Polish Cases Explained

Polish has seven cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, locative and vocative. A noun changes its ending to show its job in the sentence, such as subject, object, owner, place or tool.

What a case is

In English, word order tells you who does what. In Polish, the ending of the word does that job. Compare Pies widzi kota and Kot widzi psa. The words are almost the same, but the endings show who is looking at whom. Because the endings carry the meaning, Polish word order is quite free.

• Pies widzi kota.
  The dog sees the cat.
• Kota widzi pies.
  The dog sees the cat. (same meaning, different focus)
• Kot widzi psa.
  The cat sees the dog.

Nouns, adjectives, pronouns and numbers all change for case. So mój nowy dom (my new house) becomes w moim nowym domu (in my new house). This page focuses on singular nouns, because that is where you start.

The seven cases at a glance

Each case has a Polish name and a pair of question words. Polish school children learn the cases by asking these questions, and it works for learners too.

What each case does

Nominative (mianownik)

The subject of the sentence and the form you find in a dictionary. You also use it after to jest (this is).

• Kobieta czyta gazetę.
  The woman is reading a newspaper.
• To jest moje okno.
  This is my window.

Genitive (dopełniacz)

After the nominative, this is the case you will use most. It shows possession (the X of Y), follows a negated verb that would normally take the accusative (mam kota becomes nie mam kota), and follows amounts: dużo, mało, trochę, kilogram, butelka and numbers from five up. Some verbs always take it: szukać (look for), potrzebować (need), bać się (be afraid of), słuchać (listen to), uczyć się (learn).

• To jest samochód brata.
  This is my brother's car.
• Nie mam czasu.
  I don't have time.
• Idę do sklepu.
  I'm going to the shop.
• Poproszę butelkę wody.
  A bottle of water, please.

Dative (celownik)

The person who receives something or benefits from it. Typical verbs: dać (give), pomagać (help), dziękować (thank), wierzyć (believe), podobać się (to be liked by). It is less common than the others, but you meet it all the time in short pronouns like mi, ci, mu and jej.

• Daję kobiecie kwiaty.
  I'm giving the woman flowers.
• Pomagam bratu.
  I'm helping my brother.
• Podoba mi się ten film.
  I like this film. (literally: this film is pleasing to me)

Accusative (biernik)

The direct object: the thing you see, have, buy, eat or love. Verbs like mieć, widzieć, lubić, kochać, kupować, jeść and pić take it. The change you notice most is feminine -a turning into -ę: kawa becomes kawę. Masculine things and neuter nouns do not change. Masculine people and animals look like the genitive.

• Lubię kawę.
  I like coffee.
• Mam dom i kota.
  I have a house and a cat.
• Idę na pocztę.
  I'm going to the post office.
• Dziękuję za pomoc.
  Thank you for your help.

Instrumental (narzędnik)

The tool or means you use, the person you are with (after z), and what someone is after być (to be) when the next word is a noun. That last use is important: jobs and roles always go in the instrumental. The verb interesować się (be interested in) takes it too.

• Piszę długopisem.
  I'm writing with a pen.
• Jadę do pracy autobusem.
  I go to work by bus.
• Idę do kina z kolegą.
  I'm going to the cinema with a friend.
• Jestem nauczycielem.
  I'm a teacher.

Locative (miejscownik)

The only case that never stands alone. It always comes after one of five prepositions: w (in), na (on, at), o (about), przy (by, next to) and po (after, around). It answers "where?" and "about what?".

• Mieszkam w Polsce.
  I live in Poland.
• Książka leży na stole.
  The book is on the table.
• Myślę o tobie.
  I'm thinking about you.
• Po obiedzie idziemy na spacer.
  After lunch we're going for a walk.

Vocative (wołacz)

Used when you call or speak directly to someone. In casual speech many people use the nominative with first names (Ania! instead of Aniu!), but the vocative is expected in polite forms like panie doktorze and pani Anno.

• Mamo, gdzie są klucze?
  Mum, where are the keys?
• Dzień dobry, panie doktorze.
  Good morning, doctor.
• Kasiu, chodź tutaj.
  Kasia, come here.

Full examples: kot, dom, kobieta, okno

Here are four common nouns through all seven cases. Kot is a masculine animal, dom a masculine thing, kobieta a typical feminine noun and okno a typical neuter noun.

Look at the accusative row. Kot becomes kota, the same as the genitive, because it is alive. Dom stays dom, because it is a thing. Neuter nouns like okno always have the same form in the nominative, accusative and vocative.

Typical singular endings

These are the endings you will meet most often. There are exceptions, so treat this as a map, not a law.

The "consonant change" before -e follows a pattern: t becomes ci (kot, kocie), d becomes dzi (woda, wodzie), r becomes rz (rower, rowerze), ł becomes l (stół, stole), k becomes c (matka, matce) and g becomes dz (noga, nodze). Three masculine nouns break the locative rule and take -u: w domu, o synu, o panu.

Feminine nouns that end in a consonant, like noc (night) and kość (bone), follow their own pattern: -y or -i in the genitive, dative and locative (nocy, kości), no change in the accusative (noc) and -ą in the instrumental (nocą). Plurals have a separate set of endings, for example the genitive plural kotów, kobiet, okien.

Prepositions and the cases they take

Every preposition is followed by a fixed case. Learn them as a unit with the case, and you will get most endings right without thinking.

Which case do I need? Cheat sheet

When you are not sure, find your situation in this list.