aswell45 2ja2 1pers.pron.45 side?note: notice that8 in Polish8 in the second sentence there is no need foran e+plicit subject 6 just like in Portuguese or %panish8 it3s enough to say2Sla mnie jest trudny.2: 2Sla mnie on jest trudny.2 wouldn3t be wrong8 but itwould be unnatural in this place5 O2portugalski2 T 2j=zyk portugalski2 ( 2j=zyk1masculine42 ( 2on24

5dener&o&any cz0o&iek chodzi od ściany (d2) do ściany (d2).

— #n u!set <nervousW angered !erson is &alking rom one &all to another.

<literallyD rom &all to &all1the nominati*e ; 2Lciana2 1f44

%en naszy"nik "est ze z0ota (d2). — %his necklace is (made) out o gold.

1the nominati*e ; 2z<oto2 1neuter45

2ze2 is a form of 2z2 6 there are just those two e+isting 1the 2z2 and the

2ze"&* don3t worry: there are no words 2zi2 or 2zu2... well... there is 2za28but that3s a different preposition... and a different story :4 the 2ze2 is used when the first syllable of the substanti*e that follows wouldmake it too difficult to pronounce the it together with the preposition5

for the story of 2za2 6 which is a totally different8 unrelated preposition 6look into sections about prepositions in the descriptions of the accusati*e andinstrumental cases4

/oody #llen "est z Ko&ego orku (d2). a "estem z rako&a (d2).

>;" !rzy"aciel "est z Brazylii (d2). 5es!;0 #BB# by0 ze z&ec"i (d2).

Vzy "esteś z Polski (d2)Q

— /oody #llen is rom Ke& 1ork. *+m rom rak;&.

>y riend is rom Brazil. %he band #BB# &as rom &eden.

#re you rom PolandQ

1the nominati*es ; 2Eowy Iork2 1m428 2UrakBw 1m428 2'razylia 1f428

2%zwecja 1f428 2Polska 1f424

Ka"le!sze zegarki s3 ze z&a"carii (d2).

%ego ciasta nie u!iek0a mo"a mama. -no "est ze skle!u (d2).

%e "ab0ka s3 z mo"ego drze&a (d2).

— %he best &atches are$come rom &itzerland.

>y mom didn+t bake this cake @. *t is <comes rom a sho!.

%hese a!!les are <come rom my tree.

1the nominati*es ; 2%zwajcaria 1f48 21to4 ciasto 1n428 2sklep 1m428 21moje4drzewo 1n425 the noun 2jab<ka28 as you can guess8 is the subject of the lastsentence8 so it3s in the nominati*e form as well8 but this is the plural

nominati*e 6 the singular is 2jab<ko 1n425 73*e combined the sentences again8 as 7 did in the e+ample abo*e8 because they8again8 demonstrate a common trait: in the pre*ious e+ample8 the commondenominator was the notion of a city or a country being the place that a person



comes from5 in this e+ample8 we3re talking about a place of origin for a thing5 7 think a short e+planation is due with regard to the sentence marked with theasteri+ 1A4. Hhis sentence is basically the same as the following sentence8 onlywith its word?order modified: 2Moja mama 1d,4 nie upiek<a tego ciasta 1d$4.2

Od$ 6 because 2to ciasto2 is the direct object in a negati*e sentence: weha*e already co*ered this application of the geniti*e in the point 2b42 7 e+pect you now to be asking the 9uestion: why then this modified word?orderNHhe answer is the emphasis. 7n a situation like we ha*e here with this sentenceand the one following it8 in nglish one would use the passi*e mode in the firstone8 because it is the cake the that is central to the message. %o8 we wouldha*e:2Hhis cake wasn3t baked by my mom. 7t comes from a shop.2 1probably the PresentPerfect Hense should actually be used in the first sentence: 2... hasn3t beenbaked...28 but let3s not get further into that4. 7n Polish8 howe*er8 1and that3s the benefit resulting from declension48 we ha*ea *ery fle+ible word?order8 which we can use to focus the reader3s 1orlistener3s4 attention on certain parts of a sentence without resorting to meanssuch as the passi*e *oice: in fact8 passi*e *oice is not used too often inPolish8 and it is particularly little seen in informal language.4

Kie bd dziś &ychodzi8 z domu (d2). — * &ill not be getting out (o home) today.

1the nominati*e ; 2dom 1m424

ak d0ugo leci si z /arsza&y (d2) do Pary:a (d2)Q

— Eo& long is the light rom /arsa& to ParisQ

<more literallyD Eo& long does one ly rom /arsa& to ParisQ

1the nominati*es ; 2Warszawa 1f428 2Pary 1f425

"leci się "' this is actually a su$ject for a separate little "lecture", $utsince it%s nothin too co!plicate# why shoul# - leae it as a !ystery /ou !iht

$e reconizin the "się " as the refle0ie pronoun (which, inci#entally, is onean# sa!e for all ra!!atical persons). 1oweer, in this ra!!atical

construction, it #oesn%t hae !uch to #o with refle0ieness. The co!$ination<verb in the 3.pers.sing> + "się" is use# in !uch the sa!e way as the "one/you" + <verb in the

3.pers.sing> in 2nlish — to speak a$out actions where the su$ject is poorly#efine#, or those that are talk of a uniersal e0perience' those of the secon#

roup usually hain the nature of so!e e0peri!entally proe# truths, or

reco!!en#ations.

20a!ples'

+ tym koncercie wcią, jeszcze się m-wi +ne still keeps talking about tat concert / / 0eople still keep talking about tat concert. 1!zie kupuje się znaczki pocztowe2 Were !o you buy postal stamps2 3zym usuwa się te plamy2 Wat !oes one remo$e tese stains wit2 4

>agik &y"mu"e kr;lika (d4) z ka!elusza (d2).— %he magician is taking ( @out) a rabbit out o a hat.

1the nominati*es ; 2krBlik2 1m48 2kapelusz2 1m45 the 2Aout2 is put there to indicate that the Polish *erb 2wyjmować2 means 2totake out 1of somewhere42 6 this *erb is only used when the object of the actionis inside something4

Kie da si :y8 bez !rzy"aci;0 (d2). — *t+s im!ossible to live &ithout riends.

1the nominati*e ; 2przyjaciele2 1plural45

the phrase 2!a się2 6 being a specific figure of speach based on the *erb2!awać2 1to ie4 6 is used impersonally to e+press the idea: 2it is possible1to do something428 2it is managable 1to take/suffer sth428 2Hhis is doable.26

12a się.244

Ka tym zd"ciu sto" obok mo"ego z&ario&anego kolegi (d2)



i mo"e" na"le!sze" !rzy"aci;0ki (d2).

— *n this !hoto *+m standing neTt to my crazy !al < !ale and my best riend < fe!ale .

1the nominati*es are: 21mBj ?possess.pron.4 1zwariowany ?adj.4 kolega 1masc.42821moja ?p.p.4 1najlepsza ?adj.4 przyjaciB<ka 1fem.42

note that the conjunction 2i2 12and24 does not by itself ha*e anyinfluence on the declension case of 2moja najlepsza przyjaci-łka2 1conjunctionsare totally neutral with regard to declension4: the reason why that part of thesentence is in the geniti*e is that it8 too8 is associated 1and go*erned by4 thepreposition 2obok25 in fact8 the end of the sentence could look like this:

2...stoję obok mojego zwariowanego kolegi i obok mojej najlepszej

przyjaci-łki.28 but the repetiti*e 2obok2 wouldn3t look well5

in nglish you say 2in the photograph28 in Polish you use the preposition 2na2which most conte+ts corresponds to the nglish 2on24.

/e&n3trz tego o&ocu (d2) nie ma !estki (d2).

— %here is no stone (= big seed) inside that ruit.

1Virst8 the nominati*es: 21ten4 owoc2 1m48 2pestka2 1f45 now8 notice that the use of the geniti*e case has two different moti*ations

here: 2tego owocu2 is demanded by the preposition 2wewnątrz28 2pestki2 isdemanded by the fact that we ha*e 2pestka2 as the object of a negati*e sentence 6 in this case: a typical 2Hhere is no...2 sentence4

Vhcia0bym zobaczy8, co "est & środku kota (d2).

— * &ould like < !ale su$ject to see &hat is inside a cat.

1... of course8 this sentence is only a bit of black humour5 and... it3scorrect 1although 73m sure cats would be of a different opinion :44

Ka ze&n3trz "ego domu (d2) stoi "akiś !ode"rzany cz0o&iek (d1).

— -utside his house there is a sus!iciousAlooking man$!erson standing.

1the nominati*e ; 21jego4 dom2 1m45

2(jaki)& (po!ejrzany& człowiek2 1masc.4 is the subject of this sentence: onceagain8 7 ha*e used the fle+ible word?order to place the key element of thesentence at the the head of it 6 that sentence e9uals this one: 24aki)po!ejrzany człowiek stoi na zewnątrz jego !omu.28 where you ha*e the morefamiliar 2subject8 *erb8 object2 order5 7 can3t resist a temptation to di*ert your attention from the main subject for

yet a moment...: note that the 2jego !om2 12his house24 is not the housebelonging to the suspicious?looking man 6 not only because that would make nosense as far as the message of the sentence is concerned8 but also because in

Polish the possessi*e pronoun used for the subect of a sentence is 2 sw-j 1inflected appropriately to the number8 gender and case of the thing2possessed.24. +amples: "4a umiem za!bać o swoje sprawy." 5 can take care o# my business.

272 is the subject of the sentence8 and the 2possessor2 of the business. "+na musi spakować swoją walizkę." 6e must pack er suitcase.

2%he2 is the subject of the sentence and the possessor of the suitcase.

while 1when the subject is not the same as the 2possessor24...: "+na umie za!bać o moje sprawy." 6e can take care o# my business. "4a muszę spakować jej walizkę." 5 must pack "er suitcase. Hhis rule is not *ery strict if the subject is the ,st or the $nd grammaticalperson 1either singular or polural45 howe*er8 for a &rd person subject a *ariantof 2sw-j2 is the only correct possessi*e pronoun. Hherefore8 had 7 wanted to say that a suspicious man is standing outside hisown house8 7 would ha*e said:

20o!ejrzany człowiek stoi na zewnątrz swojego !omu.24

/ tym mie"scu &oda & morzu siga mi tylko !o&y:e" kolan (d2).— *n this !lace the &ater in the sea reaches or me only above my knees.

1first8 this is not *ery good nglish8 but 7 didn3t want to stray too far away



from the Polish synta+ 6 in a proper nglish it would be something like this:24t this spot, the water of the sea reaches only a$oe !y knees.25 second8 the nominati*es: 2kolano2 1singular8 neuter8 nominati*e4 ( 2kolana21singular8 neut.8 geniti*e45 2kolana2 1plural8 nominati*e... yeah8 7 know itlooks just like sing. geniti*e...4 ( 2kolan2 1plural8 geniti*e44

>am tego (d2) !o&y:e" uszu (d2)C — * have this reaching above my earsC

1this is a figurati*e and *ery popular way of saying2I've really had enouh o! "his#25 the nominati*es: 2to2 12this24 1neuter45 2ucho2 1singular8 nominati*e4 (2ucha2 1singular8 geniti*e48 uszy 1pl. nom.4 ( uszu 1pl. geniti*e45 2tego2 ;geniti*e of 2to2 1demonstrati*e pronoun45 the reason for the geniti*e form of 2to2 12tego24 is that we3re speaking ofsome 29uantity2 of his beha*iour8 or rather 6 of e+periencing that beha*iour:look at the last e+ample illustrating the earlier point 2d424

%a sukienka "est d0uga — (ona) siga !oni:e" kolan (d2).

— %his dress is long — it reaches belo& the knees.

ego &yniki by0y !oni:e" oczeki&aS (d2). — Eis results &ere belo& eT!ectations.1the nominati*e: 2oczekiwania2 1plural 6 this noun usually comes in plural44

%o by0 cios !oni:e" !asa (d2)C — %his &as a blo& (a !unch) belo& the &aistlineC

1; 1fiuratie4 something grossly unfair5

the nominati*e ; 2pas2 1masc.45 note that 2pas2 means the 2waist2 1or2waistline"), i.e. the middle part of a human body8 but it also means 2a $elt2:after all8 that3s where you wear a belt8 isn3t itN :44

'roga biegnie &zd0u: rzeki (d2). — %he road runs alongside the river.

1the nominati*e: 2rzeka2 1f44

R:y&am o0;&ka (d2) zamiast d0ugo!isu (d2). — * use a !encil instead o a ballA!oint.1the nominati*es: 2o<Bwek2 1m48 2d<ugopis2 1m45 the moti*ations for the use of geniti*e are different for the two nouns in the

sentence: 2oł-wka (d2)2 is demanded by the *erb 2u,ywać2 1look at sub?point

2c4248 2!ługopisu (d2)2 is re9uired by the preposition 2zamiast24

odczas "azdy (d2) autobusem musisz trzyma8 si !orczy (d2).

— 'uring a ride in a bus you must hold onto a handrail.

1the nominati*es ; 2jazda2 1f48 2por=cz2 1f45

like in the pre*ious e+ample8 the reason for inflecting 2jaz!a2 into itsgeniti*e 12jaz!y24 is the 2rekcja2 of the preposition 2po!czas28 and the reasonfor the use of geniti*e 2poręczy2 is the 2rekcja2 of the *erb 2trzymać się2 1tohold on / to hold onto sth45

the noun 2jaz!a2 can describe any kind of journey on wheels8 including gettinga ride in a car or dri*ing one4

/ czasie deszczu (d2) dzieci si nudz3. — 'uring the rain children get bored.

1or8 in a good nglish: 25hil#ren et $ore# when it%s rainin.25 the nominati*e ; 2deszcz2 1m45 maybe it3s not the best place for that8 but let me 9uickly clarify that the*erbal phrase 2to get bored2 corresponds in Polish to a refle+i*e *erb 2nudziGsi=2 6 now8 the 2się2 part can come either after or before the main *erb8 and it

is usually a*oided that the 2się2 would come as the last word in a sentence.4



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: >>> d". the dative (ce#ownik) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

a) The main function of the dative is to designate te indirect object of a ver. ,hat it means is that if

we have an action that takes an o!ect (a person or a material thing)& ut the result of the action affectsanother person (or thing)& then that 3another3 person (or thing) we call the indirect o!ect and thesustantive for that person (or thing) we (usually) put in the dative. "n -nglish& designation of the indirecto!ect is achieved through the use of constructions like 3to me3& 3for you3 or !ust y putting the indirecto!ect efore the direct o!ect in the order of the sentence.

4ere are some e*amples of -nglish sentences to show what " mean :)

3 he gae me a book#3 — 3a ook3 is the direct o!ect& 3me3 is the indirect o!ect.

3 -e bought his child a toy#3 — 3his child3 is the indirect o!ect& 3a toy3 is the direct o!ect. The o!ect of the ver 3to uy3 is the thing you uy& and that's the direct o!ect& ut an important goal of the sentence is toshow the eneficiary of the purchase& the person whom the result of the action really affects — and that's thechild (the indirect o!ect of this sentence).

3.ie it to me#3 — again& we have the ver 3to give3 here& ut in this case the indirect o!ect comes as secondin the order of sentence& so the 3to me3 construction must e used.

nd now some e*amples using the three model nouns: a cat& a strawerry& a child.

Vzesz kotu (d$) uterko (d4). — * comb $ *+m combing the ur or my cat.

12futerko2 ; diminuti*e of 2futro25 when we speak about the soft coat of thesmall furry animals8 we use the dimuniti*e5 note: a more uni*ersal term for thehairy coat of an animal is 2sierLG2... yeah8 how did 7 guess you wouldn3t likeit muchN 54 1... 7 mean: the pronounciation.4 nfortunately8 this the only wordto use with regard to dogs and horses...5 all neuter nouns 1i.e. these endingwith 2?o2 ha*e the accusati*e 1d-4 form identical with the nominati*e 1d,44

Vukier doda"e s0odyczy (d2) truska&ce (d$). — ugar adds s&eetness to a stra&berry.

1in most situations the indirect object would be something animate8 a person oran animal8 but8 as this e+ample shows8 it doesn3t ha*e to be so. What isaffected by the adding of the sugarN 2Hruskawka28 rightN :4 %o we ha*e astrawberry in the dati*e. 67 don3t want to pile to many things in one place8 but in this sentence you cansee another e+ample of the geniti*e (d2) being used to say that sugar a certainamount8 or some8 sweetness 1d, ; 2s<odycz24 to the strawberry 6 this is theaspect of geniti*e usage that we3*e talked about in the point 2d42 of theearlier section4.

Vzytam ksi3:eczk mo"emu dziecku (d$). — *+m reading a (children+s) book to my child.

1the nominati*es ; 2ksiReczka2 1f48 21moje4 dziecko2 1n45

2ksią,eczka2 is the dimuniti*e of 2ksią,ka2 1f4 which is 2a book2: 2ksią,eczka2often suggests a small format of a book 6 and therefore it is often used forpersonal documents in the format similar to that of a passport 6 but it is alsothe word that is applied to all books for little children4



b) the important thing to rememer is that the action descried y the ver affects the indirect o!ect —

this says nothing aout the nature of the effect& which doesn't have to e& and very often is not& eneficial oradvantageous to the indirect o!ect.

Rkradli mi (d$) zegarek.

— %hey < = somebody, we don't know who, some thieves stole the &atch ?or me?.

1of course8 in nglish a sentence like that looks ridiculous and one would say2Hhey stole my watch.2 6 73m just trying to use the nearest correspondinggrammatical construction. 7n Polish it is also correct to say 2kradli mBjzegarek.28 which literally has the meaning of 2Hhey stole my watch.25 howe*er8this doesn3t appear as natural as the *ariant with the dati*e which putsemphasis on the person affected5 2mi2 ; the dati*e of 2ja2 1pers.pron.44

%emu ch0o!cu (d$) umar0a matka (d1).

— [syntax translation:] 4or that boy $ %o that boy 6his6 mother has died.

1>HHEH7DE: the 2synta+ translation2 is meant to show the structure of thesentence Hhe natural way to speak the same message in nglish would be: 2This$oy%s !other has #ie# .2. >s before 1in the sentence with the watch48 we prefer a

sentence like 27emu cłopcu (d$) umarła matka.2 to 2atka tego cłopca (d2)

umarła.2 in situations when this is a recent e*ent and when we want to touchupon the personal and tragic aspect of the fact. We want to show that whathappened really affected somebody. Hhe second sentence 6 which literally means

2Hhe mother of the boy 1has4 died.2 12atka tego cłopca umarła.24 6 sounds9uite impassionate and almost suggests that this is something that happened in afurther past. >n important note to make is that the Polish sentence does notcarry the meaning that the mother died for the $oy in the way it is understoodin the nglish language: that she died to sa*e his life8 or to protect him. Eo.Kere we speak only about the fact that her death influences him 1his life45

21temu4 ch<opcu2 ; the dati*e of 21ten4 ch<opiec25 2matka2 is the subject of this sentence 6 Polish synta+ is *ery fle+ible8 sothere is no problem in modifying the word order so that the thing that the wholesentence is about would appear right at the start4

5e!su0 si nam (d$) samoch;d. — %he car broke do&n on us.

17 think that this americanism 6 this 2on us2 6 has a *ery similar function tothe Polish dati*e: in this sentence it3s not so important that car broke down8but that the failure affected the 2us2: probably8 2we" couldn3t get somewhere ontime5 2nam2 ; the dati*e of 2my24

c) The Polish like it a lot to speak aout things happening without there eing someody that can e heldresponsile :) /O& !oke aside& "'m speaking here aout sentences with indeterminate subjects. +omethinghappened& ut we're totally uninterested or unale to say who did it. nd yet... we are often interested who was affected y the action :)

Perhaps somewhat funnily& some of those things that we speak aout so impersonally in Polish are uitepersonal e*periences — " guess we assume that they come to us whether we want them or not& and that's why we put ourselves as o!ects rather than su!ects of them :)

Cook at these e*amples:



est mi (d$) zimno. — < syntax tr (*t) is cold to me.

— < proper En * eel cold. (orD *t+s cold (here)).

est mi cie!0o. — * eel &arm. (...You don't need to give me your sweater, dear ))

Vzy nie "est Vi (d$) za gor3coQ — 'on+t you eel too hotQ (!#$I%$& this is not a uestion "on't you think you're too attrative*" +))+

12!i2 ; the dati*e of 2Hy24

e" (d$) "est smutno. — he eels sad.

12jej2 ; the dati*e of 2ona24

est mu (d$) trudno.

— %hings are diicult or him. $ Ee+s inding his lie hard.

12mu2 ; the dati*e of 2on24

s you can see& the repeating pattern of those e*amples isD

est X noun/pronoun in !ati$e Xa!$er

1all ad*erbs end in 2?o28 so if you know that something is not a noun and whenit ends in 2?o2 it is an ad*erb5 ... to be 9uite precise8 in the e+ample with 2jej2 abo*e8 we ha*e the pronounin the first position in the sentence8 but that3s just a matter of word order:placing the pronoun first makes more emphasis be put on it: such modification tothe word order may suggest that the 2she2 of the sentence was sad while 2theothers2 1some 2others28 we don3t know who4 were not5 of course8 the following

*ariant of the sentence is e9ually correct: 24est jej smutno.24.

There are also a few vers aout impressions and personal e*periences for which we use a different type ofdative construction — which is& again& a construction in which the person who feels and e*periences thethings is not the su!ect ut the indirect o!ect of the ver.

%a !iosenka !odoba mi (d$) si. — <syntax tr %his song ?!resents itsel &ell? to me.

— [proper En] * like this song.

1Son3t get too scared about the seeming 2weirdness2 of it. >nd don3t take this

nglish 2 present itself 2 too directly 6 the Polish *erb 2po!obać się2 isn3t so

stiff and formal: it is a really nice *erb whose meaning is something like 2to$e likea$le28 2to $e pleasin 2. 7t3s important that you understand the way we e+press the notion that we likesomething in the Polish language: we8 sort of8 don3t say that it is us whochoose to like it 6 it is more that the thing itself is pleasing and we cannothelp being affected by it. 7sn3t that sweetN 544 >ctually8 7 belie*e that the %panish language has a similar dati*e constructionfor the 27 like sentences28 doesn3t itN

2!e gusta la cancin2 6 I like the song.

2#o me gustan hormigas2 6 I don't like ants.

one note: sentences of this type20o!oba mi się Xco) (d4)Y2

ha*e the meaning:2Xso!ethin Y appeals to !y senses Oespecially to the siht2 56

but when you speak about something that fits your preference8 that is in yourtaste8 that you ha*e a sympathy for8 when you talk about people you like8 or



things to eat8 when this 2liking2 is stronger and lasting8 then you say: 28ubię Xco) (d4)Y25 this e+pression follows the typical grammatical patern8i.e. the person who likes this 2something2 1or somebody4 is the subject of thesentence4

/yda"e mi (d$) si, :e coś zrobi0em 7le.— 6*t6 seems to me that * have done < mascv$orm something &rong.

1actually 6 surprise8 surprise 54 6 there is not much to add or e+plain there8because in nglish the e+pression is similar8 the only difference being that inPolish we ha*e a refle+i*e *erb: 2wy!awać się24

Przy!omnia0o mu (d$) si, :e musi &zi38 lekarst&o.

— Ee remembered that he had to take a medicine.

— [syntax translation:] 6*t6 reminded itsel to him, that he has to take a medicine.

12mu2 ; the dati*e of 2on25 well8 there3s one more thing that you might ha*e noticed: in Polish8 in a noun

clause %which is a type o$ subordinate clause like the one in this example, ie, one that serves as a complement o$ the verb o$the main clause& we don$t adjust the tense to fit the tense of the main clause 6 so weha*e 2!usi2 1present tense4 no matter what the tense of the main sentence: inthis case 6 the past 12 przypo!nia*o się244

Yni0o "e" (d$) si, :e lata. — he dreamt she &as lying.

17t3s 9uite impossible to make a 2synta+ translation2 for this one. Hhe *erb2)nić2 can8 in some situations8 be used like 2to #rea!2 in nglish8 with the

2dreamer2 being the subject and the acti*e agent in the sentence: 24a )nię.2 ?2-%! #rea!in.2 'ut in case you want to tell the story of a *ision you had inyour sleep8 it is much more common and more natural to say that something 2wasdreamt to you2. 7 think it makes a lot of sense8 because we don3t acti*ely shape

our dreams8 do weN 1... Kello8 Mr. Vreud 545 in this e+ample you can see again how the noun clause 1the subordinate clause4is in present tense 12lata2: the past would ha*e been 2latała"& e*en though the

main clause speaks about an action that was happening in the past: 2)niło jej

się2 ? the present would be 2)ni jej się244

d) +ome vers take te main object in dative (like an indirect o!ect) even if there is no direct o!ect

(which nearly always comes in the accusative) given in the sentence. Cook at those e*amples:

Z dziko&a8 (to thank )D

'ziku" Vi (d$). — %hank you.

