Polish Prepositions and the Cases They Take

Every Polish preposition is followed by a specific case: do, od, u, dla and bez take the genitive, przy takes the locative, and w, na, z, za, nad and pod change case depending on meaning, for example location versus movement.

Every preposition picks a case

In English a preposition just sits in front of a noun. In Polish it also changes the ending of that noun. Each preposition “governs” a case, so you learn them as pairs: do + genitive, z + instrumental, w + locative. Say dom (house) after different prepositions and you get do domu (to the house), z domem (with the house), w domu (in the house).

Some prepositions always take the same case. Others take two cases, and the case changes the meaning. The most important example is location versus movement: w szkole (at school) but do szkoły (to school), pod stołem (under the table) but pod stół (under the table, moving there).

Prepositions are short and unstressed. You say them together with the next word as if it were one word: w domu sounds like “vDOH-moo”, and w Polsce sounds like “FPOL-stseh”, because w turns into an “f” sound before a voiceless consonant.

The 18 most common prepositions and their cases

Prepositions with the genitive

The genitive is the busiest case after prepositions: do, z (from), od, u, dla, bez and obok all take it.

• Jadę do Krakowa.
  I’m going to Kraków.
• Wracam z pracy o szóstej.
  I come back from work at six.
• Mam prezent od mamy.
  I have a present from Mum.
• Pracuję tu od poniedziałku.
  I’ve been working here since Monday.
• Jutro jestem u lekarza.
  Tomorrow I’m at the doctor’s.
• To jest dla ciebie.
  This is for you.
• Kawa bez cukru, proszę.
  Coffee without sugar, please.
• Mieszkam obok szkoły.
  I live next to the school.

Prepositions with the locative

The locative case is only ever used after a preposition. The five that take it are w, na, o, po and przy.

• Mieszkam w Warszawie.
  I live in Warsaw.
• Książka leży na stole.
  The book is on the table.
• Rozmawiamy o pracy.
  We are talking about work.
• Po obiedzie idziemy na spacer.
  After lunch we’re going for a walk.
• Spacerujemy po mieście.
  We are walking around the city.
• Siedzę przy oknie.
  I’m sitting by the window.

Prepositions with the instrumental and accusative

Z meaning “with”, plus za, przed, nad, pod and między for position, take the instrumental. Przez always takes the accusative, and several others take it in special meanings.

• Idę do kina z bratem.
  I’m going to the cinema with my brother.
• Samochód stoi przed domem.
  The car is in front of the house.
• Spotkajmy się przed obiadem.
  Let’s meet before lunch.
• Sklep jest między bankiem a apteką.
  The shop is between the bank and the pharmacy.
• Idziemy przez park.
  We’re walking through the park.
• Rozmawialiśmy przez telefon.
  We talked on the phone.
• Dziękuję za pomoc.
  Thank you for your help.
• Wrócę za godzinę.
  I’ll be back in an hour.
• Proszę o rachunek.
  The bill, please. (literally: I ask for the bill)
• Idę po chleb.
  I’m going to get some bread.

W or na: which one for places?

Both w and na can mean “in” or “at”. There is a rough logic, but many places simply take one or the other, so learn each place together with its preposition.

• w for closed spaces and buildings, most towns and most countries: w domu, w sklepie, w banku, w kinie, w szkole, w Londynie, w Polsce, w Niemczech.
• na for open spaces, surfaces, events and some institutions: na ulicy, na placu, na plaży, na koncercie, na weselu, na dworcu, na lotnisku, na poczcie, na uniwersytecie, na wsi (in the countryside).
• na also for islands, mountain regions and some countries and regions: na Malcie, na Kubie, na Węgrzech, na Słowacji, na Litwie, na Łotwie, na Śląsku, na Mazurach. For Ukraine both na Ukrainie and w Ukrainie are now used.

The same place can change with meaning: w pracy means at your workplace, na zajęciach means at a class. W szkole is in the school building or at school, and na uniwersytecie is at university. Treat these as fixed phrases.

Where? Where to? Where from?

Each type of place has its own set of three. A w place uses do for movement; a na place keeps na but switches to the accusative; a person uses u, do and od. “From” is z for places and od for people.

Z + genitive or z + instrumental

Z is two different prepositions that look the same. The case tells you which one you mean.

• Jestem z Anglii.
  I’m from England. (genitive)
• Mieszkam z Anglikiem.
  I live with an Englishman. (instrumental)
• Herbata z cytryną.
  Tea with lemon. (instrumental)
• Sok z pomarańczy.
  Orange juice, juice made from oranges. (genitive)

To say “with” as a tool or a means, Polish uses the bare instrumental with no z: piszę długopisem (I write with a pen), jadę autobusem (I go by bus). Adding z here would mean the pen or the bus keeps you company.

Motion or location: the two-case prepositions

Na, w, za, nad, pod, przed and między can take two cases. Ask yourself whether something is moving to a new position or is already there.

• Location (answers gdzie?, where?): na and w take the locative; za, nad, pod, przed and między take the instrumental.
• Motion to a place (answers dokąd?, where to?): all of them take the accusative, except w, which is replaced by do + genitive.

• Kot jest pod stołem. / Kot wszedł pod stół.
  The cat is under the table. / The cat went under the table.
• Jesteśmy nad jeziorem. / Jedziemy nad jezioro.
  We are at the lake. / We are going to the lake.
• Jestem na koncercie. / Idę na koncert.
  I’m at a concert. / I’m going to a concert.
• Samochód stoi za domem. / Wjechał za dom.
  The car is behind the house. / He drove behind the house.
• Jestem w kinie. / Idę do kina.
  I’m at the cinema. / I’m going to the cinema.

A few accusative uses have nothing to do with motion and are worth learning as phrases: w poniedziałek (on Monday), na tydzień (for a week), za tydzień (in a week’s time), przez tydzień (for a week, all week), dziękuję za… (thank you for…), grać w piłkę (to play football).

We, ze, ode: the extra vowel

Short prepositions get an extra -e when the next word starts with a hard cluster of consonants, so the phrase is easier to say.

• w becomes we mainly before w- or f- plus another consonant: we Wrocławiu, we wtorek, we Francji, and in we mnie.
• z becomes ze before s-, z-, ś-, ź-, sz-, ż- plus a consonant: ze szkoły, ze sklepu, ze zdjęcia, and in ze mną.
• Before mnie you also get ode mnie, beze mnie, przede mną, nade mną, pode mną.

Cheat sheet: prepositions by case

If you remember only one thing, remember this: w + locative for where you are, do + genitive for where you are going, and z + genitive for where you come from.