1and not 2Szi=kuj= Hy (d1).2 or 2Szi=kuj= !i= (d4%a&&us.).24

Podziku" temu !anu (d$). — %hank this gentleman. [imperative sentence]

1the nominati*e ; 21ten4 pan24

Podziku" "e" (d$) za !rezent. — %hank her or the !resent . [imperative sentence]

1the nominati*e ; 2ona24.

<ust consider that (in the logic of the Polish language) thanking is not a process in which you somehow

modify or directly influence someody& which is what usually happens when you have actions (vers) thattake a direct o!ect. 6ather than that& thanking seems to e viewed as an action that is only directed atsomeody. "t so as if we didn't 3thank a person3 (3dziNkowaK kogo/ (d4)3 — incorrect) ut thanked 3to a person3 (3dziNkowaK komu/ (d) 3) (of course& this second e*pression is incorrect in -nglish).



similar thing happens with the Polish ver 3to help3 (Z !omaga8). ,e look upon the action as one of

3giing help to someone3 (3pomagaK komu/ (d$)3)& rather than doing something that somehow directlychanges the person that is eing helped.

Vzsto !omagam mo"emu tacie (d$). — * oten hel! my dad.

1the nominati*e ; 21mBj4 tata2 1masc.44

anek !omaga s&o"emu bratu (d$) na!isa8 &y!raco&anie szkolne.

— ohnny is hel!ing his brother &rite a school essay.

1the nominati*e ; 2jego/1swBj4 brat2 1masc.45

the use of inflected 2sw-j2 1instead of 2jego24 is dictated by the fact thatthe 2possessor2 refered to by this possessi*e pronoun is also the subject of thesentences ? 73*e presented that shortly as an e+tended side note to one of thee+amples in the point 2e42 of the section on the geniti*e4.

Pom;: mi (d$)C — Eel! meC

Another important verb using an indirect object in the dative is the Polish equivalent o the !nglish

"to say / to tell / to speak " — "Z m-wić" #ell, this is not one verb in Polish to cover all situations

o a person speaking or saying things to another person $ other people, but this is certainly the one

most used %he person that you tell the things al&ays comes in the dative, &hether the sentence says

&hat &as said or not 'ne note( unortunately, the perective orm o the verb "m)&i*" is quite

irregular( "po&ied+ie*" #e-ll talk about the perective aspect o verbs at some other occasion.

Po&iem mo"e" dzie&czynie (d$) o moich !roblemach.

— * &ill tell my girlriend about my !roblems.1the nominati*e ; 21moja4 dziewczyna2 1fem.4 si#enote: yes8 7 could ha*e also used 2swojej2 in place of 2mojej2 in thatsentence5 howe*er8 this is not obligatory for ,st?person subjects 1while it isobligatory in case of some of the other grammatical persons8 particularly: the&rd45 in fact the indi*idual possessi*e pronoun 12moja248 when used with a ,st?person subject8 appears more personal4

Po&iedz mi (d$)C — %ell meC

5a&sze m;&i Vi (d$) !ra&dC — * al&ays tell you the truthC W)

Po&iedzia0 s&o"emu tacie (d$), :e rozbi0 "ego samoch;d.

— Ee told his dad that he had crashed his <i.e., his ather+s car.

1the nominati*e 2jego/1swBj4 tata2 1masc.45 once again you can obser*e the use of an 2indi*idual2 possessi*e pronoun12jego24 and the 2generic28 2meant?for?the?subject2 2swBj2: the dad 2belongs2directly to the guy who is the subject of the sentence5 the car8 howe*er8doesn3t directly belong to the guy8 but to the dad 6 and this we are informedabout on account of the 2jego2 ha*ing been placed before the car. Kad the caralso directly belonged to the guy8 the sentence would ha*e been as follows: 2Powiedzia< swojemu tacie8 e rozbi< swBj samochBd.2 ? here the owner of thecar and the 2owner2 of the dad is the same person.4

>;&i0em mu (d$), :eby u&a:a0. — * told him <not once to be careul.

1... again8 this is a matter of the perfecti*e / imperfecti*e aspect of a *erb8

and we won3t deal with that here in detail ? let me just say that 2m-wiłem2 is

the imperfecti*e form of 2m-wić28 and that if the sentence was meant to inform

about a single specific warning then we would ha*e it use the perfecti*e and8conse9uently8 look like this: 20owie!ziałem mu9 ,eby uwa,ał.2... of course8 inboth cases it is a male person who was gi*ing the warning: if it had been afemale8 the conjugated *erb would ha*e ended with 2:am244



There is proaly yet a numer of vers that use dative for the main o!ect. Two more that " can think of noware

3Z wierzyć komu/ (d)Q3: to beliee somebodyQ& and 3Z u#ać komu/+czemu/ (d)Q3: to trust

somebodyEsomethingQ

/ierz Vi (d$). — * believe you.

Kie &ierz temu !olityko&i (d$)C — * don+t believe that !oliticianC

1the nominati*e ; 21ten4 polityk2 1masc.44

Ram mo"e" !rzy"aci;0ce (d$). — * trust my (emale) riend.

1the nominati*e ; 21moja4 przyjaciB<ka2 1fem.44

Po !rostu "e" (d$) uam. — * sim!ly trust her.

1the nominati*e ; 2ona2 1personal pron.44

Kie uam mo"emu kotu (d$)C — * don+t trust my catC

1nominati*e ; 21mBj4 kot24

1Zou might want to notice that in the negati*e sentences abo*e the objects donot change into geniti*e. Cemember: only the direct objects in the accusati*ecase change their grammatical case 1to the geniti*e4 in negati*e sentences.4

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: >>> d4. the accusative (bie%nik) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The accusative is y far the most used case for direct objects — which means that& e*cept for some versthat take direct o!ect in the genitive (some of which " already presented earlier) and really few that use theinstrumental case (which "'ll cover later)& almost eery transitive verb has its direct o!ect in theaccusative. "n other words& if you have a ver that speaks aout some action that has an o!ect& in aout R?Jof situations that o!ect will e in accusative case. The direct o!ect is what the action of the ver directlyinfluences or changes in some way. "t can also e a direct result of an action. #$$%&$'(& in negative sentences +e al+a"s use te genitive instead o te accusative

-*amples:

armi (r4) mo"ego kota (d4). — *+m eeding my cat.

/0aśnie kro" (r4) ostatni3 truska&k (d4). — ust no& *+m cutting the last stra&berry.

1nominati*e ; 21ostatnia4 truskawka24

>atka uczy (r4) dziecko (d4) my8 zby (d4).

— %he mother teaches the child to &ash 6its6 teeth.

1nominati*es ; 2dziecko2 1neuter: the neuter nouns, all o whih end with "-o", have idential orms or the

nominative and or the ausative48 2z=by2 1plural: nouns whose plural orm ends with "-y" in the nominative, have the

same orm in the ausative45 the singular nominati*e is 2zRb2 1masc.4 1a tooth445 notice that we ha*e two *erbs here 6 the entire phrase 2myć zęby2 is theindirect object of the *erb 2uczyć28 but8 more importantly8 let3s obser*e thatboth of the *erbs 12uczyG2 and 2myG24 are transiti*e and take a direct object in



the accusati*e 6 %45 the direct object of 2uczyć2 is the person you teach 6 inthis case: 2dziecko (d4)28 and the direct object of the *erb 2myć2 is what youwash 6 2z=by (d4)24

" could practically end there... ut why not have a few more e*amplesA :) (especially if " have found them& so

" didn't even have to invent them :) — "'ve orrowed the e*ample sentences from a matchless freecompendium of Polish grammar y ;rzegorz <agodzi=ski& availale online at:http://free.of.pl/g/grzegorj/gram/en/gram00.html )

>atka &idzi (r4) syna (d4). — #$%he mother sees 6her6 son.

1the nominati*e ; 2syn2 1masc.44

0ysz (r4) muzyk (d4). — * (can) hear music.

1d, ; 2muzyka2 1fem.44

emy (r4) obiad (d4). — /e are eating dinner.

1d, ; 2obiad2 1masc.44

Pi"ecie (r4) &ino (d4). — 1ou are drinking &ine.

1d, ; 2wino2 1neuter44. -!o&iem (r4 (op"ional) r$) Vi (d$) ba"k (d4).

— * &ill read you a children+s story $ a able $ a airyAtale.1d, ; 2bajka2 1fem.45 the translation to nglish makes things a bit confused but the direct objecthere is 2bajka28 because what you read is a story8 not a person 6 the person youread the story to is the indirect object of the action of reading5 the nglishsentence can be easily modified to show that clearly: 2- will a story to you.24

Pac"ent dosta"e (r4) lekarst&o (d4) codziennie z rana.

— %he !atient gets the medicine every day in the morning.

1d, ; 2lekarstwo2 1neuter44

%&o"e zacho&anie (r4) mart&i rodzic;& (d4). — 1our behaviour &orries 6your6 !arents.

1parents ; 2rodzice2 1d,8 pl.45 singular 2parent2 6 2rodzic2 e+ists8 but israrely used8 because in Dld?Polish that word clearly referred to a father8 notto a mother. Hherefore8 2rodzic2 is used only in the formal language. Hhe

normally used form is 2je!no z ro!zic-w2 6 2one of the parents2.4

/h yes& " would have nearly forgotten that there are a couple of prepositions that take words in accusative :)$

" can now recall five: 3na3& 3po!3& 3za3& 3prze!3& and 3w/we3...

There's a catch& though. These prepositions do not always govern the accusative case. There are noprepositions with a single 3rekcja3 for the accusative case.These five " have !ust named are prepositions that elong to what "'d like to call a 3 dual-recja 3 category .This means that they govern one case in one type of situations& and another one in other situational settings. ,ell& it's not so ad& as it looks at the first glance: all those prepositions have a 3primary rekc!a 3 S which forthe 3na3 and the 3w+we3 is the locative (d)& while for the 3 pod "& the 3 za3 and the 3 przed 3 is the instrumental(dU) S and they have a 3secondary rekc!a3& which is always one for the accusative.ow& the 3primary rekc!a3 is the one that is used in the ma!ority of situations ("'d like to refer to them as3static situations3). The rekcja for the accusative (3the secondary rekc!a3) applies only to the situations wherethe preposition descries the destination& the goal& or the specific target of an aimed movement S which canalso e an action of thrusting& poking& staing& or shooting. "'d like to refer to them as the 3motion-to+ards situations 3. The important thing characterizing the 3motion*towards situations3 that reuire theuse of the accusative rekc!a is that the movement would e directed& that it would e dynamic& and that it

would e aimed at reaching the target." realize that in theory it looks like a pretty izzare concept& ut the e*amples will show you that it's not thatdifficult in practice.







4ere are the prepositions again:

?na? — on to! o $ onto the to! o — the version that is used with a word in the accusative is ?onto the

to! o ?

?!od? — under (underneath, beneath) — again& the word that comes after it is put in the accusative only

when there is aimed movement directed to a place which is underneath something

?za? — behind $ in behind — the second translation variant carries the sense of a motion*towards

situation& which is one where we would put the sustantive that follows in the accusative

?!rzed? — in ront o $ to the ront o — in the instances where the second translation variant applies& we

have the accusative rekc!a

?&$&e? — in $ in (into) — this preposition governs the accusative nearly e*clusively in situations where the

following sustantive is a target of a thrusting& poking& punching& pricking& kicking or shooting action$ watchout not to form too strong a mental association etween the 3w/we3 and the -nglish 3into3& as the 3into3

more freuently corresponds to the Polish preposition 3!o3 (which we have already met with in the section about thegenitive, which is the declension case it governs)1the 2w/we2 *arianti*ity is moti*ated by facilitating pronounciation 6 just likein case of the 2z/ze2 that we ha*e already seen in the section on the geniti*e4

-*amples:

koczy0 na st;0 (d4). — Ee "um!ed onto a$the table.

&ut—D [e:a0 na stole (d6lo&a"ive). — Ee &as lying on a$the table.

1the nominati*e ; 2stB<2 1masc.44

amoch;d (d1) !rze&r;ci0 si na dach (d4). — #$%he car rolled onto its roo.

&ut—D amoch;d (d1) le:a0 na dachu (d6). — #$%he car &as lying on its roo.

1the nominati*e ; 2dach2 1masc.44

Uzucam !ieni3dze (d4—direct object) na st;0 (d4—because of the preposition and the dynamic action).

— *+m thro&ing money on the table.

&ut—D Pieni3dze (d1) le:3 na stole (d6). — %he money is lying on the table.

1nominati*es: 2pieniRdze2 1plural[the word is usually used in plural48 2stB<2 1masc.44

/chodz !od st;0 (d4). — *+m coming in under a$the table.

&ut 6: iedz !od sto0em (d5ins"rumen"al). — *+m sitting under a$the table.

ot (d1) ucieka !od st;0 (d4). — #$%he cat is running [running to hide escaping] under a$the table.

&ut—D ot (d1) ś!i !od sto0em (d5). — %he cat is slee!ing under a$the table.

nd now for an interesting e*ample :) :

The refle*ive ver 3cować się3 (literally: 3to be hiding oneself 3) can e used in two ways: G. to say that a sdEsth is moving furtively (silently& 3invisily3) to a place where they can hide& or>. to say that sdEsth is 3staying low3 in a hideout.



ow look how the choice of the declension case tells us whether the little girl is still running to her hideout&or if she's already there& !ust lying low and keeping uiet — notice that nothing changes in the whole sentencee*cept for the gram. case of one noun :)

'zie&czynka (d1) cho&a si !od 0;:ko (d4).

— #$%he little girl is going in under a$the bed to hide there.

1nominati*e ; 2<Bko2 1neut.44

'zie&czynka (d1) cho&a si !od 0;:kiem (d5).

— #$%he little girl is hiding under the bed.

1we don3t know how long she3s been there5 actually8 she might ha*e just slid inthere8 but she is not in the process of running to the bed or s9ueezing in underit right now :44

Pac"ent &chodzi za !ara&an (d4). — %he !atient comes in behind the screen.

1nominati*e ; 2parawan2 1masc.44

!ompare—D Pac"ent (d1) czeka na lekarza (d4) za !ara&anem (d5ins"rumen"al).

— #$%he !atient is &aiting or a$the doctor behind the screen.1the nominati*es ; 2lekarz2 1m48 2parawan2 1m45 accidentally8 we ha*e one unplanned usage e+ample here 6 2na lekarza2 is also asituation where we ha*e the preposition 2na2 followed by a noun in the

accusati*e : howeve%' this is something a bit different8 because here the 2na2

doesn3t ha*e the function of telling us about a location 6 this 2na" belongs tothe 2rekcja2 of the *erb 2czekać2: in nglish we say 2to wait for s$#sth28 in

Polish8 "czekać na kogo)/co) (d4)24

/ysz0am za drz&i (d4).

— * &ent [$emverb$orm] out o the door $ * ste!!ed outside (through) the door.

— [literally:] * &ent behind the door. [bad English]

!ompare6: ta0am za drz&iami (d5). — * &as standing [$emverb$orm] behind the door.

1the nominati*e ; 2drzwi2 1always plural in Polish44

-n za&sze !cha si !rzed szereg (d4). — Ee al&ays !ulls or&ard o the line.

— [even more literally:] Ee al&ays !ushes himsel to (a !lace) in ront o the line.

1the nominati*e ; 2szereg2 1masc.45 the phrase 2pcać się prze! szereg 2 is a Polish idiom signifying as much as 2tocome out olunteering when nobody needs you to, or when it can een cause trouble or embarassment 25its meaning is noticeably different from the seemingly similar nglish phrase2to step out of line24

!ompare—D Prezydent !rzemaszero&a0 !rzed szeregiem (d5) :o0nierzy (d2).— %he !resident marched through in ront o a line o soldiers.

1notice that the president did not walk towards the soldiers: he just walkedalong the line formed by them 6 which means that we ha*e no 2 mo"ion "owards2

situation8 and so the preposition 2prze!2 adopts the more common of its two*arianti*e case go*ernments here 6 the one for the instrumental8 d"4

%en idiota (d1) uderzy0 & m;" samoch;d (d4), gdy sta0em na czer&onym ś&ietle (d6)C

— %hat idiot hit my car as * &as standing at the red signalC

[literally:] (...) as * &as standing on the red light.

1the nominati*es: 21mBj4 samochBd2 1masc.8 the accus. form looks the same48 21czerwone4 Lwiat<o2 1neut.4 6 the phrase 2stać na czerwonym )wietle 2 makes

use of the preposition "na2 with its ordinary8 2primary2 go*ernment for thelocati*e.





5a&sze ostro:nie !rzechodz !rzez ulic (d4).

— * al&ays go across the street careully.

1the Polish sentence puts the emphasis on the 2carefulness2 1that3s why 2zawsze

ostro,nie2 6 2always carefully 2 6 goes up front and starts it48 so in nglishthis message would be put best like this: 2t$s a#wa+s ca%e,u##+ that c%oss -

go ac%oss the st%eet.25 the nominati*e ; 2ulica2 1fem.44 Patrz !rzez okno (d4). — *+m looking out a$the &indo&.

1in Polish we say 273m looking through a/the window25 the nominati*e ; 2okno21neut.44

%a szaa nie !rze"dzie !rzez drz&i (d4)C — %his &ardrobe &ill not go through the doorC 1the nominati*e ; 2drzwi2 1always plural44

oS skacze !rzez !rzeszkod (d4). — #$%he horse is "um!ing <across a hurdle.

1in nglish the *erb jump can be used transiti*ely8 that is: the thing that isbeing jumped o*er simply becomes the direct object8 and thus no prepositions arenecessary5 in Polish the *erb 2 skakać 2 is always intrasiti*e : it cannot ha*e a

direct object and there has to be a preposition 12przez28 2na!24 used before anobject 1an indirect object45

the nominati*e ; 2przeszkoda2 1fem.45 2przeszkoda2 comes from the *erb 2przeszkadzaG2: to disturb8 to be a trouble8to be an obstacle/hurdle4

%en samoch;d si nie !su"e, bo zosta0 &y!roduko&any !rzez Kiemc;& (d4).

— %his car doesn+t break do&n, because it had been !roduced by the ermans W))1the nominati*e ; 2Eiemcy2 1plural45 singular forms ; 2Eiemiec2 1masc.4 (d1)8 2Eiemca2 (d4)4

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: >>> d. the inst%umenta# (na%z/dnik) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

a) The main role of the instrumental case is to indicate that a sustantive is an instrument or a means (a

method& a way) y which the action of the ver is e*ecuted. This 3instrument3 doesn't always have to e aphysical o!ect."n -nglish that function of the instrumental is handled y putting 3with3 in front of the word (3to be doing

something ith something3)& or with such constructions as 3by means of 6so!ethin7 3& 3using6so!ethin7 3& or& in specific circumstances: 3by 6so!ethin7 3.

-*amples:

Pisz list (d4%a&&u) !i;rem (d5%ins"r). — *+m &riting a$the letter &ith a !en.

1the pen is the instrument8 the tool of the action of writing5 the letter is thedirect object of the action 6 it is what directly results from the writing5 the nominati*es ; 2list2 1masc.48 2piBro2 1neut.44 >anuela lubi !isa8 !i;rem (d5). — >anuela likes to &rite &ith a !en.

1side?note: a simple infiniti*e 6 ending in 2:ć2 6 comes after the *erb 2lubiG2when we speak about liking to do something4

Vodziennie "ad do szko0y (d2) autobusem (d5). — 'aily $ 2very day * go to school by bus.



1the bus is a means of going5 66it is important to know that in Polish we say: 2i!ę2 12i)ć2 ; to o (on foot)4: when we go on foot5 6while8 when we use some means of transport we say: 2ja!ę2 12jec ć2 ; to ri#e (...inon sth)4: for any kind of land *ehicle8 2lecę2 12lecieć" < to fly (inon sth)4: for any air/space transport8 or 2płynę2 12płynąć2 ; to float (inon sth)4: for water transport5

with all these *erbs 1jecać9 lecieć8 płynąć4 the specific *ehicle is usuallyindicated by a noun in the instrumental5 6off?topic: we ha*e a use of the geniti*e in this sentence: 2do szko<y (d2)2

1to school4 6 the preposition 2!o" is always followed by a word in the geniti*e5 the nominati*es ; 2szko<a2 1fem.48 2autobus2 1masc.44

>ieszam zu! (d4) 0y:k3 (d5). — *+m stirring (=6 miTing) the sou! &ith a laddle.

1the nominati*es ; 2zupa2 1fem.48 2<yka2 1fem.45 the soup 6 direct object8 theladdle 6 the tool of the action4

Kie &iem, "ak o!isa8 to (d4) s0o&ami (d5). — * don+t kno& ho& to describe it &ith &ords.

1the nominati*es ; 2to2 1neuter4 1; it, this48 2s<owa2 1plural8 d,4 6 2s<owo2 1sing.8neutr.8d,44

Kie &iem, "ak &yrazi8 to (d4) "ednym s0o&em (d5).— * don+t kno& ho& to eT!ress that &ith one &ord.

1the nominati*e ; 21jedno4 s<owo2 1neuter44

Pisarz oczaro&u"e czytelnik;& (d4) o!o&ieści3 (d5).

— %he &riter enchants the readers &ith the story.

1the readers8 being the direct object of the enchanting8 are also the directobject of the sentence 6 so8 they come in the accusati*e5 the nominati*es: 2czytelnik2 1singular8 masc.8 d,48 2czytelnika2 1d-48 2czytelnicy2 1plural8 d,48 2czytelnikBw2 1pl.8 d-45 2opowieLG2 1singular8 fem.8d,44

ote that the action doesn't have to e intentional:

Rbrudzi0am sobie (d$) bluzk (d4) sosem !omidoro&ym (d5).

— * soiled [$emv$orm] mysel the blouse &ith tomato sauce.

1this is also an interesting sentence because we ha*e three differentgrammatical cases in use here: 1,4 the direct object of the sentence is the blouse8 because it was the blousethat was soiled5 howe*er8 1$4 we also ha*e an indirect object8 because the soiling of the blousereally affected 6 personally e*en more than grammatically 54 6 the owner of it:the 2!e2 1a woman4 in the sentence5 it is the 2!e2 who is complaining about themisfortune and its conse9uences5 for that reason we ha*e a refle+i*e dati*e2sobie2 Othis refle+i*e dati*e 2sobie2 6 just like the accusati*e 2się2 6 isuni*ersal: 21to4 myself28 21to4 yourself28 21to4 himself28 21to4 herself28 21to4oursel*es28 etc.5 and finally8 1&4 we ha*e 2the means28 2the method28 or 2the instrument2 of thesoiling 54 6 with to!ato sauce: this comes in the instrumental5 the nominati*es: 2sobie28 being uni*ersal to all gram. persons it8 doesn3t ha*e just onenominati*e: well8 in this case it would be 2ja25 2bluzka2 1fem.8 d,48 2sos 1masc.4 pomidorowy 1adj. ?masc.4 1d,424



b) Proaly the second most freuent use of the instrumental is that when it is coupled with the ver3być3 (to be) in all sentences of the type: 7/you/he/they... am 1are4 / was 1were4 / will be... somebody/something.

(those sentences speak of a unction & a role in life& a status in it& etc. ) #$$%&$'(&: this 3someodyEsomething3 means a noun. "f the word after the (con!ugated) 3być3 is anad!ective& then that ad!ective is put in the nominative (the 3asic form3 — the only thing to take care of thereis to make it agree with the su!ect aout the gender: masculine& feminine& or neuter).

-*amples:

>anuela "est aktork3 (d5) i !iosenkark3 (d5). — >anuela is an actress and a singer.

1the nominati*es: 2aktorka2 1fem.48 2piosenkarka2 1fem.44

Basia "est !rześliczn3 dzie&czyn3 (d5). — Basia is a &onderously beautiul girl.

1the nominati*e ; 21przeLliczna4 dziewczyna2 1fem.44

Panna antos "est Brazyli"k3 (d5). — >iss antos is a Brazilian.

1the nominati*e ; 2'razylijka2 1fem.48 the masculine form is 2'razylijczyk2(d1)4

Uobert 'eKiro "est s0a&nym aktorem (d5) i re:yserem (d5).

— Uobert 'eKiro is a amous actor and director.

1the nominati*es: 21s<awny4 aktor2 1masc.48 21s<awny4 reyser2 1masc.44

>artin [uther ing by0 od&a:nym cz0o&iekiem (d5).— >artin [uther ing &as a brave man (!erson).

1the nominati*e: 21odwany4 cz<owiek2 1masc.44

ane oodall rato&a0a goryle (d4). -na te: by0a dobrym i od&a:nym cz0o&iekiem (d5).

— ane oodall &as saving gorillas. he too &as a good and a brave !erson.

1the nominati*es: 2goryle2 1plural8 d- has the same form as d,482goryl2 1sing.8masc.8d,45 21odwany i dobry4 cz<owiek2 1masc.44

>usia0by by8 &ariatem (d5), :eby to zrobi8C — Ee &ould have to be a madman to do itC 1the nominati*e: 2wariat2 1masc.4 + a $emale "wariat" is "wariatka" %a madwoman &5

a more natural way to e+press this message in nglish would ha*e been 2 -e wouldhae to be crazy to###2 6 with an adjecti*e4

-n bdzie tu no&ym szeem (d5). — Ee &ill be the ne& boss here.1the nominati*e ; 21nowy4 szef2 1masc.4 + $emale boss = "szefowa" %$em, d-&4

s said efore — the situation is different when the words descriing the person are !ust solo ad!ectives — without nouns. Then& the ad!ectives come in the nominative — the 3asic3 form (whose gender& let me repeat&must agree with that of the su!ect). Cook at these e*amples and compare them to those aove to see thedifference:

>anuela "est utalento&ana (adective' d1). — >anuela is talented.

1...6Jet3s play and add a noun now... we3ll get8 for e+ample: >anuela "est utalento&an3 (ad. d) aktork 3 (noun' d)4.

Basia "est !rześliczna (adective' d1). — Basia is &onderously beautiul.

%a ka&a "est brazyli"ska (ad. d1). — %his coee is Brazilian .1additional information: in Polish8 differently than in nglish8 the adjecti*esrelating to countries and nationalities are written all in lower?case letters5 .. and we don3t use stand?alone nationality adjecti*es to refer to people3snationalities: in nglish you can say 2 -e is a $ole ( noun .2 or 2 -e is $olish ( ad"# #2

6 in Polish you cannot say 20n jest polski#2 ... unless you3re talking about an

obect 1a material thing4 that comes from Poland and has a masculine noun forits name: 2&o jest m1j telewizor ( masc# # 0n jest polski#2

12This is !y T8set. -t [literally: Ke] is 9olish.245





personal belongings while you were away 1a *isible e*idence of which wouldprobably be that the things ha*e changed position4: in nglish the *erb 2totouch2 is used for the occasion5 the nominati*e: 21moje4 rzeczy2 1plural4 ( 21moja4 rzecz2 1sing.8fem8d,44 —otice that the direct o!ect in accusative means that the negatives for those sentences are uilt with thedirect o!ect in the genitive:

Kie rusza" moich rzeczy (d2)C — 'on+t touch my thingsC

1the nominati*e ; 21moje4 rzeczy2 1plural44 Kie bd rusza8 %&oich rzeczy (d2). — * &ill not touch your things.

1the nominati*e ; 21Hwoje4 rzeczy2 1plural44

nd now we move from an actual offtopic to something ontopic :) — which is the second usage of the ver ruszać — this time& finally& with a word that follows the ver eing put in the instrumental:

A ruszać = wor! in te instrument l — when we move move parts of our ody& or when we

make controlled movements with an o!ect y holding it in our hand(s) or as if we were holding it in ourhand(s). -*.:

Boli mnie, gdy ruszam !ra&3 rk3 (d5). — * eel !ain &hen * move my right hand.

1more literally: 2*t gives me !ain &hen...25 the nominati*e ; 21prawa4 r=ka2 1fem.44

Kie rusza" g0o&3 (d5)C — 'on+t move your headC

1...something you might hear at a hairdresser3s :4 5 notice that ha*ing thedirect object in the instrumental 1and not in the accusati*e4 in positi*esentences8 the rekcja of this 2ruszaG2 maintains the instrumental also for the

negati*e5 the nominati*e ; 2g<owa2 1fem.44

Uusz myszk3 (d5). — >ove the (com!uter) mouse.

1the nominati*e ; 2myszka2 1fem.44

[udzie na 0odzi !o&oli rusza"3 &ios0ami (d5).

— %he !eo!le on the boat slo&ly move the oars.

1the nominati*e ; 2wios<a2 1plural48 2wios<o2 1sing.8 neut.44

(H) opiekować się (= a wor! in te instrumental> kim) !?& / czym) !? ) )

— to look after (somebody + something

/ &eekendy o!ieku" si moim chorym o"cem (d5).

— -n &eekends * look ater my sick ather.

1the nominati*e ; 21mBj4 1chory4 ojciec2 1masc.44

%a kobieta nie o!ieku"e si s&oim dzieckiem (d5) dobrze.

— %his &oman doesn+t look ater her child &ell.

1the nominati*e ; 21jej / 1swoje44 dziecko2 1neut.4 again8 the direct object being in the instrumental case means that it stays inthe instrumental also in this negati*e sentence5



2dobrze2 is an ad*erb 6 these are non?inflected: they always stay the same4

Vzy bdziesz o!ieko&a8 si moim kotem (d5), gdy mnie nie bdzieQ

— /ill you look ater my cat &hen *+m not hereQ

1the nominati*e ; 21mBj4 kot2 1masc.45 side?note: notice that in Polish we put that subordinate clause 6 the partafter the 2#y when2 6 in the future tense in this kind of situation: talking

about a a future possibility/condition4

(H) zajmować się (kim) !?& / czym) !? ) ) — to take care of + to deal with +

to be+get busy with + to do as one's occupation or special interest

/ !racy za"mu" si rachunko&ości3 (d5).

— #t &ork * deal &ith accountancy. $ ... * take care o the accountancy.

1the nominati*e ; 2rachunkowoLG2 1fem.4 6of course8 there3s no need for you toremember this particular noun: 7 just had to think of something that you can bedealing with at work8 so as to demonstrate the meaning of the *erb4

5a"m si tym (d5)C — *+ll deal &ith thisC $ *+ll take care o thisC

1the nominati*e ; 2to2 1neuter44

5a"mi" si s&oimi s!ra&ami (d5)C — %ake care o your o&n businessC

1meaning: 2-t%s not your cup of tea;28 2<in# your own $usiness;25 2sprawy" ( p#.' d1) 6 matters, issues5 2sprawa2 (sing.' d1)4

-na kiedyś troch za"mo&a0a si s!ortem (d5).

— #t some !oint in the !ast se use! to !o (...) $ $ se use! to a$e someting to !o wit (...) s!orts.

1the slash separates two translation *ersions8 each carrying a moderatelydifferent meaning: that3s because the Polish 2zajmowaG si=2 is somewhatambiguous 1imprecise4: it3s difficult to say clearly by the light of thatsentence if the 2she2 was an acti*e sportswoman8 or if she was doing something2around2 the sports: she might ha*e been a sports journalist for e+ample5without a conte+t we would usually assume an acti*e in*ol*ement: i.e.8 that shewas doing the sports8 that she was a sportswoman5 the nominati*e ; 2sport2 1masc.44

-ni &iedz3, "ak za"mo&a8 si dzieckiem (d5). — %hey kno& ho& to take care o a child.

1the nominati*e ; 2dziecko2 1neut.44

(H) cwalić się (czym) (!? ) / also! kim) (!?& )

— to boast (about something (somebody, to pride oneself on something

>;" s3siad bez !rzer&y ch&ali si s&o"3 zna"omości3 (d5) "a!oSskiego(d2).

— >y neighbour incessantly boasts his command o a!anese.

1notice the use of the instrumental8 but also the use of the geniti*e

6 in the nominati*e: 2the knowledge / command of Iapanese2 ; 2znajomoLG (d1) japo\skiego (d2)25 the nominati*e ; 2japo\ski2 1adj.8 masc.44



Kie ch&al si s&oimi sukcesami (d5). — * don+t boast about my successes.

12moje / 1swoje4 sukcesy2 1pl.8d,48 2mBj / 1swBj4 sukces2 1sing.8d,44

(H) kierować (czym) (!? ) / also! kim) (!?& )

— to steer + to direct (a team of people

+ to drie (a car

>;" tata kiero&a0 dzia0em (d5) trans!ortu (d2).

— >y dad directed the trans!ort de!artment. <?... the de!artment o trans!ort.?

1the nominati*es ; 2dzia<2 1masc.48 2transport2 1masc.44

to kieru"e tym samochodem (d5)Q — /ho is driving this carQ

1the nominati*e ; 21ten4 samochBd2 1masc.45 side?note: an alternati*e 6 and e9ually much used 6 *erb meaning 2to #rie (a!otorehicle)2 is 2prowa!zić (r;&2: notice that prowa!zić comes with thestandard case go*ernment for transiti*e *erbs8 which means it is followed by aword in the accusati*e5 therefore8 the sentence abo*e8 gi*en the other *erb for2to dri*e28 would look as follows:

2 3to prowadzi ten samoch1d (d4)4 244

Przy!adek kiero&a0 "ego :yciem (d5). — Vhance directed his lie.

1the nominati*e ; 21jego4 ycie2 1fem.44

iedyś bd kiero&a8 mie"skim autobusem (d5).— * &ill drive a city bus some day $ at some !oint in the uture.

1the nominati*e ; 21miejski4 autobus2 1masc.45

side?note: the same sentence using the alternati*e *erb 2prowa!zić2: 2 3iedy/ b5d5 prowadzi6 miejski autobus (d4).24

(H) stero&a8 (czym) (!? ) & — to steer, to control

Pilot steru"e samolotem (d5). — #$%he !ilot steers a$the !lane.

1the nominati*e ; 2samolot2 1masc.44

-n nigdy nie stero&a0 0odzi3 (d5). — Ee has never steered a boat.

1the nominati*e ; 2<Bd]2 1fem.45 no change of case for the object substanti*e 6but you already know that only the accusati*es change4

Uuchami (d5) robota (d2) steru"e kom!uter (d1).

— # com!uter controls the movements o the robot.

12ruchy2 1pl.8d,48 2ruch2 1sing.8d,48 2robot2 1masc.8d,45 sorry for adding a little complication8 but you should also be prepared forthis8 because that3s just an element of natural Polish: obser*e that thesentence has an in*ersed word order 6 the subject 12ko!puter 24 has been mo*ed to





Voś "est nie & !orz3dku z t3 truska&k3 (d5). Vhyba "est ze!suta.

— omething is &rong [lit.: "not in order"] &ith this stra&berry.

* think [lit.: "possibly likely"] it is gone bad.

1the nominati*e ; 21ta4 truskawka2 1fem.44

Bardzo lubi ciasto z truska&kami (d5). — * really like a cake &ith stra&berries.

[lit.: ". much like"]1the nominati*e ; 2truskawki2 1plural44

>am mas k0o!ot;& z moim kotem (d5). -n & og;le nie s0ucha si mnieC

— * have a lot o trouble &ith my cat. *t &ouldn+t obey me at allC

1the nominati*e ; 21mBj4 kot2

2słucać się (r'& kogo) (!'&%2 [ to listen to an# o$ey or#ers of so!e$o#y 4

—s an ending note for the description of Polish preposition 3with3 — 3z / ze3 — (and of its usage witho!ects in the instrumental case)& let me remind you to be cautioned that the samelooking preposition 3z E

ze3 (ut followed y a word in te genitive ) has a ver" dierent meaning — look ack into the sectionaout the genitive for details.

There are a few more prepositions which want the words that follow them to e in the instrumental. ctually& " can now think of four& and let's hope that this is aout all of them :) 4ere they are:

A ?n !?, ?pon !? — oer, aboe

A ?po!? — under

A ?z ? — behind (, beyond)

A ?mię!zy kim)/czym) (!?&% kim)/czym) innym (!?&%?,

?mię!zy / pomię!zy jakimi) lu!Ami/rzeczami (plur l9!?&%?,

— between somebody+something (and somebody+something else

between some people+things

A ?prze!? — in ront o, beore

ll of these prepositions define position in space (the last one can also e used to speak aout time).6ememer that in Polish we have this situation where spatial (spacerelated& positionrelated) prepositionscan e followed y o!ects either in the grammatical case which is specific for those particular prepositions(like the instrumental for 3na!3& 3po!3& 3za3& 3prze!3) or in the accusative. ("'m talking here aout

something " call the 3dual&re'c"a3.) The accusative is used when a preposition comes with a vere*pressing the notion of 3motion towards3. Cook ack into the section aout the accusative for more details.4ere we shall !ust have a few e*amples of the mentioned prepositions in circumstances where the ver doesnot speak of a 3motion towards3 the location pointed to y them& and so — where they come with an o!ect inthe instrumental:

(?n !?)

>ucha lata mi (d$) nad g0o&3 (d5). — # ly is lying above my head.

1the nominati*es ; 2ja2 1pers. pronoun48 2g<owa2 1fem.45

2mi2 is the dati*e in the function of showing 2the one who is affected by theaction2 6 again8 when relating things in Polish we look at things from the morepersonal perspecti*e of 2the one who is affected by the darned fly2 rather thanfrom that of 2the one whose head the insect is o*er2 :45



yes8 7 know that the *erb 2to fly2 is not e+actly 2static28 but here it is usedin its imperfecti*e8 continuous form8 so that the sentence doesn3t tell us thatthe fly would ha*e been trying to reach a specific place abo*e 2my2 head5 no8the fly was just flying there8 aimlessly8 ho*ering abo*e my head: it might ha*ebeen e*en flying in circles 544

Kad nami (d5) ś&ieci s0oSce. — #bove us the sun is shining.

1the nominati*e ; 2my2 1personal pronoun44

%rzymam !arasol &ysoko nad g0o&3 (d5).

— *+m holding the umbrella high above 6my6 head.

1the nominati*e ; 2g<owa2 1fem.44

(?po!?)

5gubi0aś kluczeQ Poszuka" !od 0;:kiem (d5).

— Eave you lost [$emv$orm] the keysQ [ook$>ake a search under the bed.

1the nominati*e ; 2<Bko2 1neut.45 2szukaG2 1to make a search8 to look for something4 is not a *erb associatedwith motion: it3s an action that goes on in a specific location8 but does notha*e the character of an aimed mo*ement from a point > to a point '4

Kie ma nic le!szego !od s0oScem (d5) ni: truska&kiC

— %here is nothing better under the sun than stra&berriesC

1this is a fairly popular 6 e*en if a little oldfashioned now 6 way of sayingthat something is really great and that you lo*e it :44

Kie mog si ruszy8C Rtkn30em !od biurkiem (d5)C PomocyC

— * can+t moveC * got stuck [$emv$orm] under the deskC 6omebody6 hel! meC

1the nominati*e ; 2biurko2 1neut.44

(?z ?)

dzie "est m;" kotQ -n mo:e by8 za sza3.

— /here is my catQ Ee$*t can be behind the &ardrobe.

1the nominati*e ; 2szafa2 1fem.44

5a siedmioma g;rami (d5), za siedmioma lasami (d5),

:y0a sobie kiedyś !ikna kr;le&na.

— (*n a land situated) beyond seven mountains, beyond seven orests,

once u!on a time there lived a beautiul !rincess.

1the nominati*es: 2gBrami2 ; 1d"8pl.4 of 2gBry2 ; 1d,8pl.4 of 2gBra2 1d,8sing.8fem.45 2lasami2 ; 1d"8pl.4 of 2lasy2 ; 1d,8pl.4 of 2las2 1d,8sing.8masc.45

6this 2=eyon# seen...2 1actually 2 7eyond the seenth###2 would ha*e been betternglish4 is the classic opening phrase for fairy?tales in Polish: for us to say

2...in a land far, far away2 wouldn3t be poetic enough :45 6you might also be interested in why it3s 2,yła sobie2 1...3li*ed 2to/forherself23...4 6 well8 that3s a subject for a separate short lesson.. but8 *ery



briefly: adding 2sobie2 after a *erb that doesn3t really re9uire it is a mediumused to emphasise a kind of solitude of the subject5 it can also be a means tofocus the attention of the reader/listener on that person/character8 to markhim/her/it as one that the narrotor sympathizees with.4

5obacz, czy ktoś nie idzie za nami (d5). — ee i there is nobody &alking behind us.

1the nominati*e ; 2my2 1pronoun45

you might argue here that the *erb 2to walk2 is definitely a 2motion *erb28 butagain: the concept of 2!otion towar#s2 is that the subject mo*es towards aspecific place in space 6 the subject3s aim is to reach a specific location5this is not the case here: if one person keeps following another there is noplace that the follower wants to reach4

(?mię!zy?)

>idzy moim blokiem (d5) a blokiem (d5) mo"ego zna"omego (d2)

sto"3 d&a inne budynki (d1).— Bet&een my (a!artment) block and the block o my a9uaintance

there are t&o other buildings standing.

1the nominati*e ; 2blok2 1masc.48 21mBj4 znajomy2 1masc.45 again8 2(!wa& (inne& bu!ynki28 regardless of their position as last in thesentence8 are the subject here 6 this sentence could be rewritten this way 1andit would be totally all?right grammatically8 only it would look unnatural8ha*ing the informati*e part of the statement not where the reader/listener would

e+pect it8 i.e.8 at the end of the sentence4: 2 8wa inne budynki stoj2 mi5dzy###24

>idzy naszymi blokami (d5) sto"3 d&a inne budynki (d1).

— Bet&een our (a!artment) blocks there are t&o other buildings standing.

dy !iszesz, r;b &iksze !rzer&y (d4) midzy literami (d5)C

— /hen you &rite, make bigger ga!s <s!aces bet&een lettersC

1the nominati*es: 21wi=ksze4 przerwy2 1pl.8d,48 21wi=ksza4 przerwa2 1sing.8fem.8d,48 2litery2 1pl.48 2litera2 1sing.8fem.8d,45 2przerwa2 6 an empty space between two things 1usually a little one48 a gap8 adistance5 2robić2 1to do8 to make4 has the standard rekcja 1r-48 so plural 2przerwy2 comein the accusati*e 1which looks the same as the nominati*e for most pluralnouns44

/ szkole (d6), !rzer&a to czas midzy "edn3 lekc"3 (d5) a drug3 (d5).

— #t school, the break is the time bet&een one lesson$class and another

<literallyD and the second 6one6.

1the nominati*es ; ; 2szko<a2 1fem.48 21jedna4 lekcja2 1fem.4 2druga 1lekcja42 1fem.45 side?note_,: 2w szkole (d 0#ocative)2 results from the rekcja of the preposition2w2 12in2 1sometimes 2at245

side?note_$: the 2to2 used here is not an 2it2 nor a 2this2... actually8 that3s amatter that surely deser*es more than just a short mention :4... but8 in a nutshell:

this 2to2 acts as a linking *erb8 working much like the nglish 2to $e28 or the Polish

2$y>

2 when you want to characterize the subject bye&uallin

it to another substanti*e:it3s use is limited only to substanti*es [ the 2thin of reference2 cannot be an

adjecti*e here. Dne could say that the function of this 2to2 is 9uite similar to that ofthe *erb 2byG2 as described in the point 2 b)2 of this section 1the section about theinstrumental4: they are both ways of specifying the character or the 9ualities of the



subject5 the difference is subtle8 and so is the choice of the method to use.

7n general terms8 one could say that the *ariant with 2 być 2 is used more to talk about arole8 a function8 something attained or ac9uired8 and probably not e+hausting all thatthe speaker can say about that particular subject.

Hhe construction with the 2 to 2 8 on the other hand8 would be preferred when specifyingmore intrinsic 9ualities and characteristics8 or ones that are so dominant that theypractically encapsulate the nature of the subject 1at least8 from the speaker3sperspecti*e48 as if allowing for a clear categorization:

2Xthe subject e9uals a substantie representing a ciass of characteristic things5 +.: 2 3ot to zwierz5 domowe#2 [ 2:at is a pet animal#2 Kowe*er8 this distinction is not *ery strict.

Dne important thing to remember is that 2być 2 is always conjugated and8 in this

function8 it is always followed by an object in the instrumental 1d"48 whereas the 2 to 2is not inflected in any way and joins with substanti*es in the nominati*e 1the 2basic2case8 d,44

\aba ma b0ony (d4) midzy !alcami (d5), :eby le!ie" !0y&a8.

— # rog has membranes bet&een 6its6 ingers in order to s&im better.

1the nominati*es: 2b<ony2 1pl.d,48 2b<ona2 1sing.8fem.8d,48

2palce2 1pl.d,48 2palec2 1sing.8masc.8d,4 6 it3s worthmentioning here that the Polish 2palec2/2palce" refer refer to any digit/digits:both to the fingers8 and to the toes4

aka "est odleg0oś8 (d1) midzy tymi miastami (d5)Q

— /hat is the distance bet&een these citiesQ

1the nominati*e: 21te4 miasta2 1pl.d,48 21to4 miasto2 1sing.8neut.8d,44

>idzy czer&on3 kurtk3 (d5) a niebiesk3 (d5) nie ma r;:nicy (d2) & cenie (d6).

— Bet&een the red "acket and the blue one there is no dierence in !rice.

1the nominati*es: 21czerwona4 kurtka2 1fem.48 2niebieska 1sukienka42 1fem.adj.482rBnica2 1fem.48 2cena2 1fem.45 2nie !a2 comes with a word 12ró?nica24 in the geniti*e... becauseN :4 Hhat3s right 6 because it3s a classic sentence of the

2there is no ... $ there are no ...2 type8 whiere the direct object always comes in thegeniti*e 6 and the e+act reason of that is e+plained in the section about thegeniti*e 1shortly speaking: 2!ie>2 is a typical r-?*erb45

it3s 2w cenie 1d ?locati*e42 because the le+ical unit 2r-,nica w ...2 usesthe 2primary2 rekcja for the preposition 2w28 which is one for the locati*e5most colligations in which the preposition is coupled with a word other than a*erb use the 2primary2 case go*ernment of the prepositions they incorporate5 the locati*e is the case dealt with in the ne+t section4

(?prze!?)

Przed szko03 (d5) czekali ucznio&ie (d1).

— %here &ere students &aiting in ront o the school.

1the nominati*es: 2szko<a2 1fem.48 2uczniowie2 1students8 pupils44 6 plural8d,8

2ucze\2 %a male student also used in a non/gender/speci$ic designation& 6 masc.

2uczennica2 %a $emale student& 6 fem.5

additionally, a group consisting solely o$ $emale students would be re$erred to as: 2uczennice2 6 pl,$em,d-

the word 2uczeB2 applies to the students of primary and secondary schools:at the uni*ersity le*el we ha*e: 2student2 %masc and generic&8 2studentka2 %$em&8

2studenci2 12studentki24 %pl& 2uczniowie2 is the subject of the sentence8 but because it is also the most





/czora"szy (ad".) ilm by0 o zaczaro&anym kocie (d6).

— %he yesterday+s movie &as about an enchanted cat.

1the nominati*e ; 21zaczarowany4 kot2 1masc.44

There is also a different& second use to the preposition 3o3 — it is placed efore the numer of the hour whengiving the time$ also: efore one of several timespecifying nouns (most notaly: the word 3pora3: the time,the hour, the moment ) — the corresponding -nglish preposition for these situations is the 3at" . "n this usethe preposition 3o3 also governs the locative:

>;" !oci3g &yrusza o godzinie sz;ste" (d).

— >y train de!arts at siT (o+clock) . <more literallyD ?... at the siTth hour? 1the nominati*e ; 21szBsta4 godzina2 1fem.44

!aybe it's not very pertinent to the essence o$ our sub0ect here, but a $ew explanations seem inevitable 1he number expressing thehour in (olish is an ordinal number, and as such it is in$lected in con$irmity with the declension pattern o$ ordinal numbers, which

happens to be the same as that o$ ad0ectives 2lso, it is customary to put that ordinal number ater %rather than be$ore& the word"godina" %in accord with the general tendency to place the more material words a$ter those carrying less meaning& 3sually,however, ) with the exception o$ the very $ormal or bureaucratic usage ) the noun " godina " is altogether omitted , leaving 0ust the"bare" ordinal number: still in the $eminine variant and appropriately in$lected:

- sz;ste" (,em.o%d.num.'d) z&ykle nie ma mnie (d2) "eszcze & domu (d).

— #t siT *+m usually not home yet.

<syntax translation: ?#t the siTth usually there is not me yet at home.? 1the nominati*es ; 2szBsta2 1fem. ordinal no.48 2ja2 1pers.pron.48 dom 1masc.45 2domu 1d42 is demanded by the case go*ernment of the preposition 2w2: moreabout it in a few lines3 time :44

- te" !orze (d) zaz&ycza" "eszcze !racu" (ve%b).

— #t this$that time *+m usually still &orking. (... *+m usually still at &ork)

1the nominati*e ; 2pora2 1fem.45 2zazwyczaj" < "zwykle24

/ther prepositions followed y a word in the locative case are:

3w / we3 — in, inside (3we3 — like the 3ze3 for the 3z3 — is a version of the preposition used when necessary to makepronounciation possile).

3n 3 — on, on top of 3po3 — G. oer the surface+area+space of — said of peopleEthings moving& spreading& spilling& etc.& over anarea or space$ all oer

>. after ; when speaking aout time$ notice that the contrasted word 3prze!3 (before) uses dU) 3przy3 — at & right ne)t to$ also: by me+you+him+her & by my+your+his+her side

... nd these are all the prepositions showing locative rekcja that " can think of. ("'m sorry& " don't have a list tocheck that against& so you will have to rely on my memory& ut " really dout " could miss any significant one$and " don't actually presume to create any complete le*icons — my goal is to present the most important andrepresentative e*amples.) #ear in mind& though& that those few prepositions — "'m talking especially of the3o3& 3w3 and 3na3 (aout& in& and on) — are proaly the most used of all.

Cet's see some e*amples now& shall weA :)



(?w / we?)

'zieS dobryC Vzy Piotr "est & domu (d6)Q — ood morningC *s Peter at homeQ

1the nominati*e ; 2dom2 1masc.4 notice that in Polish we use the preposition 2in2 12w24 with the word 2home28and that we don3t ha*e a distinction between the 2home2 and the 2house2 6 boththings 1one3s regular place of residence8 and a stand?alone building to li*e in4are called 2dom24

- ranyC / lod;&ce (d6) "u: nie ma mleka (d2)C

— hucksC %here+s no milk let in the ridgeC

1the nominati*es ; 2lodBwka2 1fem.48 2mleko2 1neut.45 7 think the reason for the 2milk2 landing in geniti*e case here must be ob*iousfor you all by now [ if it3s not8 7 can only suggest that you come back to thesection on the geniti*e5 2ju,2 actually means 2alrea#y 2 or 2any!ore2 [ here8 it is used emphtically toe+press the surprise and disappointment at not finding the milk when it3sneeded8 rather than to con*ey simple information or to intimate that the milk isrunning out too 9uickly in the household 54 1that last allusion could ha*e been

read8 had there been an 2alrea#y 2 there in the sentence4: that3s why 7 went forthe word 2left" in the translation.4

>o"a s3siadka zakocha0a si & aktorze (d6) z teleno&eli (d2).

— >y (emale) neighbour ell in love [$emv$orm] &ith [(olish uses an "in" here]

an actor rom a soa!Ao!era.

1the nominati*es ; 2aktor2 1masc.48 2telenowela2 1fem.45

the preposition 2z2 1 from, of, out of 4 demands d$ %see the sect on the genitive&

2to fall in loe (with so!e$o#y)2 6 2zakocać się (w kim) (!C&&24

!r;bu" !osta&i8 si & mo"e" sytuac"i (d6). — %ry to !ut yoursel in my !osition.

1the nominati*e ; 21moja4 sytuacja2 1fem.44

Vo oni &idz3 &e mnie (d6)Q — /hat do they see in meQ

<meaningD ?/hat+s (so) s!ecial about meQ? 1the nominati*e ; 2ja2 1personal pron.44

acek ca0ymi &ieczorami siedzi & kinie (d6).

— ack sits at [(olish uses an "in" here] the cinema all evenings.

1the nominati*e ; 2kino2 1neut.44

- te" !orze z&ykle "estem & !racy (d6).— #t this time * am usually at ["in" again] &ork <at my &ork!lace.

1the nominati*e ; 2praca2 1fem.44

Piknie"szego &idoku (d2) nie ma & ca0e" Polsce (d6)C

— %here isn+t a more beautiul vie& in the &hole PolandC

1the nominati*es ; 21pi=kniejszy4 widok2 1masc.48 21ca<a4 Polska2 1fem.45 ..yet another e+ample of a 2there is/are not / there is/are no2 type ofsentence8 and the use of geniti*e in it4

/ !ude0ku (d6) s3 "eszcze d&ie czekoladki (d1).

— %here are still t&o chockolates let in the boT.1the nominati*e ; 2pude<ko2 1neut.445



Cet me mention it again here that the preposition 3w/we3 also elongs to the group of those which canalternatively e followed y an accusative o!ect. 4owever& the usage of the accusative with 3w/we3 is reallylimited — rememer that the directional 3into3 (for the 3motion towards3 situations) is already covered ythe preposition 3!o3 for most purposes. Thus& the construction V3w/we3 = accusati$eW is used mostlyin situations where something is eing stuck or thrusted into something else& or when that 3something else3is the target of punches& kicks& shots& etc.

Cook at these two e*amples:

>am to & nosie (d6)C — * have this (u!) in 6my6 noseC

1the nominati*e ; 2nos2 1masc.45 here we ha*e the 2natural28 2static2 rekcja of the preposition 2w2 6 for thelocati*e5

7 guess you mar*el at the choice of an e+ample: yes8 the phrase 2mieć co)% w

nosie2 does ha*e a figurati*e meaning :4 : it means 2to care nothing aboutsomething28 2to not gie a darn about something2... 7 will also add that the *ersionfeaturing the nose is an euphemistic one :4 6but 73m not saying more :44

oś8 zdener&o&a0 si [mascv$orm] i &aln30 [mascv$orm] mnie & nos (d4).— %he ello&$the guy got angry and smashed me in the nose.

1the nominati*es ; 2ja2 1pers.pron.48 2nos2 1masc.45 the nose was the target of a punch8 so it comes in the accusati*e5 the direct object of the *erb is the the 2!e2 6 that comes in the accusati*e as

well5 2go)ć2 1masc.4 literally means 2athe uest28 but in collo9uial languageit is used to refer to any male character8 just like 2uy 28 2fellow 28 2$loke28etc.8 in nglish4

/ther e*amples:

/bi0 &idelec & kurczaka (d4). — Ee stuck the ork in the chicken.

1the nominati*e ; 2kurczak2 1masc.44

/bi0 &zrok & ziemi (d4).

— Ee stuck 6his6 eyes <literallyD 6his6 sight, 6his6 look in the ground.

1the nominati*e ; 2ziemia2 1fem.45 this is 9uite a commonly used phrase when saying that somebody drooped theirhead and remained standing with their eyes to the ground: so to a*oid 9uestionsand not to let others read anything out of their face8 or when contemplatingsomething sad4

(?n ?)

5a&sze zosta&iam klucze na stole (d6) & kuchni (d6).

— * al&ays leave the keys on the table in the kitchen.

1the nominati*es ; 2stB<2 1masc.48 2kuchnia2 1fem.45 in this sentence we ha*e two different prepositions that both go*ern thelocati*e: 2na2 and 2w25

in natural Polish the formula 2### na stole w kuchni#2 would usually be preferred o*er

2### na kuchennym (ad.) stole#2 12... on the kitchen table248 which is the more naturalway to say the thing in nglish.4



Poczeka" na mnie (d4) na ulicy (d6). — /ait or me (out) on the street.

1the nominati*es ; 2ja2 1personal pronoun48 2ulica2 1fem.45 notice that the *erb 21po4czekaG2 is intransiti*e8 and8 being such it doesn3ttake a direct object5 howe*er8 those kinds of *erbs often can8 and often #o8take complements in form of the so?called 2 prepositional o$jects2. Hhe nglish*erb 2to wait28 used in a conte+t like abo*e8 also takes an object *ia apreposition: you wait 2for so!e$o#yso!ethin 28 not 2wait so!e$o#yso!ethin 25

at least not in the regular8 popular usage. Hhe choice of the preposition is amatter of the idiosyncrasy of a language8... %as we see in this example, where the English "to wait " is

complemented with "or " and "poc4eka5" is complemented with "na" %which more o$ten corresponds to the English "on"&&... butsuch int%ansitive3ve%b0p%eposition co##igations are stable8 and they go*ern thecase of the following substanti*e in their own8 specific way5 *ery often whenthe preposition of such colligation is one of those ha*ing 2#ou$le rekcja2 6

like 2w/we28 2na28 2po!2 6 the rekcja of the entire colligation is the 2dynamic22secon#ary rekcja2 of the preposition 1and that one8 let me remind you8 isalways for the accusati*e45 that3s the e+planation of the reason for the

accusati*e 2mnie2 after the first 2na2 of the sentence5 the second 2na2 1in 2na ulicy 24 has the normal locati*e function8 so it comeswith 2ulica2 in the locati*e case: let me8 howe*er8 reiterate it that if we had

a sentence like 2:ome out to me on+onto the street#2 1this supposed to be in imperati*e

mood4 we would frame it this way: 2Wyj!A !o mnie na ulicę (d4).28 because weha*e a clear 2motion?towards2 situation here8 and so the accusati*e form isneeded 6 see the section about the accusati*e 6 d-4

>am ba0agan na g0o&ie (d6). #le & g0o&ie (d6) mam !orz3dek.

— * have a mess on my head. But in my head * have an order.

1again8 as in the first e+ample in this group8 we ha*e the prepositions 2na2 and

2w2 6 and they both go with a word in the locati*e5 the nominati*e ; 2g<owa21fem.44

R !sychoanalityka (d2) le:y si na kozetce (d6).

— #t a !sychoanalist+s one lies <rests on a couch.

1the nominati*es ; 2psychoanalityk2 1masc.48 2kozetka2 1fem.45 side?notes: ,. when talking about *isiting a professional to get a certain typeof ser*ice8 the corresponding element to the nglish 2at name of a profession's2 is2u name o# a pro#ession in te geniti$e%25

$. in Polish8 the impersonal 2one does something2 is e+pressed by combiningthe third person singular conjugation of the appropriate *erb with the refle+i*e

pronoun 2się2: 2je+>2 ? 2je się 2 1one eats48 2 pi>2 ? 2pije się 2 1one drinks48 2i+>2? 2idzie si=2 1one goes (on foot4... etc.5 no subject is present in this typeimpersonal e+pression in Polish5 howe*er8 refle+i*e *erbs8 which already use the pronoun 2się2 because of thatrefle+i*eness8 re9uire the use of a different impersonal construction8 one with

a dummy subject 2człowiek2 1a human, a person4: 2nu#zi> się2 1to $e ettin $ore# 4

6 2człowiek się nu!zi2 1one is getting bored, lit: a person is getting bored 44

Ka"cieka&sze inormac"e & te" gazecie (d6) s3 na ostatnie" stronie (d6).

— %he most interesting inormation in this ne&s!a!er are on the last !age.

1the nominati*es ; 21ta4 gazeta2 1fem.48 21ostatnia4 strona2 1fem.45

it is worth noting that 2in#ormacja2 1sing.8fem.8d,4 is a countable noun inPolish 1for most of the popular conte+ts48 so it is absolutely normal to speak

of it in plural: 2in#ormacje2 1pl.8d,45 2infor!acja2 ; 2a piece of information25 thenoun is uncountable when used in the sense of 2infor!ation serice28 e.g:

2in#ormacja turystyczna2 1tourist information44

5obacz, co tam le:y na ziemi (d6). — ee &hat+s lying there on the ground.



[that's in imperative mood, the person addressed being the gram 6ndpsing]1the nominati*e ; 2ziemia2 1fem.44

ied7 !rosto na krześle (d6)C — it straight on the chairC [imperative, exactly like above]

1the nominati*e ; 2krzes<o2 1neut.44

Ka niebie (d6) !o"a&i0a si tcza (d1).— # rainbo& a!!eared$has a!!eared in the sky.

1the nominati*e ; 2t=cza2 1fem.45 as we3*e already seen in a few earlier e+amples8 the thing that matters in thesentence is what appeared in the sky5 therefore8 the word order is so set as toput the word 2t=cza2 in the end8 where it will get focused attention of thereader/listener5 Polish uses just one past tense8 so8 although there is a grammaticaldifferentiation between completed and uncompleted actions 1by means of *erbstaking perfecti*e or imperfecti*e aspect forms48 it is only from the conte+tthat one can say if a completed action took place in a distant past or just amoment ago8 and what signifance for the present it has4

ab0ka rosn3 na "ab0oni (d6). — #!!les gro& on an a!!le tree.

1the nominati*e ; 2jab<o\2 1fem.44

(?po?)

amoch;d "edzie !o ulicy (d6). — #$%he car is going over a street.

1the nominati*e ; 2ulica2 1fem.45

the only really well fitting preposition in Polish here is the 2po2 6 (moingoer (the surface of 6 which to you8 7 understand8 must look somewhat odd and

complicated :4 26amoc-! jecał na ulicy.2 would be understandable8 butincorrect8 and it would look and sound really strange5

for the different *erbs applicable to different manners of going 12i)ć282jecać28 2lecieć248 look at one of the first e+amples in the section about theinstrumental 6 d".4

Uuszy0a (ver*) maszyna (d1) !o szynach (d6) os!ale (adver*).

— %he machine started ahead over the tracks sluggishly.

1the nominati*e ; 2szyny2 1plural4 1rails, railroad tracks45 this is a line from the famous Polish children3s *erse 2Cokomotywa2 12&he train*

engine24 by Iulian Huwim5 yes8 the first word of that line is a *erb :4 1inflected in the &rd pers. past.fem.4 6 the word order of this sentence is rather unusual 1but fully correct4and moti*ated by the melodic plan of the *erse 1that3s one of the great thingsthat the declension affords45

2ruszać2 1when intransiti*e4 ; to moe, to budge, to moe ahead, to start, to set off 4

Vzeka"3c na &yniki (d4), ucznio&ie ner&o&o chodzili !o korytarzu (d6).

— /aiting or the results, the students nervously &alked (u! and do&n) the corridor.

1the nominati*es ; 2wyniki2 1plural4 1d, looks the same as d- for this noun4 (2wynik2 1sing.8masc.8d,48 2korytarz2 1masc.44 we already know why it3s 2wyniki2 in the accusati*e after 2czekając na 28 rightN

6 it3s because 2czekać na2 is a *erbal colligation that 1as a single le+ical

unit4 takes its object in the accusati*e4

[ubi chodzi8 !o mieście (d6).



— * like to &alk the city $ ... to &alk the streets. <?to &ander over the area o the city?

1the nominati*e ; 2miasto2 1neut.44

-ni u&ielbia"3 biega8 boso !o !la:y (d6). — %hey love to run bareoot on the beach.

1the nominati*e ; 2plaa2 1fem.45 2na pla?y 2 would be fine if what was happening on the beach was static and

didn3t in*ol*e mo*ing o*er it 128ubimy czytać na pla,y.2 6 2We like to read on thebeach#248 or if a sentence was so constructed as to make the beach only theuni*ol*ed setting of an acti*ity 12ę!ąc na pla,y9 uwielbiamy biegać boso.2

6 2When on the beach, we loe to run barefoot#2 6 2=ę#@c na pla?y...2 translates moreliterally as 2=ein on the $each...2 : 2$ein 2 doesn3t by itself connotemo*ement45

2uwielbiać2 is preferred o*er 2kocać2 when referring to fa*oured things oracti*ities5 2kochaG2 seems somewhat effusi*e and affected in such conte+ts8unless you speak about acti*ities which are your true life?passions4

Po tym zamku (d6) &0;czy si duch (d1). — # ghost &anders over that castle.

1the subject of the sentence 1a host4 is the last word 12#uch245

the nominati*e ; 21ten4 zamek2 1masc.44

Potr3ci0am niechc3cy szklank (d4) i mleko rozla0o si !o ca0ym stole (d6).

— * accidentally$unintentionally nudged the glass,

and the milk s!illed over the &hole table.

1the nominati*es ; 2szklanka2 1fem.48 21ca<y4 stB<2 1masc.44

/r;ci0am [$emv$orm] do domu (d2) !o d&;ch godzinach (d6).

— * came back home ater t&o hours.

1the nominati*es ; 2dom2 1masc.48 21dwie4 godziny2 1fem.45

2!omu2 1in geniti*e4 is caused by the rekcja of the preposition 2do2 1to4: lookback in the section on the geniti*e case5

2wracać" < to come back, to return %vi&4

(?przy?)

iedz !rzy stole (d6). — *+m sitting at the table.

1the nominati*e ; 2stB<2 1masc.44

-n ci3gle siedzi !rzy kom!uterze (d6). — Ee sits at the com!uter all the time.1the nominati*e ; 2komputer2 1masc.45

2ciągle2 1ad*erb4 ; constantly, continuously, all the time4

to" !rzy oknie (d6) i !atrz & niebo (d4).

— *+m standing by the &indo& and *+m looking in the sky.

1the nominati*es ; 2okno2 1neut.48 2niebo2 1neut.45

2patrzyć na (/w& co) 2 1to look at ( or in something4 is another colligation of anintransiti*e *erb with a preposition through which the *erb affects an object5we ha*e already learned that such colligations8 taken as a unit8 ha*e their owncase go*ernments for those objects8 and that these go*ernments tend to be

accusati*e go*ernments when the preposition in*ol*ed is one of those ha*ing2#ual rekcja24



ego blok stoi !rzy (ulicy (d6)) Pi0sudskiego (d2).

— Eis (a!artment) block stands at Pi0sudskiego treet.

1the nominati*e ; 2ulica2 1fem.45 1AAA2Pi<sudski2 1surname in masc.form44 2przy2 is the preposition used in gi*ing an address5 the word 2ulica2 6 whichbecause of the rekcja of the preposition 2przy2 comes in the locati*e 6 is oftenskipped when the conte+t makes it clear that we3re speaking of an address5 AAAtri*ia: streets in Poland are named with words 1the names /the descriptors/ are

always capitalized8 the word 2ulica2 is treated just like e*ery other noun4: those words 1descriptors4 can be either: ?nouns 1usually names of important people or historical e*ents4

?or adjecti*es 1e+.: (ulica) *ua 6 long (street8 Azeroka — wide, Bwiatowa — flowery,

:arszawska — <arsoian Oin a town ouside Warsaw this one will usually transform into ane+it road going in the direction of Warsaw45 if the name of the street is a noun 1as in our e+ample8 where 29i*su#ski2 is thesurname of one of Poland3s greatest political leaders48 then it always comes in the geniti*e 6 that3s because what we ha*e there is astructure with the meaning of 2the street of Xsomebody /somethingY2: this relation of1grammatical4 2belonging2 is permanent and8 since it is e+pressed by the 2possessor2being in the geniti*e8 the inflection of the word 2ulica2 ne*er influences the geniti*eform of the descriptor 1thus8 you will always see the street referred to as29i*su#skieo2 6 in nglish?language publications that will be 29i*su#skieo Atreet2 6

although 29i*su#skieo2 is just a functional form of 2Pi<sudski245 if8 on the other hand8 the street name is an adjecti*e 1and it is always a feminine*ariant of the adjecti*e8 because 2ulica2 is feminine48 then that 1adjecti*e4 descriptor has to be inflected8 just as all adjecti*es are5 the

thing is8 though8 only two forms are re9uired in most conte+ts: the nominati*e 12 8ługa + zeroka + 3wiatowa + Warszawska248 and the locati*e 1for the more or less interchangablereference prepositions 2na2 and 2przy2: 2na+przy 8ługiej + zerokiej + 3wiatowej + Warszawskiej 44

>o"a babcia by0a za&sze !rzy mnie (d6), gdy "e" !otrzebo&a0am.

— >y grandma &as [$emv$orm] al&ays by my side &hen * needed [$emv$orm] her.

1the nominati*e ; 2ja2 1personal pronoun44

— general note on usage: in the e*amples aove the only preposition to e used is 3przy3. "t's worthrememering& however& that in situations where things or people are not standing really close together(almost touching) and when we're not speaking aout emotional pro*imity& the preposition 3obok3 is often a etter choice — it is a it more universal. ttention2: 3obok3 is always followed y words in genitive (d)2 3tu, obok3 means that the distance is really small. Cook at these e*amples:

zklanka stoi !rzy talerzu (d6). — #$%he glass is standing right neTt to a$the !late. 1the nominati*e ; 2talerz2 1masc.44

zklanka stoi (tu:) obok talerza (d2). — 11nearly4 the same meaning4

Ka zd"ciu (d6) sto" !rzy moim koledze (d6).

— *n the !hoto, *+m standing right neTt to my (male) riend.1the nominati*es ; 2zdj=cie2 1neut.48 21mBj4 kolega2 1masc.4 Ofemale friend is21moja4 koleanka25 2zdj=cie2 in the locati*e is dictated by the preposition 2na2 1ob*iously8 thepicture is not a goal of any mo*ement8 so the preposition 2na2 operates in its2 pri!ary rekcja2 here44

Ka zd"ciu (d6) sto" (tu:) obok mo"ego kolegi (d2). — 11nearly4 the same meaning4

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: >>> d. the vocative (wołacz)







c) the use of the vocative with first names: it is growing increasingly more common for native Polish speakersto employ the nominative rather than the vocative form in situations of calling out to another person (acrossthe street& from the window of a train& etc.)& calling them up (to make them come near)& or calling their nameto get their attention — i.e.& in those instances where you would normally make a pause after saying that firstname. Thus& you would usually hear people call:

?BartekC (d1)? instead of ?BartkuC (d+)?

?>arekC (d1)? instead of ?>arkuC (d+)?

?rzysiek (d1)C? instead of ?rzyśkuC (d+)?

1ou would also hear people speak this way:

?>arek (d1), mam Vi coś do !o&iedzenia.? (>ark, *+ve got something to tell you.) —in utterances like those we can assume that there is a little pause made etween the name eing called andthe rest of the sentence that follows (so& actually& a etter way to transcrie the last sentence would proaly

e ?>arekC >am Vi (...)?).

"n informal& everyday language& this usage is acceptale (and practiced y nearly everyody) for situations where we need to call someody's attention& so that we can e sure they will listen to what we say.

4owever& when the personal address (made through the use of someody's first name) is not so much aimedat calling a person's attention (ecause they are already listening to you)& ut rather at showing them that what you say is directed to them in a personal way — especially when it's accompanied y an emotionalinvolvement of the speaker (all kinds of declarations& apologies& promises& reuests& etc.) — then you wouldalways prefer the vocative:

>arku (d+), musz Vi si do czegoś !rzyzna8.

— >ark, * must coness something to you $ admit to having done something &rong.

acku (d+), !rze!raszam... — ack, *+m sorry...

... and... at this point "'m sorry& too... ecause there's one more complication " want to ring in. " think youmay find the thing interesting& though (... otherwise " wouldn't e writing aout it :)))

"ntroduction (... a longer one :) — Polish first names and their pet forms :

*n Polish, or many irst names there eTist t&o or more !o!ular !et orms, each carrying a dierent degree o

aection and being most suitable to a s!eciic occasion$relationshi!.

2Tam!lesD

%he name ?#nna? can take the ollo&ing !et ormsD

L. ?#nia? (the most !o!ular oneD both nice, and kind, and riendly, and &arm — but not to the !oint o

creating an intimacy),

N. ?#nka? (a ?brotherly? ormD a good one or everyday use among riends and &ith the amily — ?lo& on

sugar? and 9uite amiliar at the same time (s!oken by a !erson &ho is not a good old riend this one &ould

sound a little rude)),

M. ?#neczka? (rare, cute and a little old ashioned, this orm is something that !arents and, es!ecially,

grand!arents might use),

4. ?#nusia? (9uite tender, or !eo!le that are really close)

[et+s take ?rzyszto? no&W it has "ust t&o !o!ular !et ormsD

L. ?rzysiek? (the orm or everybody &ho is in any degree o amiliarity &ith the guy),



N. ?rzyś? (that &ay you &ould call a little boy, so in a gro&nAu! men this orm o address means s&eetness)

#nother name — ?aros0a&?D

L. ?'arek? (the same thing as &ith ?rzysiek?),

N. ?'aruś? (same as &ith ?rzyś?),

M. ?'areczek? (something !retty much like ?#neczka?)

#nd one more eTam!leD

Eo& about... let+s see...?>a0gorzata?Q %his is a good one, because there+s 9uite a lot o !et orm or itD

L. ?osia? (this is like ?#nia?D a rather cute orm and a airly s&eet one, but at the same time that+s the one

&hich is most !o!ular and the one to use or everyone that is at any degree o amiliarity &ith the nameA

bearer),

N. ?ośka? (like &ith ?#nka?, but — !erha!s "ust or me — it sounds even more brus9ueD not too kind at all

and really ?lo& on sugar?D in !ractice, only to be used in situations &here you have reasons to be a bit mied

&ith that !ersonW close riends might also be acce!ted in using that oneD eTactly as a orm o sho&ing the

closeness o relationshi! allo&ing or a little bit o (aected) roughness),

M. ?osieSka? (really s&eet, dimunitive and sort o ?in amilyAmode?D to be used by amily and maybe a

boyriend (but a longAtime one, rather than a resh one W)),4. ?osiunia? (s&eet and ingratiatingD almost entirely reserved or ne& boyriends (unless the !articular

?osiunia? hates the assAkisser ty!e D)),

4. ?ocha? (... sounds heavy, doesn+t itQ D) — &ell, so it isC this one is !ractically reserved or the oldAtime

good emale riendsW it+s not really cute, but very &arm all the sameD in a rough, ?comradely? kind o &ay),

^. ?>a0gosia? (this one is 9uite interestingW !ractically, it can be used like ?osia?, but it seems more elegant

(&ith less o the amiliar cordiality)... and yet a bit cuter at the same time)

- — enoughC D)) (...&hich readsD end o the terribly long introduction D')

,hy am " telling you aout all thatA ... " don't know — proaly& " !ust like to ramle $)) nd now seriously: for one thing& " wanted to show you a few petname forms and get you acuainted withthe fact that there are differences etween them$ and for the second& ... yes& " wanted to make a point aoutthe vocative for the pet names — and first names in general$ ..the point is:

some name*forms sound better in the true ocatie, and some hae an affinity to the nominatie#

" can imagine what you're thinking :) ,ell& yes... it's one of those things — you've got to acuire an ear forthe language... ut there are some practical clues:

a) long names sound even more pretentious when they come in their vocative form (3#art7omie!u23 pfffff2hahaha2 :)) : it's est to avoid using them in the unshortened form anyway (" mean: it's etter to use the petforms)& e*cept in formal situations. (s a general rule& eing on firstname terms with someody& you wouldhardly ever use the 3official3& full form of their first name — unless it's one of the few names that don't havepet forms applicale to simple friendship or companionship& in which case you would have to stay with that asic& main form: ?Uobert?, ?arol?, ?>arek?, ?acek?& etc.$ with the ma!ority of names& however& it is possile

to find a proper pet variant& and then the 3official3 form would only come into play in some particularlyserious conversations.)

) the 3rough3 and 3a little rough3 pet names (= ?#nka?, ?ośka?, ?ocha?) always come with the vocative

identical to the nominative )

c) the very cute forms always have a special vocative (different from the nominative)& and the use of that vocative is usually strongly preferred to the use of the nominative... so& even when !ust calling out to

someody at a distance& or trying to make someody look somewhere& you would always tend to say?#neczkoC?, ?#nusiuC?, ?rzysiuC?, ?arusiuC?, ?areczkuC?, ?osieSkoC?, ?osiuniuC?, ?>a0gosiuC?& etc.



d) for the pet names that are in the 3middle area of sweetness3& oth the special vocative and the nominativeusually sound /O: a ig degree of individual preference applies there& so " would personally call: ?#niuC?

(d+), ?rzysiekC? (d1), ?arekC? (d1), ?osiaC? (d1) (while the correct vocatives would e: ?#niuC? (d+),

?rzyśkuC? (d+), ?arkuC? (d+), ?osiuC? (d+))

#ut — C-T 0- 0O- "T 5-61 XC-6 (): what "'m talking aout here is the collouial use. t school they

would teach you that you should C,1+ use the proper vocative form of the first names in all the situationsof direct personal address — no matter if you call people from a distance& or !ust using their names to makethe message feel more personal$ no matter if you make a pause or not. +o& in theory& only my point 3)3 aoverelates to formalized& regulated usage: —ecause& indeed& those 3rough3 pet names have the vocative formidentical to the nominative.

YYY

nd since we're already almost e*haustive aout the vocative for names $) let me inform you aout acharacteristic form of personal address in Polish& one that is used a lot here. That form is:

?Panie (d+)$Pani (d+) X the vocative (d) o irst name or o a !et orm o a irst name ?(this form applies only to >nd person singular address$ let me remind you that the nominative of

"0anie" (d) is 30 n3 (masc.'d1)& and the nominative of "0ani" (d) is 30 ni3 (,em.'d1)& and thatthose words correspond to -nglish 3 r#3 and 3 s#3& respectively)

This manner of address is very popular among people of the older generations& in which going on firstnameterms was reserved to relationships of close friendship (and even then& usually for the friendships made efore reaching @?@U years of age). Poles who are under B? today tend to shorten the interpersonal distanceand get on first name terms with most people of aout eual age as soon as they get uite familiar with them.4owever& this 3courteous3 form of firstname address would still e used a lot even y them: it is the naturalchoice when talking to a person who is significantly older than you& or with people who you meet often and with whom you are friendly ut not close enough to !ustify the use of the firstname alone: some of yourneighours& shopassistants& etc. This is also a very freuently used form in workplace environments —especially y osses speaking to their suordinates.

#oth the regular firstname form and the pet forms can e comined with 3Pan (dG)EPani (dG)3 (which in vocative turns to 3Panie (dG)EPani (dG)3)& offering a wide palette of forms of address to suit different forms ofrelationship and different degrees of reverence due. Hor e*ample& you would proaly not go eyond theregular first name when addressing people your senior y >? years or more. t the other end of the scale&some osses would have a hait of calling their suordinates y this formula and using one of the cuter petforms with it: an element of conduct which can e taken as oth a way of fraternizing and a show of theirsuperiority (ecause those pet forms would naturally ring up connotations with parentschildrenrelationship).

n important thing to rememer is that this formula of address re9uires that the first name or the pet namewould always be in the ocatie ().

Cet's have a few e*amples:

?Panie (d+) >arku (d+), ...? (or ?>arek (d1)?, a masculine irst name),

?Panie (d+) >areczku (d+), ...? (?>areczek (d1)? is a !etAorm o the name above, mostly used &ith

little boys , so this utterance &ould !robably be the start o a re9uest being made by >arek+s boss)

?Pani (d+) #nno(d+)C ? (or ?#nna (d1)?, eminine)

?Pani (d+) #niu(d+)C? (that one+s &armer, because ?#nia (d1)? is a !et orm o ?#nna?W this &ay you

could address a neighbour or a notably older riend)

?Pani (d+) #nusiu(d+)C? (that+s vocative o the cute !et orm o ?#nna?D ?#nusia (d1)?W &e can assume

that it is #nna+s cree!y boss s!eaking W))

?Pani (d+) >a0gorzato (d+), ...? (sounds very decorous, but this one &ould !robably be the most itting &hen

addressing an elderly lady by the name o ?>a0gorzata (d1)?)

?Pani (d+) osiu (d+)C? (or all occasions &here the level o reverence need not be 9uite as highW the



nominative = ?osia (d1)?)

?Pani (d+) >a0gosiu (d+), ...? (rom the !et orm ?>a0gosia (d1)? — that one &ould !robably be avoured by

the bosses... eTce!t or the most cheeky ones &ho could go urther than that and sayD

?Pani (d+) osieSko (d+), ...?)

... " imagine that would do for now $)))... ut in case you'd like to have even more information (22A2 $)) aoutthe vocative& you can look in here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ôcati*e@Polish(recommended if you want to see a few moderately offensive epithets that you can give to people ehavingstupidly :))

...

nd on this very personal note we end the little ooklet on Polish declension :))

" hope you have found it at least a little it useful :)

Cet me apologize once again for my propensity to overload the e*plaining te*t to the e*amples withinformation not pertinent to what those e*amples are meant to illustrate. " know it's something that proalymakes the ooklet less clear than it might (or should) e& and " realize that it may e making it a littleconfusing in places... " can only hope that it's not something too discouraging. "t has certainly not een myplan to overwhelm you. " !ust wanted you to e ale to fully understand the e*ample sentences and to followtheir structures and wording. " guess " was also acting on the notion that " cant't e sure when (or even — if)there are going to e any followups to this ooklet& so " wanted to smuggle in a few e*tra topics of Polishgrammar and usage (however superficially treated). Cast of all& "'m not a professional& " was improvising allthe way& "'ve had no set methodology or terminology: if " sin additionally aout the composition& " can say "have een already culpale anyway.

" also would like to thank my friend 6ummenigge& who's waited long for the ooklet to finally take shape&

continuously providing me with motivation to finish it& and 0anuela& who gave me the inspiration to setaout it at all.

s said earlier& "'m not sure aout how much time and effort " will e ale to afford to work of this type inthe future& ut " surely would love to have my share in popularizing Polish language and culture. Therefore& if you have ideas for su!ects related to Polish language that you would like to see covered in a similar fashion&if there is something you couldn't yet find welle*plained (and so& you would like to see an amateur tinkererlike me dale in e*plaining :))& you can always try your powers of inciting to action y writing at:soarsoZgazeta.pl

%ntil ne*t time& it's arsorro signing off :)

2Ttended a!!endiTD ?declension 9uestions?

... +o... this is yet not uite the end of this ooklet... :) There's still one thing aout the declension that canprove important and useful. "'m talking aout something that "'m going to call 3declension 9uestions3.

The thing is that for every sentence you can make uestion sentences inuiring aout any sustantive in that

sentence...

Cet's have an e*ample in -nglish:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocative#Polish

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocative#Polish



?>anuela eats dinner at home at eight o+clock, using a ork and a knie.?

nd here's a volley of uestions targeting each individual word in the sentence:

?/ho eats dinner at home at eight (...)Q?

?/hat does >anuela eat at eightQ?

?/here does >anuela eat dinnerQ?

?/hat time does >anuela eat dinnerQ?

?/hat does >anuela eat the dinner &ithQ?

+o& /O... in -nglish it's all pretty straightforward$ even though at that last uestion we actually have a little

complication: we need to ask 3/hat &ith...3 and -nglish synta* wants us to put that 3&ith3 at the end of the

sentence.

ow let's take a Polish sentence:

?>anuela (d1) da0a ksi3:k(d4) z cieka&ymi zadaniami(d5)

koledze (d$) s&o"ego kuzyna(d2) dobremu & matematyce(d6).?

1the nominati*es: 2ksiRka2 1fem.4821ciekawe4 zadania2 1plural4 ( 21ciekawe4 zadanie2 1sing.8neut.8d,482kolega2 1masc.48 21swBj/jej4 kuzyn2 1masc.48 2matematyka2 1fem.44

" eg you take heart2 :) This sentence is& indeed& a little intricate& ut it is so on purpose (... which means wehave the things firmly under control :)): " wanted to have a single sentence that would feature sustantives

appearing in as many declension cases as possile. nd " succeeded in making one that has a sustantive forevery declension case (save for the vocative)2 :)

,hat do " need that forA ,ell& ecause what we have done with the -nglish sentence aove we should e aleto do with the Polish one& rightA :) +o& we're going to that& and this will help us make an oservation.

#ut first& let's translate that sentence to -nglish& so that we know e*actly what we're talking aout $)

?>anuela gave a book &ith interesting (mathematical) !roblems

to a riend o her cousin (&ho is) good at maths.?

Owe will use the translation abo*e8 although it must be noted that: ? in nglish it would be better to say ?...a book o interesting...?8 because 73*ebeen thinking here of a book of e+ercises that is all a collection of

mathematical problems to sol*e: a sentence using 2&ith2 seems to suggest that inthe whole book there may be just a few mathematical problems5

? 2... dobremu & ... / ... good at ...2 [ the Polish preposition 2w2 in most

situations corresponds to the nglish 2in25 howe*er8 you know it well that theprepositions don3t ha*e direct analogues and that their translation alwaysdepends on the conte+t

/O... and now& since the sentence are fairly similar in synta*& we will try making the uestions in a parallelmanner S in -nglish and in Polish.



Cet's put the sentence in oth the languages here for easy reference:

?>anuela (d1) da0a ksi3:k(d4) z cieka&ymi zadaniami(d5)

koledze (d$) s&o"ego kuzyna(d2) dobremu & matematyce(d6).?



(@L@) —a 9uestion about >anuela D) ( the interrogative !ronouns to ask about the nominative (d1)D

?kto2 / co2? <&hoQ $&hatQ )

?/ho gave the bookQ?

?@to (d1) !ał ksią,kę (d4)2?

—/e are asking about the sub"ect o the sentence (notice that in 2nglish 9uestions about sub"ects

have a dierent syntaT to other 9uestions — &e ask ?/ho gave the bookQ?, K-%D ?/ho did give the

bookQ?)...

... and our irst interrogative or the sub"ect — &hich also meansD our irst 9uestion &ord in the

nominative. ?@to?. %his one is or !eo!le.

or ob"ects, the interrogative &ord in the nominative is ?co? (?&hat? ). ?7ruskawka (d1) jest sło!ka.? (# stra&berry is s&eet.)

?3o (d1) jest sło!kie2? (/hat is s&eetQ)

/hat * &ant you to notice no& that the 9uestion &ords have genders (&hich !ractically make

dierence in 9uestions or the sub"ectW in interrogatives a!!lied to other cases, the interrogative

gender hardly comes into !lay, as you &ill see or yourselves). %he interrogative a!!licable to

humans, ?@to (d1)?, is masculine (...yeah, it+s a macho &orld, but it &asn+t me &ho invented

these rulesC D)) — that+s &hy &e have ?@to !ał...2?, and K-% ?@to !ała...2? or "@to

!ało...2? — it is #[/#1 ?@to ! ł...?D the masculine verb ormW and it doesn+t matter i the

!erson asking the 9uestion can guess the gender o that sub"ect or not — the !erson asking musttreat the &ord ?kto? like a masculine nounW another eTam!leD the 9uestion ?/ho is the best at

maths hereQ ? &ill al&ays translate to ?@to jest tutaj najlepszy z matematyki2? (... and K-%D

?... najlepsza ...? (eminine ad"ective variant) or ?... najlepsze ...? (neuter ad"ective variant) )

_even i asked to a grou! absolutely dominated by &omen, or to one consisting entirely o girls

or &omen.

imilarly &ith ?co? — the dierence being that ?co? is #[/#1 neuterW that+s &hy &e have ?3o

jest sło!kieQ? and K-%D ?... sło!ki ...? (masc.ad".) or ?... sło!ka ...? (em.ad".)W to demonstrate

ho& it &orks &ith a verb, let+s take a sentenceD ?3o stało na stole2? (?/hat stood on the

tableQ? ) <only the !ast tense sho&s the dierenceD you can see that it+s not ?... stałQ? or ?...

stałaQ? _such orms &ould al&ays be invalid.



%o sum u!D there are t&o interrogatives that yield in ans&er a substantive in the nominative...

(@@@L) ... those t&o 9uestion &ords areD ?kto? and ?co?

and it+s &orth remembering that &hen using them — that isD &hen asking 9uestions about the

sub"ect (?/ho$/hat does$did$&ill do sth...Q? , ?/ho$/hat is$&as$&ill be sth...Q? , etc.) &e have to

treat the ?kto? as a masculine !ronoun, and the ?co? — as a neuter !ronoun.

(@N@) —a 9uestion about the book ( the interrogative !ronouns to ask about ob"ects in the accusative (d4)D

?kogo2 / co2? <&hoQ $&hatQ )

-, let+s think o another 9uestion... *n our sentence &e have

?anuela (d1) !ała ksią,kę (d4) (...)? (?>anuela gave a book (...)?) . o, let+s askD

?/hat did >anuela give (to the riend o ... bla bla bla)Q ?

in PolishD

?3o (d4) anuela (d1) !ała (kole!ze ... it!.&2?

o... *t looks sim!le enough, !ractically like in 2nglish. #nd it isC ... #lmost D)... Because.. —&hy

did * &rite the ?(d4)? neTt to this ?co?Q —%o remind you that this ?co? here is asking about the

direct ob"ect o the sentence, about the direct ob"ect com!lement o the verb ?!awać? (&hich

!resents the standard government or the the accusative — ?!awać kogo)/co) (d4)H?)

... /ait, &ait, &aitC D) — Eave you noticed somethingQ D)

?@+1+) / 3+)? D (?somebody $ something? (d4))...

...yesC D) — the 9uestion &ord or an accusative ob"ect is ?co? — or things, but or !eo!le it+s

?kogo" (not ?kto? , &hich is reserved "ust or the nominative, "ust or the 9uestions about sub"ect).

[et+s make an eTem!lary sentence &here the ob"ect &ould be a !ersonD

?Dorota (d1) całuje swoją mamę (d4).? (?'orota is kissing her mom.?).

<?'orota? is the sub"ect o the action, she+s !laying the lead !art D), ?mama? is ?"ust? the ob"ect,

the one &ho has to submit hersel to the kissing (&hether she &ants it or not W))W the verb

?całować? has a standard rekc"a or the accusative

Ko&, the 9uestion about the ob"ectD ?/ho is 'orota kissingQ? , looks like thisD

?@ogo (d4) całuje Dorota (d1)2?

—Van * be allo&ed a little digressionQ D)D

notice that having a s!ecial 9uestion &ord or ob"ect is not merely a stu!id com!lication — it can be !retty

useul. [et+s imagine a situation &here a !erson # is telling a !erson B the story o a movie. But # isn+t very

good at telling things, so the B soon gets very conused about all the characters. #t some !oint in the story #

shouts eTitedlyD

?5 wte!y on ją pocałował? — ?#nd at that moment he kissed herC?

Ko&, let+s imagine that the B &as able to ollo& the story told by the # to the eTtent that B kno&s &ho theman in that sentence above is. %he thing that remains a mystery to B is &ho the girl that &as kissed in the

movie &as. *n 2nglish, B has to askD



?Ee kissed &hoQ?

*n Polish — "ustD "@ogo2"

imilarly, i it &as the man+s (the ?activeAkisser+s? W)) identity that &as the riddle or B, in 2nglish the B &ould

have to askD

?/ho kissed herQ?

*n Polish usually it should suice "ust to sayD "@to2"

—the digression ends here D)

ummary D the interrogative !ronouns or accusative ob"ects are —

(@@@N) ?kogo?, ?co?

sideAnoteD enders also eTist here, but they come into !lay only i, or &hatever reason, you+d have to add

an ad"ective to the interrogative !ronounW there is 9uite rarely need or this.

"@ogo kocanego całuje Dorota2" (the 2nglish translation cannot be 9uite literal, it &ould be

something likeD ?/hat beloved !erson is 'orota kissingQ? ) — ?kocanego? = the accusative o ?kocany?

(ad"ective in the masculine orm)

imilarlyD "3o ła!nego !ostanie Fn!rzej2" (again, the dierence and limitations o 2nglish grammar enorce a

much changed sentence construction to carry the meaning...D ?/hat &ill be the nice thing that #ndrze" &ill

getQ? ) — ?ła!nego? = the accusative o ?ła!ny? (ad". in the neuter orm)

... you &ould have noticed, ho&ever, that in the accusative the masculine and the neuter orms o an

ad"ective look the same.)

(@M@) —a 9uestion about the book+s contents W) ( the interrogative !ronouns to ask about a substantive in the instrumental (d)D

?(z& kim2 / (z& czym2? <(&ith) &hoQ $ (&ith) &hatQ )

>oving on in our sentence &e come to this !ointD

?anuela (d1) !ała ksią,kę (d4) z ciekawymi za!aniami (d5) (kole!ze (d$)...&?

?>anuela gave a book &ith interesting (mathematical) !roblems (to a riend...)?

/e have already dealt &ith the >anuela... W) ... and &ith the book... But, * claimed that a 9uestion

can be made about every substantive in the sentence, rightQ D) [et+s then no& try to make a

9uestion about the ?z (ciekawymi& za!aniami? — ?&ith (interesting) !roblems? — element o

the sentence.

ust to have it a little easier to make 9uestions let+s substantiate the ?riend? &ith a !ronoun and

make a little reordering. %his doesn+t in any &ay aect the element that &e+re interested in rightno&.



?anuela (d1) !ała G (d$) ksią,kę (d4) z ciekawymi za!aniami (d5).?

?>anuela gave E*> a book &ith interesting (mathematical) !roblems.?

... #nd no& or a moment o ranknessD sim!le grammatical transormations &ill not lead us to!articularly natural, clear and !recise 9uestions here — either in 2nglish or in Polish. But &e+ll try

to arrive at something that &ill be correct and that &ill let us have something demonstrated... -D

no mysteries — this ?something? is going to be the interrogative !ronouns to use in asking about

those substantives in a sentence that come in the instrumental D)

/hy do * say that the 9uestion sentences made by a sim!le transormation are less than !erectQ

Because, in 2nglish, i &e make a sentence like thisD

?/hat did >anuela give him a book &ithQ?

then &e get into a big conusion, since the most obvious understanding o it &ould !robably

beD ?Rsing &hat did >anuela give him the bookQ? , and &e eel like shouting in res!onseD ?/ith her

hands, o courseC? D'

Eo&ever, i &e change ?a book &ith mathematical !roblems? or ?a book o mathematical

!roblems? , and then askD

?/hat did >anuela give him a book oQ?

then that is airly une9uivocal. (o courseD or the maTimum clarity and ease o

communication, &e &ould rather say something likeD ?/hat &as in the book that >anuela gave

himQ?, but this is a re!hrasing that takes too ar a&ay rom the the syntaT o our eTam!lary

sentence here).

But &e+re still going to have a little issue here... ee, the elegant 2nglish syntaT is not very

straightor&ard. Eere+s &hat * meanD according to the canons o !ro!er 2nglish syntaT, the

interrogative ?&hat? must come in the beginning, &hile the second com!onent o an ?interrogative

!hrase? (*+m talking o the interrogatives o this kindD ?- &hat...?, ?/ith &hat...?, ?#bout &hat...?,

?-n &hat...? , etc.) is su!!osed to land at the very end o the sentenceW &hich results in 9uestion

sentences looking like thisD ?/hat is it made oQ?, ?/hat are you thinking aboutQ?, ?/hat &ill you

do it &ithQ?, ?/hat did you insist onQ? , etc.

ortunately, there is a &ay out — &e can re!hrase our 9uestion in a &ay that &ould be less elegant

(yet still correct), but closer to the Polish syntaT. Eere+s our modiied 9uestionD

?# book o &hat did >anuela give himQ? ,

... and no&, &e can even make itD

?# book &ith &hat did >anuela give himQ?

... and not run into the ormer tra! o ambiguity.

[et me translate the last one into Polish no&D



?@sią,kę (d4) z czym (d5) !ała mu anuela (d1)2?

>ake no mistake — this is still a sentence (a 9uestion sentence) in &hich the sub"ect is >anuelaD

the verb is ?!ała? (?she gave?) and the !erormer o this action is the !erson$thing &ho gave A the

?giver? _ here, that is clearly ?>anuela?. %hat+s &hy ?>anuela? stays in the nominative 1d,4

(nominative ` sub"ect o the sentence), and the ?book? that lies a the beginning o the sentence,being all the time the ob"ect o it (the direct ob"ect o the verb ?!awać 1r-4?), is in the accusative

(?ksią,kę?). *t doesn+t matter much &hat !osition in the &ord order the &ord ?ksią,kę? &ill

occu!yD because o the declension, the role o each substantive in the sentence is demonstrated

9uite clearly by its orm (the orm de!endant on the declension case it is in) _ thus, its location in

the sentence doesn+t have all that much signiicance (but, o course, it is not com!letely ree

either)... !eaking o &ord order, our 9uestion in Polish &ould actually look nicer and more natural

this &ayD

?H czym (d5) ksią,kę (d4) !ała mu (d$) anuela (d1)2?

/hy is it more naturalQ — &ell, that+s !retty sim!leD the actual 9uestion !hrase (?H czym...?)

looks best at the very beginning o a sentence.

#nd no& — &ell, &e have the 9uestion !hraseC #nd in itD our seeked interrogative !ronounC D) %his

is &hat &e+ve been aiming or, rightQ D)

?H czym (d5)...? ?/ith &hat...? — &hich means that the interrogative !ronoun to ask about

substantives in the instrumental is ? czym ?D &hen &hat &e+re asking about is a thing.

Van there be a situation in &hich &e &ould have to make a 9uestion about a !art o a sentence inthe instrumental, &here that !art o a sentence &ould be a !ersonQ

- course, there canC [ook at our eTam!le 9uestion about the bookD

?H (%) czym (d) ksią,kę (...)?.

/hy did * !ut the ?1r-4? ater the ?z?Q — because i ?z? means ?&ith? ...

$...reminderD ?z/ze? can also mean ?rom? or ?out o? ,

and then it comes &ith the genitiveD look into

the section on the genitive in the irst !art

o the booklet or more details...$

... then it is #[/#1 ollo&ed by a &ord in the instrumentalW in other &ordsD the !re!osition

?z? in the unction o the 2nglish ?&ith? sho&s a constant case government or the instrumental

1r"4.

#nd &e oten do things &ith other !eo!le, rightQ W))

or eTam!leD

?Vzsto ogl3dam (r4) tele&iz" (d4) razem z (rC) bratem (d5).?

— ?* oten &atch television together &ith 6my6 brother?.

1the *erb 2oglą!ać2 has the standard rekcja 1for the accusati*e 1d-445 the nominati*es ; 2telewizja2 1fem.48 2brat2 1masc.44



1ou &ould oten say that as an ans&er to the 9uestionD

?/ho do you (usually) &atch television &ithQ?

-. irst, let+s change the syntaT o this 9uestion sentence rom the elegant to something less

stylish but more PolishAuserAriendly W) D ?/ith &hom do you (usually) &atch televisionQ?

#nd, hey !resto, _ &e+re "ust a ti!toe a&ay rom the translation in PolishC D

?H (r5) kim (d5) (zazwyczaj& oglą!asz (r4) telewizję (d4)2?

o, here &e arrive at our second interrogative !ronoun in the instrumental — this time, one that is

used &hen dealing &ith !eo!leD ?kim?.

Kotice that, although the rekc"a o the !re!osition ?z/ze? is !robably the most re9uent reasonor the use o the instrumental orm in nouns and !ronouns reerring to !eo!le, it is not the only

one !ossible. ee the ollo&ing eTam!les (you may &ish to consult the section about the instrumental in

the irst !art o the booklet or the eT!lanation o the role o the instrumental case in those eTam!les)D

*uestionD ?@im (d5) 0an jest2? — ?/ho are you, (>ister)Q?

answer D "4a jestem tu sze#em (d5) " — ?*+m the boss hereC?

1here we ha*e the use of the instrumental in talking about a role in life...speaking of which8 we can further e+ploit this function of the instrumental andmake an e+ample that would coincidentally be a serious philosophical in9uiry as

well D) :

?@im (d5) jestemQ? — ?/ho am *Q?

1"@to (d1) ja jestem2" would sound a little clumsy5 it could also be read as a9uestion about more elementary facts about one3s identity: name8 nationality8etc....44

... and there is one very ty!ical 9uestion about a role in lie that is not so terribly !hiloso!hic,

and thereore, &hich !robably everybody hears in their lie at least once D) (...-, * can no&

imagine some hairAs!litting !ersonalities argue that hardly any guy &ould ever hear !recisely the

9uestion belo&, but... *+ll leave it or your home&ork to make a variant or a masculine sub"ect W)))D

*uestionD ?@im (d5) cciała) być/zostać9 g!y była) mała2?

— ?/ho did you &ant to be$become as you &ere littleQ?

answer D ?(Wte!y& cciałam być/zostać aktorką (d5).?

— ?(#t that time) * &anted to be$become an actress.?

%he need to em!loy the instrumental variant o the !ersonal interrogative !ronoun (i.e. the

?kim?) can also be motivated by the use o one o the !re!ositions (other than "ust the ?z/ze?

mentioned earlier) that ailiate &ith the instrumentalD

*uestionD ?I ! (r5) kim (d5) mieszkaszQ? — ?#bove &hom do you liveQ?



1in other words 6 2Who is your neighbour from aboe4 2... actually8 this paraphrase notonly looks better in nglish8 but8 translated8 would ha*e also looked a littlemore literate in Polish5 nonetheless8 the e+ample sentence is wellunderstandable and *ery natural Polish as well44

answer D ?(ieszkam& n ! (r5) panią alinowską (d5).?

— ?* live above >rs. >alino&ska.?

1the nominati*e ; 2pani Malinowska24

*uestionD ?ię!zy (r5) kim (d5) a kim (d5)

stoisz na (r6) tej #otogra#ii (d6)2?

— ?Bet&een &ho and &ho are you standing in this !hotoQ?

(73m marking the use of the locati*e 6 d 6 only for your full information 1it3sconditioned by the rekcja of the preposition 2na245 the thing we3re reallyinterested here is the use of 2kim2 and its moti*ation4

short answer D ?ię!zy (r5) Fnią (d5) a @rzy)kiem (d5) .?

— ?Bet&een #nia and rzysiek.?

#nd let+s take one more eTam!le. %his one &ill demonstrate a situation in &hich &e have to use

the instrumental variant o the !ersonal interrogative !ronoun because the ob"ect o the 9uestion

is a direct ob"ect com!lement o one o the very e& verbs that govern the instrumental. %he

sentence may seem diicult at the irst glance, but you &ill see that it+s not that bad at all D) D

?@im (d5) ze (r2) swojej ro!ziny (d2)

najbar!ziej (adv.) lubisz się cwalić (r5) Q?

— [liberal translation:] ?/ho out o your amily are you most !roud oQ?

12chwaliG si=2 6 to boast of, to brag about, to be proud of 1look in the section of theinstrumental4 6 is a *erb which go*erns the instrumental5 you already know that8

customarily8 2się2 is not left as the last word in longer sentences8 hence the

in*ersion of the word order to: 2... się cwalić2 25 the 2ze2 1*ariant of 2z24 used here is: 2out of + from2 6 this preposition go*ernsthe geniti*e: that3s why 2swoja rodzina2 is put in the geniti*e in the sentence5a more literal translation of the entire sentence would be:

"Who of your family do you most like to boast about4" 4

[et+s ans&er it no&D

?He swojej ro!ziny najbar!ziej lubię

cwalić się (r5) moim kuzynem irkiem (d5) .?1the nominati*e ; 21mBj4 kuzyn Mirek2 1masc.44

#nd no&, to get a bit o balance, let+s make a cou!le o 9uestions about instrumentals, &here the

instrumental is a thing. *+ll try to be s!aring &ith comments D) D

D ?3zym (d5) otworzysz (r4) tę butelkę (d4)2"

— ?/hat &ill you o!en this bottle &ithQ $ /hat &ill you use to o!en this bottleQ?

1the nominati*e ; 21ta4 butelka2 1fem.44

#D ?+tworzę (r4) ją (d4) zębami (d5) C?

— ?*+ll o!en it [lit: "her"] &ith 6my6 teethC? (VhildrenC 'on+t try this at homeC D')1the nominati*es: 2ona2 1pers.pron.48

2z=by2 1plural4 ( 2zRb2 1sing.8masc.8d,44



D ?3zym (d5) je!ziesz !o (r2) szkoły (d2)2"

— ?/hat (trans!ort) do you go to school byQ?

1the nominati*e ; 2szko<a2 1fem.4 6 the geniti*e is enforced by the rekcja ofthe preposition 2!o24

#D ?Futobusem (d5) $ etrem (d5) $ 7aks-wką ( d5) $ 7ramwajem (d5) .?

— ?By bus $ By sub&ay $ By taTi $ By tram.? 1the nominati*es ; 2autobus2 1masc.48 2metro2 1neut.48

2taksBwka2 1fem.48 2tramwaj2 1masc.44

D ?3zym (d5) ubru!ziła) [$emv$orm] bluzkę (d4)Q?

— ?/hat have you soiled 6your6 blouse &ithQ?

1the nominati*e ; 2bluzka2 1fem.45 remember that in the past tense 1and only in it4 we ha*e different *erb formsfor the feminine and the masculine subjects in the second grammatical person1the 2you2 person 6 there3s no neuter gender in that person4: in this e+ample wecan see that it3s a female who is being asked 6 had the 9uestion been posed to a

male8 2ubru!ziłe)2 would ha*e been used... of course8 we probably wouldn3t ha*ebeen speaking of a 2bluzka2 then8 but rather of a 2koszula2 1a shirt : also afeminine noun in Polish4: 25zy! (d5) u$ru#zi*e+ koszulę (d4)2 :444

#D "(Gbru!ziłam ją (d4) sobie...& 6osem pomi!orowym (d5) .?

— ?(*+ve soiled ?her? or me...) /ith tomato sauce.?

1the nominati*e ; 2sos (noun) pomidorowy (a#j.)2 1masc.45 for the e+planation of the mysterious 2for me28 look into the point 2a42 of thesection on the instrumental in the main part of the booklet: there3s apractically identical e+ample sentence there4

D ?3zym (d5) zarysowałe) [mascv$orm] st-ł (d4)Q?

— ?/hat have you scratched the table &ithQ? 1the nominati*e ; 2stB<2 1masc.44

#D ?Harysowałem [mascv$orm] go (d4) spinką !o mankiet-w (d5) .?

— ?*+ve scratched it$?him? &ith a culink.?

1the nominati*es ; 2on2 1pers.pron.48 2spinka 1do mankietBw42 1fem.44

D ?3zym (d5) zazwyczaj zajmujesz się (r5) po połu!niu2?

— ?/hat do you usually do in the aternoonQ?

1look into the point 2c42 of the section on the instrumental for an e+planation

and usage e+amples of the *erb 2zajmować się (%)24

#D ?0o połu!niu zazwyczaj słucam (r2) muzyki (d2).?

— ?*n the aternoon * usually listen to music.?

1when 23zym zajmujesz się...2 is a 9uestion about common8 e*eryday things8

rather than something serious8 it is unnatural to use the *erb 2zajmować się2 inthe answer 6 you just go straight to the *erb describing what you do: 7 watchtele*ision8 listen to music8 go shopping8 etc.5 the *erb 2słucać (%2)2 1to listen4 is one of those few that ha*e a nonstandardrekcja 6 2słucać2 takes the direct object in the geniti*e.4

#nd no&, "ust to have eTam!le &here the instrumental or a thing &ould be enorced by the case

government o a !re!ositionD

*uestion: ?0o! ( d5) czym (d5) się scronisz9 g!y zacznie pa!aćQ?

— ?Rnder &hat &ill you take shelter &hen it starts rainingQ?



1in Polish8 contingent future e*ents are often e+pressed in future perfecti*etense8 so the subordinate clause here would literally translate to: 2### when it will

start raining#28 or e*en 2### when it will hae started raining#2 1both of which are8 ofcourse8 totally in*alid by the rules of nglish grammar45

the main use of the *erb 2pa!ać2 is to communicate an occurence ofprecipitation 1usually of rain8 but it can also be snow or hail45 in thatfunction the *erb 2pa!ać2 appears without a *isible subject 1like the 2dummy

subject2 "it" in nglish4 and is conjugated in &rd.pers.sing. 1so8 we can speakof an "i!aina$le su$ject" "it" in Polish 1that3s not official nomenclature :4457 will also admit that a simpler8 and therefore more natural for casual

language8 way of making this sort of in9uiry would be to ask: 21!zie się

scronisz9 ... / 1!zie się scowasz9 ...2 1"Where will you take shelter + hide, ###" 45howe*er8 somebody might well want to be more specific and put in a moreelaborate 9uestion like the one in the e+ample5

2(s&cronić się2 [ to take shelter + refuge 12scronić2 is the perfecti*e aspect*ariant4

answer: ?1!y zacznie pa!ać9 scronię się po! (r5) tamtym !rzewem (d5) .?

— ?/hen it starts raining * &ill take shelter under that (arther) tree.?

1the nominati*e ; 21tamto4 drzewo2 1neut.44

ummary D the interrogative !ronouns or ob"ects in the instrumental are —

(@@@M) "kim"9 "czym"

— but usually they are !resented this &ayD "(z& kim"9 "(z& czym"

(and the reason or that &e+ll learn soon D) )

(@4@) —a 9uestion about the one &ho &as aected W) ( the interrogative !ronouns to ask about the dativeD

"komu2 / czemu2" <to$(or) &homQ $ to$(or) &hatQ )

[et+s recall the sentences o our main eTam!leD

?anuela (d1) !ała ksią,kę (d4) z ciekawymi za!aniami (d5)

kole!ze (d$) swojego kuzyna (d2) !obremu w matematyce (d6).?



/ell, &e+re !roceeding se9uentially, so as you can already guess &e+re going to take on the

?riend? no& D) But irst, let+s make our sentences sim!ler — &e+ll cut all the eTtra inormation

that doesn+t aect either the sense or the basic syntaT.

?anuela (d1) !ała ksią,kę (d4) kole!ze (d$) swojego kuzyna (d2).?



?>anuela gave a book to a riend o her cousin.?

-, there+s no reason or delays. %he 9uestion &e &ant to ask is about the riend — &ho is the

!erson that gets the book. *n other &ords, he is the !erson($thing) aected by the action ogiving. %he direct ob"ect o that action in this eTam!le is the book. %he riend is the indirect

ob"ect. *n 2nglish &e have him designated in that role by the !re!ositional !hrase ?to a riend? —

in Polish all you need to mark that role is the right declension caseD the dative (d$).

o, in 2nglish &e need to ask about the !erson &ho &as given the book this &ayD

?/ho did >anuela give the book toQ?

orD

?%o &hom did >anuela give the bookQ?

But in Polish &e don+t have anything like "!o kolegi (swojego kuzyna&" in this sentence — &e

"ust have "kole!ze (swojego kuzyna&" D &ithout any !re!ositions, rightQ o, it+s only logical that

&e &ould need a single s!ecial 9uestion &ord to get this dative orm o the noun "kolega" in

ans&er.

%his 9uestion &ord — or the situations like hereD &here &e+re asking about a !erson — is ?komu

(d$)?.

D ?@omu (d$) anuela (d1) !ała ksią,kę (d4)2?

— ?%o &hom did >anuela give the bookQ?

#D ?+na (d1) !ała ksią,kę (d4) kole!ze (d$) .?

— ?he gave the book to a riend.?

Kotice that this ?... swojego kuzyna (d2)? (?... o her cousin?) is "ust an addition to the noun ?kolega? —

it+s an im!ortant addition in terms o the meaning (because it tells us that it+s not actually a riend o >anuela

but o her cousin) but it doesn+t aect the orm o the &ord ? kolega ? . %his "swojego kuzyna" !art "ust

?hangs on to? the main &ord "kolega" , and it is the "swojego kuzyna" !art that is de!endent on the

"kolega" , not the other &ay around. *n the course o inlecting a com!ound like "kolega swojegokuzyna" , only the main substantive &ould undergo changesD "kolega swojego kuzyna" (d1), "kolegi

swojego kuzyna" (d2), "kole!ze swojego kuzyna" (d$), "kolegę swojego kuzyna" (d4) (...).

#nd no& &e have to leave our main eTam!le or a moment, because need to learn about the dative

9uestion &ord or material ob"ects, or things. %hat &ord is ?czemu?.

>aybe it is in order to avoid conusion &ith 9uestions about things in the dative that some !eo!le

think it incorrect to use ?czemu? in the meaning o ?&hy? (... and demand that ?&hy? = ?!laczego?).

Eo&ever, in act... there is very rarely a ground or such conusion, because material (inanimate)



things become indirect ob"ects only very rarely. 1ou don+t oten come to think in terms o material

things ?being aected? by an action — in the &ay o being a beneiciary or suering the

conse9uences o an action involving another thing (that ?another thing? being the direct ob"ect o

a verb).

o, actually, there are (!robably W)) only t&o s!eciic situations &here &e &ould use ?czemu? to askabout a dative ob"ectD

L) &hen talking about animals —&hich &ouldn+t normally be reerred to as ?kto)" (somebody)

in Polish,

N) &ith some s!eciic verbs that take direct ob"ects in the dative — there are really only a e& o

themD the only one * can think o right no& is ?przyglą!ać się komu)/czemu)% (!J&? — to be

looking intently, carefully, long and in an inspectie way at somebody or something? to be staring atsbd+sth

### let me irst generally demonstrate the use o that verb, a situation &here it &ould itD

Dlaczego tak mi (d$) się przyglą!asz (r$) 2

0ryszcz mi wyskoczył9 czy co2

— /hy are you staring at me soQ Eave * gro&n a !im!le on my ace or &hatQ

[warning: the second sentence is $ar $rom a literal translation]

... and no& or a an eTam!le that &ill demonstrate the use o ?czemu? as an interrogative dative

!ronounDD

@obieta (d1) !ługo przyglą!ała się (r$) z!jęciu (d$).

— [in a liberal translation:] %he &oman took a long time ins!ecting the !hoto.1the nominati*e ; 2zdj=cie2 1neut.44

#s you can already guess, &e &ill &ant to in9uire about the thing that the &oman &as ins!ecting

so careully. %his means that &e &ill have to ask a 9uestion about the ob"ect o the verb

?przyglą!ać się?, and — since &e kno& that this strange verb takes the direct ob"ect in the

dative — &e &ill have to use a dative interrogative &ord (... in this caseD the one that reers to a

thing, rather than the one used &hen asking about !eo!le).

- — since &e already kno& (very !recisely W)) &hat &e &ant to do, let+s do it D) D

3zemu (d$) przyglą!ała się (r$) kobieta (d1)Q — ?/hat &as the &oman ins!ectingQ?

ine — let+s come back or a minute to our ?czemu/!laczego? digression. 1ou might say that there

is a !otential or conusion right in this eTam!le, because somebody might inter!ret this sentence

as sayingD ?/hy &as the &oman staringQ? ... /ell... actually... not really. %he thing is that

?przyglą!ać się? is not normally used &ithout an ob"ect, so i there is no other substantive

(noun or a !ronoun) in the sentence, the (interrogative) !ronoun ?czemu? &ill al&ays be assumed

as the ob"ect o that verb. [ook at those eTam!les and the natural translationsD

3zemu się przyglą!asz2 — /hat are you looking (intently) atQ

3zemu przyglą!asz się temu kotu (d$)2





asD

3zemu (< Dlaczego& teraz myjesz głowę2

— /hy are you &ashing your head no&Q

o... in conclusion — yes... in some situations it may be better to use ?!laczego? (rather than

?czemu?) to avoid ambiguity D)

#s &e already kno&, it is most ucommon that &e &ould need to !ose dative 9uestions about

things. [et+s then inish o the section dealing &ith dative 9uestions by making a e& more

eTam!les in &hich &e &ill ask about !eo!leD

D @omu (d$) najbar!ziej lubisz !awać prezenty (d4).— %o &hom do you most like giving !resentsQ

1the nominati*e: 2prezenty2 1plural4 ( sing. ; 2prezent2 1masc.44

#D (Iajbar!ziej lubię !awać prezenty& mojej mamie (d$).1the short answer would be the thing outside the parentheses: "ojej mamie." 8 ore*en just: "amie." 5 the nominati*e ; 2mama2 1fem.44

a policeman asking a group of passengers on a train! @omu (d$) (z 0aBstwa& ukra!ziono zegarek2

— +4or &hom+ (o you, [adies and entlemen) a &atch has been stolenQ

1this is a ridiculous translation: 73m adopting the "for who!" structure hereonly to reflect the use of the dati*e in Polish5 a correct nglish sentence to

ask that 9uestion would be: "Who of you has had their watch stolen4" 4

#D nie (d$) C — (4or) meC

1the nominati*e ; 2ja2 1pers.pron.44

D @omu (d$) z Was kie!ykolwiek to (d4) się przy!arzyło (r4r$)2

— %o &hom o you has this ever ha!!enedQ

( "przy!arzać się"> "co) (!;&% przy!arza się komu) (!J&%" "someting% appens to somebo!y%" &

#D nie (d$) nie9 ale mojemu kole!ze (d$) tak.

— Kot to me, but to my riend — yes.

1the nominati*e ; 2ja2 1pers.pron.48 21mBj4 kolega2 1masc.44

on a school trip ; teacher speaking!

D am (r4)

je!en !o!atkowy sweter (d4)

. @omu (d$)

jest zimno2— * have one s!are$eTtra s&eater. /ho is coldQ

1the nominati*e ; 21jeden dodatkowy4 sweter2 1masc.44



#D 3yba anueli (d$) a, się trzęsie

— *t seems that >anuela is — she+s even shiveringC

(the nominative = ?>anuela? D))

@omu (d$) jest łatwo w !zisiejszyc czasac2 — 4or &hom things are easy no&adaysQ

@omu (d$) po!oba się taka piosenka (d1)2— /ho likes this kind o a song (...$ a song like this one)Q

1consult the point 2b42 of the section on the dati*e in the first part of thebooklet for an e+planation of the meaning and use of the *erb 2po!obać się24

@omu (d$) )niło się co) ła!nego (d1) tej nocy2— /ho dreamt o something nice this nightQ

1same as abo*e: 2Lnić się2 is used differently than the nglish "to #rea!"8 so

you might want to re?read the e+planation gi*en in the first part of thebooklet4

a person waking up in a hospital after being saed from a serious accident! @omu (d$) mam !ziękować (r$) za uratowanie ,ycia2

— /ho should * thank or saving my lieQ

@omu (d$) z 7wojej klasy najczę)ciej pomagasz (r$) 2

— /ho o your class do you hel! most otenQ

@omu (d$) mogę o tym powie!zieć (r$) 2

— /ho can * tell about thisQ

* you have doubts about the reasons &hy the ob"ects (mostlyD indirect ob"ects) that the 9uestions

above are about have to be dative ob"ects, look into the section on the dative... or ask your Polish

teacher D))

Ko& it+s high time &e moved on, so let us "ust have a summary on the dative 9uestion &ordsD

ummary D the interrogative !ronouns or dative ob"ects are —

(@@@4) ?komu?, ?czemu?

(@^@) —the 9uestion o &hose riend in the end that &as W) ( the interrogative !ronouns to ask about the genitiveD

"kogo2 / czego2" <o &homQ $ o &hatQ )



[et me start &ith a little clariication D) * have used the &ord ?&hose? in the title o this !oint —

but that &as to make the sentence shorter and, actually, it can be a little misleading... But *+m not

sorry or having done that, because that might even hel! us to sort out one thing in the beginningD

%he 2nglish interrogative !ossessive !ronoun ?&hose? stands or ?o &hom?$?o &hat? — and thatreers to any kind o belonging or !ossession. Kotice, ho&ever, that this !ronoun does not cover

the situations involving the use o the nonA!ossessive ?o? . or eTam!le, i &e have a sentenceD

?%his statue is made o stone.?

then there is no !lace or the !ronoun ?&hose? in the 9uestion about the material that statue is

made oD

?- &hat is that statue madeQ?,

or, more correctlyD

?/hat is the statue made oQ?

[et+s take another eTam!leD

?%he girl is araid o s!iders.?

_ and the 9uestion about the ob"ect o the girls ears comes asD

?/hat is the girl araid oQ?

%hese, then, &ould be the eTam!les o 9uestions about ob"ects in &hat remains o the unctional

genitive in 2nglish.

Ko& &e let+s move on to Polish, &here things look 9uite similar. %here is also a se!arate

!ossessive interrogative, and t&o other, nonA!ossessive genitive interrogative !ronouns.

%he interrogative !ossessive !ronoun is ?czyj?. Eo&ever, since the !ronoun stands or a

?!ossessor? o something$(somebody) (something$somebody s!eciic), and the &ord designating

that something must al&ays a!!ear in a sentence &ith that !ronoun, in eect the !ronoun acts

much like an ad"ectiveD it ado!ts a gender orm a!!ro!riate to the gender o the ob"ect o

!ossession (the thing or !erson that belongs to the ?!ossessor?). %hus, relating to the ob"ect o

!ossession being masculine, eminine, and neuter, res!ectivelyD &e have three variants o the

interrogative !ossessive !ronounD ?czyj?, ?czyja?, ?czyje?.

*t should also be noted that the Polish !ossessive !ronoun ?czyj? is, !ractically, a!!licable only tohuman !ossessors (i.e., it &ould not be used in the instances o a thing belonging, being !art o,

or being related to another thing )W



also, it+s use as an introduction to subordinated clauses is very limited (com!ared to

2nglish) _ but that+s not something &e+d be getting interested in right no&.

[et+s have a e& eTam!les instead, shall &eQ D) D

D 3zyj (in"erro. possessive pron.) to jest parasol (d1)2 — /hose umbrella is thisQ

#LD -j (possessive pronoun). — >ine.

1this is an e+ample of a 9uestion about the possessor being answered with apossessi*e pronoun5 notice the gender agreement of the two possessi*e pronouns with the gender ofthe object of possession [ 2parasol2 1masc.45 by the way8 2parasol2 is thesubject of the 9uestion sentence4

#ND 7o jest parasol (d1) mojej siostry (d2). — %his is an umbrella o my sister.

<in !ro!er 2nglishD ?%his is my sister+s umbrella.?

1the nominati*e ; 21moja4 siostra2 1fem.45here we ha*e the 9uestion about the possessor answered with a noun [ and thatmeans a use of the geniti*e5 the noun in the geniti*e has its own gender and8 unlike a possessi*e pronoun8it doesn3t show any dependence of form related to the gender of the object ofpossession [ in other words: there would always be one geniti*e form "mojej

siostry" 8 regardless if the 2thing2 that belongs to "!y sister" were to be2parasol28 2sukienka28 or 2dziecko244

D 3zyje obraz y (plural,d1) były naj!ro,sze na aukcji2

— /hose !aintings &ere the most eT!ensive at the auctionQ #D Iaj!ro,sze były obrazy (d1)

sławnego malarza (d2)9 4acka alczewskiego (d2).

— %he most eT!ensive &ere the !aintings

o the amous !ainter, acek >alcze&ski.

1the nominati*es ; 2obrazy2 1plural4 ( 2obraz2 1sing.8masc.8d,4821s<awny4 malarz2 1masc.48 2Iacek Malczewski2 1proper name44

3zyj pomoc (!em,d1) była bar!ziej przy!atna

K moja (possesive pron. in !em. varian") czy mojego brata (d2)2_ /hose hel! &as more useul _ mine or my brother+sQ

<more literallyD ?(that) o my brother?

1the nominati*e ; 21mBj4 brat2 1masc.44

-, &e+ve already seen 9uestions that use the interrogatives about a !ossessor &hen that

!ossessor is a !erson. *n case o animals, the &ord ?czyj? can be used, too...

"3zyje #utro jest najmiększe2" — ? +/hose+ ur is the sotestQ ?

... but it is strongly recommendable to use more !recise — and, unortunately, a bit more com!leT

— constructions insteadD



D Lutro (d1) jakiego zwierzęcia (d2) jest najmiększe2

— %he ur o &hat kind o an animal is the sotestQ

#D Iajmiększe jest #utro (d1) kota (d2). — %he sotest is the ur o a cat.

#s you can &ell see by that eTam!le, the ?more com!leT? 9uestion is not only more clear in Polish,but it+s a better alternative in 2nglish as &ellD ?&hose? could suggest that &e+re talking about

someone+s coat made rom an animal+s ur.

/hen dealing &ith material things the use o ?czyj?, or ?&hose? , is com!letely out o the 9uestion.

ust look at this statement sentenceD

"Drzwi tego !omu (d2) są zamknięte." — ?%he door o this house is closed.?

1remember that the Polish noun for 2door2 only comes in plural8 the same way asthe 2scissors2 do in nglish4

%here+s no doubt that neither in 2nglish nor in Polish &ill the ollo&ing 9uestion be acce!table as a

&ay to ask about the building that the door is !art oD

"3zyje !rzwi są zamknięte2" — ?/hose door is closedQ?

%he above is understandable in a igurative sense (both in Polish and in 2nglish it could be read asD

?%he door to &hose room is closedQ?), but &e+re not dealing &ith these kinds o nuances here. *n

the stricter sense that &e+re ater here, one needs to askD

?%he door o$to &hat is closedQ?

#nd that, in Polish, &ill makeD

"3zego !rzwi są zamknięte2"

*n a similar &ay, i &e had a sentenceD

"Wyniki (d1) ba!aB (!'& są bar!zo zaskakujące."— ?%he results o the research are very sur!rising.?

1the nominati*es ; 2wyniki2 1plural4 ( 2wynik2 1sing.8masc.8d,4 6 note that2wynik2 in singular is used mostly when referring to a game score8

2badania2 1plural4 ( 2badanie2 1sing.8fem.8d,4 6 this world8too8 used in plural most of the time4

then &e could ask a 9uestion likeD

?%he results o &hat &ere (very) sur!risingQ?

( "3zego wyniki były (bar!zo& zaskakujące2"

#s you can see — there is a !ossessive a!!lication or one o the genitive interrogative !ronouns



trom the head o this sectionD i.e., or the ?czego?, &hich relates to material things.

*+m not giving you many more eTam!les o that a!!lication, though, because — as * guess you can

see yoursel — those 9uestions don+t strike one as !articularly natural. *t looks as though,

historically, mankind must have been more interested in these instances o belonging &here the

!ossessor &as a human being than in those &here one thing &ould be subordinately related to

another D) D both in Polish and in 2nglish &e get a s!ecial interrogative !ronoun (?czyj?, ?&hose? )

or the human !ossessors, and in both o the languages 9uestions about the ?!ossessorAthing?

oten seem someho& clumsy and &anting a more elaborate asking ormula to be !recise and

meaningul.

-, that &as a stretched argument D) 1es, one does use the ?czego? to in9uire about !ossessor

&hen that !ossessor is a material thing. #nd * think that those t&o eTam!les above have

demonstrated it 9uite &ell.

%he reason or &hich * &ant to ski! more eTam!les o the use o ?czego? in asking about!ossession is that * &ould like to inally move on to such instances o the usage o genitive that

&ill allo& us to see the second o the genitive interrogative !ronouns in action — the ? kogo? (and

those &ill be the kinds o settings &here ?czego? &ill be in !lay as &ell).

Beore &e get to that, though, one little ormality regarding our main eTam!le sentence. #s &e remember,

the sentence ranD

?anuela (d1) !ała ksią,kę (d4) z ciekawymi za!aniami (d5)kole!ze (d$) swojego kuzyna (d$)..."


to a riend o her cousin...?

#nd you can !robably guess as &ell that the 9uestion that &e &ill &ant to make no&, &ill beD

?/hose riend did >anuela give the book toQ?

#nd you already kno&, too, that &e &ill use ?czyj?... Rnortunately, * have one more com!lication or you...

so, !lease, treat the ollo&ing remarks more as trivia than something or you to learn and to remember at this

stage, -Q D)

[ook closely at the 9uestion sentence, and you &ill see that the com!ound ?&hose riend? is a dative

com!lement o the verb ? to give? — the riend together &ith his ?!ossessor? are the indirect ob"ect o the

action o giving the book (?the book? is the direct ob"ect o the action).

%his &ill be be seen more clearly i &e shule the &ordAorder o the 9uestionD

?%o &hose riend did >anuela give the bookQ?

Ko&, remember &hat * said about the !ronoun ?czyj? having those three gender orms and ad"usting itsel to

the noun s!eciying the ob"ect o !ossessionQ * said that the !ronoun behaved like an ad"ective. #nd so itdoes. #nd, although ad"ectives as such have not been a !oint o !articular ocus or us here, you kno& that

they ollo& declension. Vonse9uently, the !ronoun ?czy"? &ill do so, too.





?@ogo (d2) nie ma !zisiaj na imprezie2?

— ?/ho isn+t there at the !arty todayQ?

?Dzisiaj na imprezie nie ma!w-c moic koleg-w (d2) 9 4acka (d2) i @rzy)ka (d2) .?

— ?>y t&o riends aren+t there at the !arty today, acek and rzysiek.?

1the names of the friends stand in the same relation to the *erb phrase "nie !a"

as the piece of the sentence that describes who they are 1"#waj !oi przyjaciele(d1)"48 so both those elements of the sentence come in the geniti*e4

[et+s no& use a cou!le o transitive verbs &hich &ould normally take their direct ob"ects in the

accusative, but &hich &ill have to take them in the genitive, because the sentences * am going to

set them in are going to be negative sentencesW &e+re going to ask 9uestions about those directob"ects.

?3zego (d2) nig!y nie pijesz wieczorem2?

— ?/hat do you never drink in the eveningQ?

?Wieczorem nig!y nie pi ję kawy (d2) .?

— ?* never drink coee in the evening.?

1the nominati*e ; 2kawa2 1fem.44

ust or a reminderD a ty!ical transitive verb, like ?pić? (to drink, takes its com!lement in the

accusative in all the !ositive sentencesD

?3o (d4) zazwyczaj pijesz wieczorem2?

— ?/hat do you usually drink in the eveningQ?

?Wieczorem piję erbatę (d4).? — ?* drink tea in the evening.?

1the nominati*e ; 2herbata2 1fem.44

?3zego (d2) najbar!ziej nie lubisz w pieczonym kurczaku2? — ...

... here &e have to &atch out about the translationD this is a negative sentence &hich a!!les

the negation ?nie? to the transitive verb ?lubić kogo)/co) (d4)%?, but... the most natural

intensiier to use in this sentence in Polish is ?najbar!ziej? (the most, so !robably the right

translation &ould beD

... — ?/hat do you dislike the most in a roasted chickenQ?

— &ithout the ?not? ty!ical or negative sentences. Eo&ever, let me stress it again (C) D &e cannot

orget that in the Polish originial this is a ty!ical negative sentence (a negative 9uestion) and that

or this reason &e have the ?czego (d2)? (instead o ?co (d4)?) as our interrogative !ronoun or



the direct ob"ect here. [et+s take another, similar eTam!leD

?@ogo (d2) najbar!ziej nie lubisz w swojej szkole2?

— ?/ho do you dislike the most at your schoolQ?

?Iauczycielki (d2) cemii.? — ?%he (emale) chemistry teacher.?

1literally this is ?%he (emale) teacher o chemistry.? 8 so the "cemii" is8 in fact8

another noun in geniti*e here 1d, ; 2chemia248 but that3s not so important atthis point5 the nominati*e ; 2nauczycielka2 1fem.44

* ho!e that it+s not 9uite necessary by no& to say that a sentence likeD

?* like the (emale) 2nglish teacher.?

uses the accusative or the ob"ect, and thereore looks like thisD

?8ubię nauczycielkę (d4) angielskiego (d2).? (?... the teacher o 2nglish.?)

But — and this is 9uite im!ortant — notice that the 9uestion &ord or the ob"ect o the last

sentence &ould have to be the interrogative !ersonal !ronoun or the accusative... and that this

interrogative !ersonal !ronoun in accusative — ?kogo (d4)? — looks the same as the

interrogative !ersonal !ronoun in genitiveD ?kogo (d2)?.

1es, the &ord looks the same, but it+s 9uite im!ortant to !ay attention to &hether a 9uestion

sentence &e+re dealing &ith is negative or !ositive, because on that de!ends &hether that

!articular ?kogo? &ants us to ans&er &ith a genitive (in case o a negative 9uestion sentence) or

&ith an accusative (&hen the 9uestion sentence is a !ositive one) — in other &ordsD &hether the

?kogo? in the 9uestion sentence is the ?kogo (d2)? or the ?kogo (d2)?.

[et+s bring those eTam!les &ith the verb ?lubić kogo)%? closer together, to see the dierence

clearlyD

?@ogo (d2) najbar!ziej nie lubisz w swojej szkole2?

?Iauczycielki (d2) cemii.?

?F kogo (d4) najbar!ziej lubisz2?

?Iauczycielkę (d4) angielskiego.?

-ne or t&o more eTam!les o these negativeAsentenceArelated genitivesD

?3zego (d2) nie pami ętałe) [mascv$orm] na (r6) te)cie (d6)2?

— ?/hat did you not remember on the testQ?

?Daty (d2) o!krycia (d2) razylii (d2).?

— ?%he date o the discovery o Brazil.?

1the nominati*es ; 2test2 1masc.48 2data2 1fem.48

2odkrycie2 1masc.48 2'razylia2 1fem.44

[et+s have the !ositives or com!arison no&D



?3o (d4) pamiętasz (r4) z (r2) ostatniej lekcji (d2) istorii (d2)Q?

— ?/hat do you remember rom the last history lessonQ? <?... lesson o history?

1the nominati*e ; 21ostatnia4 lekcja2 1fem.48 2historia2 1fem.44

?3yba tylko !atę (d4) o!krycia razylii.?

— ?Probably only the date o the discovery o Brazil.?

?3zego (d2) nig!y nie o glą!asz w telewizji2?

— ?/hat do you never &atch on televisionQ?

?Morror-w (d2) .? — ?%he horror movies.?

1the nominati*e: 2horrory2 1pl.4 ( 2horror2 1masc.44

... and the com!arison &ith !ositivesD

?3o (d4) on oglą!a (r4) często w telewizji2?

— ?/hat does he &atch on the television otenQ?

?Morrory (d4) C? — ?%he horror moviesC?

# !oliceman intervie&ing a &itness and sho&ing him some !ortrait !hotosDD

?@ogo (d2) z nic nig!y 0an nie wi!zia ł2?

— ?/ho o them have you never seenQ?

?ę,czyzny (d2) w ciemnyc okularac.? — ?%he man in the dark glasses.?

... &hereas, on the !ositive sideD ?F kogo (d4) wi!ział (r4) 0an wte!y na ulicy2?

— ?#nd &ho have you seen in the street at that timeQ?

?3yba tego mę,czyznę (d4) z wąsami.?

— ?Probably that man &ith the moustache.?

1the nominati*e ; 21ten4 m=czyzna2 1masc.4 6 well... ridiculously enough thisword 12a man24 ends with an 2?a2 and has a declension pattern typical of afeminine noun 148 like for e+ample 2kobieta2 1"a wo!an"44

[et+s no& see t&o eTam!les o a situation &here the direct ob"ect o a sentence &ould al&ayscome in the genitive, because that is demanded by the rekc"a o the !articular verb (look back

into the !oint ?c)? o the section on the uses o the genitive or more details). %o ask about the

ob"ects o the sentences &ith one o those !articular verbs &e &ill al&ays use a genitive

interrogative !ronoun (&hether a sentence is !ositive or negative &ill not !lay a role here).

[et+s start &ith the very !o!ular verb ?u,ywać? (to use, &hich even many Poles try to em!loy —

&rongly — &ith com!lements in the accusativeW "ust like they &ould (correctly) do &ith most other

verbs. Eere is the only correct &ay o asking about its ob"ectD al&ays through the genitive

interrogative ? cze go A both in !ositive and negative 9uestion sentences. (%here+s hardly ever asituation that re9uires ?kogo? to be used... but i there &ere, then that &ould be the ?kogo (d2)?,



and not the ?kogo (d4)? ... and this is im!ortant and &orth remembering, no matter that the

sha!e o the &ord is the same W)) D

?3zego (d2) u,ywasz (r2) !o ocrony prze! słoBcem2

Iapraw!ę u,ywasz (r2) tego bezna!ziejnego kremu (d2)2Iie u,ywaj (r2) go (d2)?

— ?/hat do you use or !rotection against the sunQ

'o you really use that &orthless creme $ skin lotionQ 'on+t use itC?

1the nominati*e ; 21ten beznadziejny4 krem2 1masc.44

%o have a com!arison, let+s change ?u,ywać (%2)? or a airly synonymic verb &ith a ?normal? case

government — ?stosować (%4)? (to apply, to useD

?3o (d4) stosujesz (r4) !la ocrony prze! słoBcem2

Iapraw!ę stosujesz (r4) ten bezna!ziejny krem (d4)2Iie stosuj go (d2)?

— ?/hat do you a!!ly or !rotection against the sunQ

'o you really a!!ly that &orthless lotionQ 'on+t a!!ly itC?

Kotice that in this second eTam!le the last sentence ("Iie stosuj go" ) also uses the genitive

ob"ect — that is so because the last sentence is a negative sentence (... &hich re9uires accusative

ob"ects to change into genitive ones). Rnortunately, the !ronoun ?him? (standing or the

masculine ?krem?) has sameAlooking declension orms or d$ and d-.

%he neTt eTam!le duo &ill better illustrate the dierence, because &e shall have a eminine ob"ect

in it, and in the eminine gender the declension o !ronouns is more varied. /e+re going to use

another o those ?al&aysAtheAgenitive? verbsD ?bronić (%2)? (to defend D

?Io i kogo (d2) 7y bronisz (%2) 2 (Bronisz (r2) ) 7ej kłamczucy (d2)2

(Bronisz (r2) ) 4ej (d2) 2 Iie broB jej (d2)?

— ?eez, &ho are you deendingQ %hat (emale) liarQ EerQC 'on+t deend herC?

1the nominati*e ; 21ta4 k<amczucha2 1fem.44

... let+s no& use a transitive verb &ith the standard case government,

so as to see the dierenceD

?Io i kogo (d4) 7y zapraszasz (%4) 2 7ę kłamczucę (d4)2

4ą (d4)2 Iie zaprasza j jej (d2)C?

— ?eez, &ho are you invitingQ %hat (emale) liarQ EerQC 'on+t invite herC?

#nd no& let+s take a look at a cou!le o eTam!les, &here the ob"ect o the 9uestion comes in

connection &ith one o the !re!ositions that govern the genitive. /e+re going to make sentences

&ith "ust a e& rom a good number o those !re!ositions — see the !oint ?e)? o the section on

the uses o the genitive or a more com!lete list o such !re!ositions.





3To !est chle z sera 1d$4.3 1"&his is bread (made of cheese#"8 which makes sense only as longas you decide that something made of cheese can justly be called 2bread2 :44

@

/ell, this is deinitely enough on the sub"ect o the 9uestion &ords or ob"ects in the genitiveC o,

it+s time orD

ummary D the genitive interrogative !ronouns are —

(@@@^) ?kogo?, ?czego?

(@f@) —a 9uestion about the ?ins? (... but not about the ?outs? D))... ... &hich makes it a 9uestion about the ?abouts? D))) ( the locativeArelated interrogative !ronounsD

"(o& kim2 / (o& czym2" <(about) &hoQ $ (about) &hatQ )

#nd so &e inally arrive at the last sto! — the last substantive element in our main eTam!lary

sentence that &e &ant to make a 9uestion about. By making a 9uestion about that last

substantive, &e+re going to learn about the interrogative !ronouns or the last remaining case &e

haven+t covered yet here — the locative.

[et+s recall the eTam!lary sentenceD

?>anuela (d1) da0a ksi3:k (d4) z cieka&ymi zadaniami (d5)

koledze (d$) s&o"ego kuzyna (d2) dobremu & matematyce (d6).?



%he last element o this sentence &e+re going to ask about is that ?at math? . [et+s make a sensible

9uestion to our eTam!lary sentence that &ould get us the ?at maths? !re!ositional !hrase in

ans&er. * suggest &e ski! over the &hole com!lication o &ho is &hose riend D), as &ell as the

book theme, and "ust askD

?/hat is the riend good atQ?

!olonization in !rogress... D)

?#t &hat is the riend goodQ?

/ell, the last one must look really ugly to an 2nglish nativeAs!eaker (because it looks ugly enough



to me D)), but * choose to call that correct... and, more im!ortantly, it lets us "um! straight to the

Polish counter!artD

"W czym (d6) (ten& kolega jest !obry2"

1DU8 the "ten" ("that + the" is optional8 but since we assume that the person thatis being asked this 9uestion must be certain of the person that we3re askingabout8 putting the 2suggesti*e2 2ten2 makes the 9uestion more natural... Well8there is another reason for the presence of the 2ten2 there... but that one ise*en more obscure and e+plaining it would ha*e brought about another lengthydigression 5444

/hat do &e see in the Polish 9uestionQ /e see our irst interrogative !ronoun (the 9uestion &ord)

or the locative — ?czym (d6)?.

Ko&, let+s think &hy &e use a 9uestion &ord or the locative there. /ell, &e can look back into thesection describing the usage o the locative and that &ould tell us that the use locative case is only

re9uired by the rekc"a (case government) o certain !re!ositions. [et+s look at the 9uestion and

the ans&er no&D

?W (%) czym (d) ten kolega (d1) jest !obry2" — ?/hat is the riend good atQ?

?+n (d1) jest !obry w (%) matematyce (d) .? — ?Ee is good at maths.?

1the nominati*e ; 2matematyka2 1fem.44

/ell, as you might have noticed earlier, Polish uses here the !re!osition ?w? (&hich usually

translates into "in" ), &hile 2nglish has the ?at? in that !lace. %hat+s "ust a 9uestion o the

!re!ositions not matching each other in dierent languages. /e &on+t &orry about that. %he thing

that &e+re interested in is that the Polish !re!osition ?w/we? governs the locative, &hich means that

i &e have a 9uestion likeD

"W w"at % somebo!y % $erb N= !irect objectO%2"9 then that ?what? &ould usually come

in the locative variant = ?czym 1d4?.

666

* say ?usually? because ?w? is one o those ?dual rekc"a? !re!ositions that are ollo&ed by &ords either in theinstrumental 1d"4 or the locative 1d4 in static situations, and by &ords in the accusative case 1d-4 in some

dynamic situations, es!ecially those &here the notion o ?motion to&ards? comes into !lay.

#s has "ust been said, ?w/we? is one o those !re!ositions — in the ?static? situations it comes &ith the

locative, in the ?dynamic? ones (?!oking? something &ith something, aiming into something, sticking$driving

one thing into another, etc.) it comes &ith the accusative.

%hereore, given sentences likeD

"Powerzysta (#D) nie wyamował i u!erzył w rzwi (d4) samoco!u (#E)." — ?%he cyclist &as unable to slo& do&n and he hit the side o the car.?

1the nominati*es ; 2drzwi2 1always plural48 2samochBd2 1masc.45 notice that in Polish the *erb 2u!erzać2 (to hit, to strike usually operates on its objectthrough a preposition 1mostly through the 2w245 2u!erzać2 doesn3t use a preposition whenthe object of the hitting is an animate substanti*e8 e.g.:



27en cłopiec u!erzył mojego psa 1d-4.2 6 2&his boy hit my dog#21not: 2... u#erzy* w !ojeo psa.245

just so that you would ha*e the complete information: the locati*e of 2drzwi2 is2drzwiach 1d42 6 of course8 this form is of no use in this sentence4

... orD

"6łysząc te słowa9 !ziewczyna (#D) u!erzył go (#F) w w rz (d4) ."— ?-n hearing these &ords, the girl hit him in the ace.?

1the nominati*es ; 2on2 1pers.pron.48 2twarz2 1fem.4.45 the object in this sentence is the 2on28 but the ad*erbial 2w twarz2 is strictlyassociated with the *erb8 and so the nature of the action influences the case go*ernmentof the preposition 2w2 in it 1and dictates the use of the accusati*e instead of thelocati*e45 the locati*e of 2twarz2 is 2twarzy 1d42 6 once again: the use of that form would ha*ebeen a language error there4

... &e &ould have to ask about the ob"ect o the !re!osition ?w" by using an accusative interrogative, and so,

res!ectively, the 9uestions &ould look as ollo&sD

?W co (d4) u!erzył rowerzysta (#D)2? — ?/hat did the cyclist crash intoQ?

?W co (d4) u!erzył go !ziewczyna (#D)2? — ?/hat did the girl hit him inQ?

* ho!e that you ound airly clear this little reminder o the act that some !re!ositions in Polish !resent t&o

dierent case governments (the ?w/we? being one o them) — and that, conse9uently, &here the accusative

rekc"a a!!lies, it also a!!lies to the interrogative !ronoun or the ob"ect o such !re!osition.

But the accusative is not our !articular business at this time, so let+s leave the slight digression and come

back to our locative...

666

/e+re going to try making a e& eTam!le 9uestions asking about substantives !receded by the

?locative !re!ositions?D the ?w?, ?na?, etc. *+m not listing here all those !re!ositions, and *+m doing

it or a !ur!ose — or even a e& !ur!oses.

-ne is that &e "ust &ant to see the mechanism, so &e don+t really need to try out every

combination. #nother is that ?na? is yet one more ?dual rekc"a? !re!osition, and * really &ant to

avoid making any more o the digressions like the one above... ("ust kiddingC D)).

%he third, and the most im!ortant reason, is that in most o the instances o s!eaking about

something being in something else, or something lying on something else, etc., the only natural&ay to ask about that ?something else? is to sim!ly ask ?/here...Q? . * the &ord that comes ater

the ?w? or the ?na? is "ust a name or a !lace &here something is situated, then it+s only in some

s!ecial situations that you &ould ask ?*n &hat did you... Q? or ?-n &hat &ill you... Q? — don+t you

agreeQ Rsually, you &ould "ust ask ?/here did $ do $ &ill you ... Q?

o, &ith a sentence likeD

?anuela jest w (r6) !omu (d6).? — ?>anuela is at home.?



orD

?6amoc-! stoi na (r6) ulicy (d6).? — ?#$%he car is standing in the street.?

1the nominati*es ; 2dom2 1masc.48 2ulica2 1fem.45 not a hint of a 2motion towards28 so the prepositions come in their more usual8primary rekcja 1for them8 that3s the locati*e one44

it &ould be rather dat to make u! 9uestions likeD

?W (r6) czym (d6) jest anuela2? — ?/hat is >anuela inQ?

or

?Ia (r6) czym stoi (d6) samoc-!2? — ?/hat is a$the car standing onQ?

*+m sure you &ill agree that in any language the only reasonable &ay o asking a 9uestion that

&ould get us an ans&er like "(+na jest& W !omu." (?he+s at home.?)

or "(6toi& Ia ulicy." (?*t+s (out) in the street.?) must beD

"1!zie jest anuela2" — ? /he e is >anuelaQ?

or

"1!zie stoi samoc-!2" — ? /he e is the car (standing)Q?

- course, grammatically s!eaking those 9uestions a little higher above — the ones starting &ith

the !re!ositional !hrases "W czym..." and "Ia czym..." — are correct. %hey are "ust !retty

&eird — also because they make it seem as i the !erson &ho is asking them already kne& the

ans&erD that !erson a!!ears to kno& that >anuela is *K something (&hile she could be out o any

closed s!aces) and that the car is standing *K$-K something (&hile the !erson ans&ering might

"ust &ant to sayD ?*t+s over thereC? ). *n act, the obvious naturality o using the 9uestion !ronoun

?g!zie? to ask about a location has led to some !re!ositional 9uestions ado!ting s!ecial, im!licitmeaningsD

"W czym jest anuela2" "W co ubrana jest anuela2"

— ?/hat is >anuela dressed inQ?

"anuela jest w czerwonej bluzie."

— ?>anuela is in $ is &earing a$the red blouse.?

/ell, "Ia czym stoi samoc-!2" .. .. "ust looks very &eird... D) # native Polish s!eaker &ould be

rather !er!leTed acing that 9uestionD 9uite certainly it &ould be one o his or her last guesses

that this 9uestion might &ant an ans&er like ?Ka ulicy.? D) (* su!!ose a lot o !eo!le &ould give

the ans&er that irst s!rings to my mindD 3a ko7ach23 — "0n @its@ wheels=" D)))



-n the &hole, there aren+t all that many locativeAgoverning !re!ositions (look yoursel into the

section on the locative in the main !art o the booklet). - the three that go only &ith the locative,

t&o — ?po? and ?przy? — again reer to location in s!ace, &hich means that 9uestions about their

ob"ects &ould usually be constructed &ith the interrogative ?g!zie?.

/ell, there is one eTce!tion here... %he !re!osition ?po? can mean "all oer" , "oer the surface of" ,

but it can also mean "after" — &hen talking about events in time, &hen describing some

chronology o things that ha!!en. #nd, no matter &hat the meaning, that !re!osition al&ays takes

the locative.

[et+s see then &hat &e shall get i &e try asking in PolishD ?#ter &hom do you come inQ?.

%his eTam!le 9uestion might seem strange at irst, but given a !ro!er conteTt it becomes!erectly naturalD &hat *+m thinking about here is a scene in a hos!ital &aiting room — !eo!le are

sitting on every ree chair and a ne& !erson &ants to kno& &ho is the last in the 9ueue and &ho

comes right beore that last !erson.

/e already kno& that the 9uestion sentence &ill start &ith ?0o 1d4...? and that it &ill re9uire

the interrogative !ronoun or the locative (d6) case. /e already have one or material things (and

animals W)) — ?czym (d)?. Eere &e need one or !eo!le (humans).

%his is our 9uestionD

?0o (%) kim (d) 0an/0ani (d1) wco!zi2?

o, here &e have our !ersonal interrogative !ronoun or the locativeD ?kim (d)?.

ust or the sake o symmetry...

... #ctually, it+s not easy to make a natural 9uestion that &ould start &ith "0o czym..." ,

es!ecially one that &ould allo& making a grammatically similar sentence in 2nglish. ... 1es, it+s

9uite diicult... #ll right, *+ll be content &ith making one that is natural in Polish and needs a little

?eTtra? in its translation to 2nglishD

?0o (%) czym (d) jest 3i nie!obrze2"

— ?#ter (eating) &hat are you eeling sickQ?

1side?note: the way of speaking about feeling sick 19ueasy8 nauseated4 in Polishis similar to how we e+press the liking of something by means of the refle+i*e*erb 2podobaG si=2 1we talked about it in the section on the dati*e in the mainpart of the booklet45 a few e+amples to illustrate the use of the ad*erb

2nie!obrze2 in that role:"Jest !i (d$) nie#o$rze." — "- feel sick."

"5zy jest 5i (d$) nie#o$rze" — "4re you feelin sick"

"a! (d$) $y*o nie#o$rze." — ":e were feelin sick."4

<* don+t think that ? %fter what are you feeling sick4" , or even ? What are you feeling sick after4" , is a

sentence sounding clear in 2nglish, so the &ord ?eating? needs to be added in the translation. *n



Polish, 3Po czym Xi !est niedorzeA3 has "ust one very a!!arent meaning — one associated &ith

eating something bad.

-, so &e ound ?po? as one ?locativeAcaseAonly? !re!osition... /e have also seen that it isn+t

!robably too oten that &e &ould see or make 9uestions &hose ob"ects &ould come !receded by

it.

#nd so &e reach the !oint that has been one o my goals here. Kamely — the !re!osition ? o?

("about". /hy are should &e be interested in itQ Because it is a !re!osition that has a single ty!e

o rekc"a (case government)D or the locative — "ust like ?po?W ho&ever, unlike ?po?, this

!re!osition is used a lot both &ith human and material ob"ects. /hich means that both 9uestion

ty!es "+ kim...2" and "+ czym...2" &ill be very natural and easy to make or &hatever noun

that &e may eT!ect as the ans&er.

%aking any !ossible noun at all &e can al&ays make a successul attem!t at asking about it one o

these t&o 9uestionsD

?/ho am * thinking aboutQ?

or ?/hat am * thinking aboutQ?

&hich in Polish translates, res!ectively, asD

"+ 1r4 im 1d4 my)lę2"

and

"+ 1r4 zym 1d4 my)lę2"

1... and the *erb 2my)leć2 (to think can e*en be 9uite safely replaced with a

couple of others8 like 2m-wić2 (to talk or 2pisać2 (to write4

%here+s no doubt about it, is thereQ D)

#ll right, let+s have a little !ause here, because that+s a good !lace or our standard summaryD

ummary D the interrogative !ronouns or the ob"ects

o the !re!ositions that govern the locative are —

(@@@f) "(o& kim"9 "(o& czym"

Ko& *+d like you to notice that the interrogative !ronouns, the !air o them, used or asking about



substantives in the instrumental and those a!!licable to substantives in the locative look

absolutely identical — it is ?kim / czym? in both cases. %hereore, in order to make a distinction

bet&een them, &e tend to !ut the !re!osition ?z? (?&ith?) beore the ?kim / czym? to sho& that

it+s the interrogatives or the instrumental case that &e have on our mind, and to !ut the

!re!osition ?o? beore those same 9uestion &ords — &hen &e &ant to make it clear that &e+re

ater the interrogatives or a locative ob"ect.

%he choice o these !articular !ronouns is dictated by the act that their case governments are

constant — there are no alternatives or the declension case o the ob"ects o these !re!ositions —

and by another actD that !ractically any noun or !ronoun can make a sensible combination &ith

the !re!ositions ?&ith? or ?about?. (/hen * say ?sensible? * mean natural, easily ound in real

language usage.)

-ne clariication, in case you might have doubts i the !re!osition ?z? indeed serves to makes

things clear and unambiguous. /ell, yes, * agree — ?z? (or ?z/ze?, to be !recise) in Polish is also

the language sign or a totally dierent !re!osition ("from, out of", and that one goes together&ith the genitive. But notice that there+s no mistaking bet&een the interrogative !ronouns or the

genitive ("kogo2 / czego2") and those or the instrumental ("kim2 / czym2"). %he only inclarity

&e can have is &hether the !air ("kim2 / czym2") is, in a given conteTt, a !air designating the

instrumental, or the locative. %he use o ?z kim...2? or ?z czym...2? removes any doubts that

it+s the instrumental &e+re ater.

@@@@@

nd now& since we're not going to look for interrogative pronouns referring to the vocative case...:))) ...

— /hyQC D %here is sim!ly no &ay to ask any 9uestions about a &ord !laced in the vocative

caseC D) (# !erson being called by their name is neither the sub"ect or an ob"ect (direct or indirect)

o any action — the &ritten call to their name doesn+t describe any action. *t doesn+t even im!licit

any action.)

... then we can ask a different& last uestion $)) : why that whole lecture about the interrogatie pronouns for all the cases of the declension4

/f course& one answer could e that it's simply one of the things that a person wanting to speakPolish needs to know aout the language anyway& and that it happens to e in connection with thedeclension system that "'m descriing in this ooklet. ,ell& that's a passale reason& ut not thetrue one: if it were the situation& " would have a ig temptation now to move on to other caserelated interrogatives& like the ad!ectivial: "jaki (d1)Q, jakiego (d2)Q, jakiemu (d$)Q, ..."

( fem#! "jaka (d1)Q, jakiej (d2)Q, jakiej (d$)Q, ..."

neut#! "jakie (d1)Q, jakiego (d2)Q, ...? ), or the determinative:

"kt-ry (d1)Q, kt-rego (d2)Q, kt-remu (d$)Q, kt-rego (d4)Q, ..."



( fem#! "kt-ra (d1)Q, kt-rej (d2)Q, kt-rej (d$)Q, kt-rą (d4), ...2",

neut#! "kt-re (d1)Q, kt-rego (d2)Q, ...?)...

... well& " do have that temptation and " will proaly yield to it in a seuel to this ooklet (ifthere's going to e one& of course :))... ut for now " have a goal& and that goal is different.

The goal is to present to you these uestion words as declension case designators& in which rolethey are much used y Polish speakers& and especially y children who are still uilding their vocaulary& including the inflected forms. The names of the cases ("mianownik9 !opełniacz9..." ) can e pretty intimidating and they don't help much in associating a given inflected form with its function and usage. -veryday users of a language need something more practical. nd so& while some of them might not rememer the names of all the cases& or know their canonical order&or even e aware the e*act numer of them& most will know that:

there is a case (a wordform) that answers the uestions

"kto / co 2" —and that this is the case &here this ?kto(ś) $ co(ś)? is doing something, or has done

something, or &ill do something... o course, &e kno& the !recise name or the substantive

!laying this role in a sentenceD it+s the sub"ect (...in PolishD ?podmiot? W))

(### and the case is, as we know, the nominati*e ("mianownik"

there is a case used to answer the uestions "kogo / czego 2" —... as in, or eTam!le,

"@ogo / 3zego nie ma (g!zie)&2" (?/ho $ /hat isn+t there (some&here)Q?).

o, or eTam!le, i a child needs to be taught that one needs to use the genitive ob"ect &ith the

verb ?!otykać? ("to touch" , this verb has a constant case government or the genitive), then you &ill

tell the child that it+s 3dotykaK kogo4, czego4 & a nie: kogo4, co4 3, and make it recall the correct

&ay to you say, or eTam!le, ?%here is no ire in the chimney.? —

— 3, kominku nie ma — kogo, czego4

:zego nie ma w kominkuA

, kominku nie ma ognia (d2).3

... &hich means that ?to touch ire? is com!osed as ollo&sD

?!otykać (%2) kogo9czego2 czego2 ognia (d2)

!otykać ognia (d2)?

- course, it is 9uite !robable that somebody might meet the noun ?ogieB (d1)? inlected into

?ognia (d2)? in the combination ?dotyka8 ognia? earlier than in ?nie ma ognia? D and the &ord

conteTt in &hich you &ill have seen and remembered that inlected orm may &ell be something

yet totally dierent. %hereore, &hen trying to recall the correct inlected orm o a given

substantive, sometimes you may need to run through your mind a e& verbs, !re!ositions, or verb

colligations &ith the rekc"a or the genitive, thus trying to ind a combination in &hich you have

already seen the substantive inlected. or eTam!le, you might remember the !roverb 3ie ma

dymu (d2) ez (r2) ognia (d2).? ("&here is no smoke without fire#", and then, kno&ing that the!re!osition ? ez? has the rekc"a or the genitive, you &ould arrive at the correct genitive orm or

?ire? _ ?ognia (d2)?.



But the !hrase "@ogo / 3zego nie ma ... 2" is !robably the one most commonly used as a

test$reerence !hrase to check genitive substantives against, because o its universality (it its &ell

&ith !ractically any substantive).

(### so this is what an aerage $ole needs to knowabout the geniti*e ("dopełniacz" ?

there is a case to answer the uestions "komu / czemu 2" —... and the convenient &ay to continue is to go &ithD

"@omu / 3zemu się przyglą!am2" (?/ho $ /hat am * looking in9uisitively atQ?) .

#gain — ?przyglą!ać się? is one the e& verbs &ith a (constant) dative case government, and,

additionally, it is a verb can be used to make sensible 9uestions about most substantives. %here+s

also a big likelihood that, i you+ve ever seen the dative orm o a given substantive, you &ould

have seen it in a conteTt o this verb.

[et+s have a hy!othetical situation that &e &ant to say ?%his cat is cold.? (... in the sense that it

is suering rom lo& ambient tem!erature, not that it+s dead... D))W &e &ill also assume that &e

remember the ormat o the dative !hrase that &e should use in such situationDD ?@omu()& /

3zemu()& (d$) jest zimno.?. /e should no& try to remember the orm o ?(ten& kot (d1)?

that its the sentenceD "0rzyglą!am się (komu2/czemu2& ..." ...

* &e+re lucky &e may recall that this sentence, &ith cat in it D), &ill readD

?Przygl[dam siN (temu) kotu (d$).?

... #nd &e kno& that the stencil "komu2/czemu2 temu kotu" &ill also it the sentence &e

&ant to constructD

"@omu()& / 3zemu()& jest zimno." ?Temu kotu (d$) !est zimno.? #gain, there+s no guarantee that the situation &ill not be the o!!osite, in other &ordsD that you+d

have seen ?kot? inlected into ?kotu? in ?Temu kotu !est zimno.? earlier than in ?Przygl[dam siN temu

kotu.?. uite !robably, you may remember that inlected orm in a conteTt dierent rom those

t&o mentioned — or eTam!le, in a sentence likeD

3Xodziennie z rana da!N mo!emu kotu (d$) miseczkN mleka.3("Aeryday in the morning, I gie my cat a little bowl of milk#"

%he im!ortant thing is that (— &hile it+s very good that you+d be counscious o this "mojemu

kotu" being called the dative orm — you &ould also try getting into the habit o looking at and

memorizing sentences &ith these ?deconstructive? interrogatives !asted inD

?Xodziennie z rana da!N ((!a&ul"a"ive r$), r4)(komu2 / czemu2& mo!emu kotu (d$)

kogo2 / co2 miseczkN (d4) kogo2 / czego2 mleka (d2).?1Cegarding the last 2kogoN/czegoN2: always when ha*ing two nouns back?to?back8the second one will be in this possessi*e/categorizing function that isdescribed by the use of the 2of2 in nglish. 7t is especially true where thefirst of the nouns is a name of a container: a bowl8 bo+8 packet8 etc.4

>emorizing the ?deconstructive orm? o a sentence is hel!ul in being then able to get 9uick

mental access to a desired inlection orm o a substantive. Based on the sentence rom the

!revious eTam!le, &e can 9uickly build a sentence likeD ?>y cat doesn+t like the ne& toy.? D

? 3omu(/ + :zemu(/; nie podoa siN nowa zaawka (d1).?

komu2 / czemu2 mojemu kotu

?(komu2 / czemu2& 0o!emu kotu nie podoa siN nowa zaawka.?



(###and, just for a reminder, the case we'e been talking about hereis the dati*e ("celownik"

there is a case to answer the uestions "kogo / co 2"

—... and there is an a&ully long list o handy continuations, because — as &e kno& — theseare the interrogative !ronouns or the accusative, &hich is the standard case or a direct ob"ect.

%his means that you+re 9uite ree to take your !ick — yet, one o the most !o!ular ?testing? verbs

used is ?wi!zieć? (to see. %hen, trying to ind the accusative inlection orm o a given substantive

turns into trying to come u! &ith such orm as to ans&er correctly the 9uestionD "@ogo / 3o wi!zę2"

or eTam!leD

?truskawka (d1)? "@ogo / 3o wi!zę2"

"Wi!zę kogo2/co2 truskawkę (d4)."

* don+t have an idea o &hat to say more here... a!art rom one thing — &hile all cases are o

e9ual im!ortance and there+s no &ay to s!eak a really correct Polish &ithout the ability to !ut most

substantives into any o the declension cases, yet the accusative and the genitive are the t&o

that you deinitely should !ay a s!ecial attention to, because most things &ill become direct

ob"ects o some action sooner or later in the sentences you &ill &ant to make.

(### and that's all in the way of commentary for the accusati*e ("biernik" !

there is a case to answer the uestions "z kim / z czym 2"

— a good ull 9uestion sentence in this case seems to beD "H kim / H czym nie mam problem-w2

(?/ho $ /hat do * not have !roblems &ithQ?)

... even though there are some !articular substantives that this 9uestion might not !erha!s be the

most ortunate or D) or eTam!le, ?truska&ka? D

?\ kim E \ czym nie mam prolem]wA

ie mam prolem]w z truskawk[ (d5).?

-kay, a sentenceD "I don't hae problems with a strawberry#" does look stu!id D), and maybe it isn+t

something that you &ould &ant to memorize as a conteTtual sentence or the instrumental orm o

a noun like that. Keither may you &ant to check a noun like ?truska&ka? against the backdro! o

this sentence to see i it looks and sounds - (because something that looks and sounds silly hasa diiculty in a!!earing right D))...

/ell, * cannot deny that.. But, overall, that ?test sentence? is good and !retty universalW besides, it+s

not so that it is iTed and inite, and that &e cannot modiy it to better it !articular

circumstances... ust imagine a situation — somebody reuses to eat a stra&berry, because it

doesn+t seem resh enough to that !erson. #nother !erson says, ho&everD ?* don+t have a !roblem

&ith this stra&berry. * can eat it.? . Ko&, there+s nothing !articularly unnatural about those

sentences, rightQ Eere &e go thenD

"this strawberry" 3ta truskawka3

"a problem" 3prolem3 3ie mam ;kogo4 + czego4; prolemu (#E)3

(*+m sure that you already kno& &hy it+s ?prolemu (#E)? (or ?prolem]w (#E)?, in the earlier

sentence) D))



#nd, the beginning o our test$reerence sentence slightly re&orked, &e can no& a!!ly it to hel!

us remember the instrumental or ?truskawka?DD

?<a nie mam prolemu ;z kim4 + z czym4; z t[ truskawk[ (d5).

(<a mogN ![ z!eLK.)?W

/ith many substantives there &ill be no need to em!loy much imagination or inventiveness,

thoughD

>"kot" 3\ kim E \ czym nie mam prolem]wA3 3ie mam prolem]w ;z kim4+z czym4; z kotem (d5).3 >"!ziecko"

3\ kim E \ czym nie mam prolem]wA3 3ie mam prolem]w ;z kim4+z czym4; z dzieckiem (d5).3

/ell... * no& thought o the noun ?prolem? itsel D) "I hae no problems with a problem#" looks

antastically !hiloso!hical D)) -, there &ill naturally be 9uite a number o eTce!tions or &hich

this !hrase &ill be a useless conteTt. Rniversal solutions are hardly ever bulletA!roo D) *t+s even

better i you don+t cling to "ust one conteTt at absolutely all times — but it+s also good i there is

one that you can try &ith most substantives. (*n general, the more conteTts you see a &ord in,the better a chance it nests in your memory). or the noun ?prolem? (or ?prolemy (plural)?) it+s

a!!arently better to use a conteTt as ollo&sD

3\ kim E \ czym trzea siN zmierzyKA3 ("Who + What is there a need to face + to confront4"

3Trzea zmierzyK siN ;z kim4+z czym4; z prolemem (d5).3 ("0ne has to face a problem#"

3Trzea zmierzyK siN ;z kim4+z czym4; z prolemami (pl.,d5).3 ("0ne has to face problems#"

(###those were notes on conte)tual 9uestions for the instrumental ("narz5dnik"

there is a case to answer the uestions "o kim / o czym 2" — to com!lete a conteTtual 9uestion you can go or any o the !o!ular verbs that come

ollo&ed by the !re!osition ?about? — ?my)leć? (to think, ?m-wić? (to speak, ?rozmawiać? (to talk,

to conerseW or eTam!leD

3/ kim E / czym teraz myLlNA3 ("Who + What am I now thinking about4"

... Emm... #nd * suggest that &e acce!t one can think about anything... even about a stra&berry D))

... -h, * orgot about the verb ?marzyć (o czym)&? (to dream (about sth, to crae (after sth C D)

[et+s try that one...D

3(duâ& czerwona) truskawka3 ((a big red strawberry

3/ kim E / czym czNsto marzNA3 (Who + What do I often dream about4

?0arzN czNsto ;o kim4+o czym4; o duê!& czerwone! truskawce (d6).? ("I often dream about a (big red strawberry#"

[et+s make the ?locative reerenceA9uestions? or our t&o other nouns ?onAcall? D) >"(jej& kot" ((her cat

3/ kim E / czym nie luiN rozmawiaKA3 ("Who + What do I not like to talk about4"

?ie luiN rozmawiaK ;o kim4+o czym4; o (!e!) kocie (d6).? ("I don't like to talk about (her cat#" >"(jego& !ziecko" ((his child

3/ kim E / czym luiN m]wiKA3 ("Who + What do I like to speak about4"

?CuiN m]wiK ;o kim4+o czym4; o (!ego) dziecku (d6).?



("I like to speak about (his child#"

(###those were notes on conte)tual 9uestions for the locati*e ("narz5dnik"

A and, &hile everybody kno&s that there is no &ay to ask a 9uestion that &ould get a

vocative in return, and &e can+t s!eak o an actual conteTtual sentence or a &ord in thatdeclension case, it is customary to add an eT!letive like ?och? or ?he!? to denote a standA

alone vocative (&hen there+s no teTt coteTt to make the declension case selAevident)D 34e!& kocie (d+)23 ("-ey, (you cat="

3/ch& truskawko (d+)23 ("0h, (you strawberry="

3/ch& dziecko (d+)...3 ("0h, you child###"

(### and that's the *ocati*e ("wołacz"

(YYY)

"'m going to give you a summary listing of the cases and the uestions they answer. #efore " do it&though& let me clarify one thing. ,hile introducing to you the 3conte*tual uestions3 " kept sayingthat they help memorize the inflection forms (or help make the 3test of the ear3 for a form you'retrying to ring up from your memory). That is definitely so2 " only don't want you to get animpression that the inflection forms are so unpredictale that the only route to knowing them islearning them y heart (in conte*ts). "t is not so — the declension patterns are mostly regular. ,ithtime you're going to see the patterns$ maye you will even want to analize and rememer some ofthem. Personally& " would rather count on a suconscious recognition and application of thepatterns. /f course& " may e in the wrong with my approach$ the truth is& though& that hardly anynative speaker of Polish (even a welleducated one) knows those patterns in an analitical way. ,e !ust have a 3feel3 for them. nd the way we get that feel is y rememering the shapes of someinflected forms as we see them properly used in conte*ts that reuire them — this lets our minds

grasp the patterns and then carry them over to other similar words (similar in their shape& havingthe same gender& eing animate or inanimate& etc.).

+hould you& however& adly crave to know the mechanisms that you can apply to find the rightinflected forms... well& " gave you the link in the preface& ut " can repeat it here (... together with anadvice not to do it& unless you have a ad itching for it :)) :

http://free.of.pl/g/grzegorj/gram/en/odmiana,.html

(YYY)

+o& let's move on uickly to the promised summary:

dL — declension case one — !ier&szy !rzy!adek deklinac"i the nominati*e 6 mianownik

characterizing interrogativesD

ktoN / coN

this is the basic orm o a substantive, so there+s hardly a need to make conteTtual 9uestion and

ans&er sentences or it, but &e can make them here as &ellD

Uto / !o to jestN

ans&ersD

http://free.of.pl/g/grzegorj/gram/en/odmiana1.html

http://free.of.pl/g/grzegorj/gram/en/odmiana1.html



7o jest 1ktoN / coN4 kot (d1).

7o jest 1ktoN / coN4 truskawka (d1).

7o jest 1ktoN / coN4 !ziecko (d1).

...

dN — declension case t&o — drugi !rzy!adek deklinac"i the geniti*e 6 dope<niacz


kogoN / czegoN

a standard conteTtual 9uestionD

Uogo / !zego tu nie maN

ans&ersD

7u nie ma 1kogoN / czegoN4 kota (d2).

7u nie ma 1kogoN / czegoN4 truskawki (d2).

7u nie ma 1kogoN / czegoN4 !ziecka (d2). ...

dM — declension case three — trzeci !rzy!adek deklinac"i the dati*e 6 celownik


komuN / czemuN


Uomu / !zemu si= przyglRdamN ans&ersD

0rzyglą!am się 1komuN / czemuN4 kotu (d$).

0rzyglą!am się 1komuN / czemuN4 truskawce (d$).

0rzyglą!am się 1komuN / czemuN4 !ziecku (d$).

...

d4 — declension case our — cz&arty !rzy!adek deklinac"i the accusati*e 6 biernik


kogoN / coN


Uogo / !o widz=N

ans&ersD

Wi!zę 1kogoN / coN4 kota (d4).

Wi!zę 1kogoN / coN4 truskawkę (d4).

Wi!zę 1kogoN / coN4 !ziecko (d4).

...

d^ — declension case ive — !i3ty !rzy!adek deklinac"i



the instrumental 6 narz=dnik


z kimN / z czymN

a ?standard? conteTtual 9uestion (o my !ersonal invention W))D

Uim / czym nie mam problemBwN (note that from the grammatical point of view it wouldn't have made a difference if this uestion

was 3 kimN / czym mam problemyN3: the instrumental is the case wanted for the o!ectof this sentence anyway$ the choice is only dictated y my preferrence for the positive message :)) ans&ersD

Iie mam problem-w 1z kimN / z czymN4 z kotem (d5).

Iie mam problem-w 1z kimN / z czymN4 z (tą& truskawką (d5).

Iie mam problem-w 1z kimN / z czymN4 z !zieckiem (d5).

...

df — declension case siT — sz;sty !rzy!adek deklinac"i the locati*e 6 miejscownik


o kimN / o czymN

a standard conteTtual 9uestion (one o a choice)D

D Uim / D czym 1teraz4 myLl=N

ans&ersD

(7eraz& y)lę 1o kimN / o czymN4 o kocie (d6).

(7eraz& y)lę 1o kimN / o czymN4 o truskawce (d6).

(7eraz& y)lę 1o kimN / o czymN4 o !ziecku (d6).

...

d — declension case seven — si;dmy !rzy!adek deklinac"i

the vocative — &o0acz the case is used as a orm o !ersonal address and in eTclamations, thereore, the only conteTtual

hel! can come in the orm o inter"ections and calling &ords, likeD

Dch8 >ch8 Kej8 !zeLG8 Witaj8 ...

the noun denoting a !erson or (rarely) a thing thus addressed, !laced ater one o these

inter"ections, comes in the vocativeD Witaj9 kocie (d+) +c9 truskawko (d+) Mej9 !ziecko (d+) ...

/kay... ,hat's there to sayA ,e're done2 :))

This ooklet most certainly does not e*haust what " can say aout the Polish declension :)) /ne

important thing that has een left out are the three more interrogatives E suordinate clauseintroducing pronouns that follow the declension — they are:



A ?kt-ry 1masc.4 $ kt-ra 1fem.4 $ kt-re 1neut.4..

..kt-re 1pl.non?personmasc.4 $ kt-rzy 1pl.person?masc.4?

(—A&hich is !retty much e9uivalent to the 2nglish ?&hich?),

A ?jaki $ jaka $ jakie .. jakie $ jacy?

(—A&hich is more tricky to describe shortly, as it doesn+t have a sim!le counter!art in

2nglish, but &hich is used to ask 9uestions about &hat something is like , and to introduce

subordinate clauses starting in 2nglishD ?... like these$those that...? ),

A ?czyj $ czyja $ czyje .. czyje $ czyi?

(—A&hich, actually, &e have talked a bit about &hen discovering the interrogatives that

characterize the genitive caseD ?czyj? corres!onds to the 2nglish "whose" , but a!!lies only to

human !ossessors).

Hull declension patterns for those three would also let us define the declension suffi*es for thead!ectives (they are uite regular and the patterns are not too comple* there) and for the personalpossessives. "t would e very useful& too& if we got to talk aout the inflection patterns for thepersonal pronouns. 4owever& all of those matters would reuire us to e*plain a few additional intricacies of Polishgrammar in a little more detail& (for e*ample: the difference etween the personal*masculine andthe non*personal*masculine plural gender)& and that would further pump the ooklet's size.The idea for this guide was to familiarize you with the declension and show you how is it used — to

give you the 3where& when& and why3 to the system. nd even that on a modest scale and in alimited scope& ecause: a) "'m not a professional philologist$ ) " was hoping to make the guidesimple and inviting. " feel " have failed on that second goal with the volume of this document as it is— all the more reason not to cram more stuff into it :)

oody is saying that this must e my one and only production& though :)))

Hor the time eing — " hope you en!oy (to a degree& at least :)) learning from what you have here. " wish it can enefit your Polish2

barsorro

Heel welcome to write me with your douts& uestions& and suggestions:sobarso`gazeta.pl

Documents

Barsorro - A Booklet on Polish Declension