It's time to get acquainted with one of the most difficult cases of the Polish language - Prepositional, the Poles call it Miejscownik. As you and I probably remember from school, this case answers the questions about whom? about what? (pol. o kim? o czym?) . One of the main difficulties, but still not the main one, of the Prepositional case is that often at the initial stage we can confuse it with the Instrumental case (), which answers the question by whom? how? (pol. kim? czym?) – i.e. in Polish the same question, but without a preposition. At the same time, there are a number of prepositions that we use with the instrumental case, for example: z, mię dzy, nad, pod,przed etc.
The main difficulty of the Prepositional case is that it is the first case in the Polish language in which we will encounter alternations. It is interesting that in a general overview of Polish grammar it seems to us that in declension of Polish nouns alternation meet all the time. In fact, alternations in nouns occur only:
V Prepositional case;
V some forms of the Dative (Celownik) feminine case;
V personal-masculine-form of the Nominative case;
in other cases you can relax (at least as far as alternations are concerned). number
Speaking about the singular prepositional case of masculine and neuter nouns, we must remember that we have two basic situations:
In the first case, first of all you need to understand and remember that with prepositional case endings, even hard stem endings become soft. This mitigation is ensured by the end – ie. Moreover, we must remember, that a series of letters, namely: t, d, st, zd, sł,r, ł fundamentally cannot be soft and during such softening there is an alternation:
t-cie: student – o student
ł–le: stół – o stole
d-dzie: samochód – w samochodzie
r-rze: color - o color
st – ście: post – o poście
sł – śle: krzeło – o krześle
zd – ździe: pojazd – o pojaździe
the rest of the hard letters are softened without problems:
b: club – club
p: karp – o karpie
m: Rzym – w Rzymie
n: ogon – o ogonie
w: Kraków – w Krakowie
f: szef – o szefie
s: Arystoteles – o Arystotelesie
z: zakaz – o zakazie
2. With the second case, everything is quite simple, there are no alternations here and you and I just need to add the ending to the base - u:
fotel – w fotelu
pokoj – w pokoju
koń – o koniu
biurko – na biurku
Adjectives
I am sure that masculine and neuter adjectives in the Prepositional case will not pose the slightest difficulty for you,
dobry koń – na dobr ym koniu
biały samochód – o biał ym Samochodzie
nowy podręcznik – o now ym podręczniku
Plural
The masculine and neuter prepositional plurals in Polish are good for two reasons:
absolutely identical to the corresponding Russian ones
the same for all three genera
good textbook - good their textbooks
dobry podręcznik – o dobr ych podręcznikach
beautiful view - oh beautiful s types
piękny widok – o piękn ych widokach
noisy baby - oh noisy s kids
Now you can superimpose the table of school Polish onto school Russian. First, only headings, prepositions, endings:
case/// Questions/// Prepositions/// Units: 1skl//2skl//3skl/// Plural
przypadek///Pytania///Przyimki/// liczba pojedyncza:m“0”//m/f-a,i//f“0”//wed///lic zba mnoga nie m-o( not ml)//męskoosobowy
I(Nominative///Who? What?///“0”///“0”,-o,-e// -a,-i// “0”,-my///-s,-i,-a,-i, -e//not highlighted
Mianownik///Who? Co?///“0”/// m/r“0”//m:-a(-ta);f:-a,i//f“0”//cf-o,e,-u m; ę, mię
///not m-l m+f:-y,-i,-e/ cf:-a
((m/r (not m-l all) + f/r to -a, -i:
y: to firm acc;/ i: only -gi,-ki;/ e: to -ż,rz,-sz,cz,-c,-dz +to soft(-l,-j,-ni,-ń, ś,ć,ź);
/f in sogl (all): e,-y,-i independent from the base
/cf(-o,-e,-um):- a;/ cf(ę,mię): - ęta,-miona))
//m-l:-y,-i,-e
((y: without alternation according to ec/cy, ca/cy; 3rd turn: -r/rzy, k/cy, g(a)/dzy
i: 8 soften: -p/pi, b/bi, n/ni, m/mi, w/wi, s/si,z/zi, f/fi; 4black:t/ci; sta/ści; d/dzi; ch/si
e: rz/rze; sz/sze; cz/cze; ść/ście; l/le; ranks, relationships:- wie))
P(Genitive)/// Whom? What? (no)/// near, near, without, for, from to y, with, from, because of -a, -i(u/yu)//-s, -i//-i// /“0”, -ov, -ev, -(i)y, -ey// -
Dopełniacz/// Kogo? Czego?(nie ma)/// koło (obok), bez, dla, od, do, u, z/ze; z powodu = because of, naprzeciwko = on the contrary, wśród = among, oprócz = except, podczas (w czasie) = during; według = according to: …mnie/niego= in my/his (opinion); …wskazówek – instructions/// -a/-u // -y/i // -i/y//-a
M/r “0” live:-a
M/r“0”not alive: -a/-u
a: months of February; tools; body parts; Polish cities; all in ak, nik; decrease: ek, ik/yk u: uncountable, collected, abstract, foreign, days of the week; NOT reduce: ek; izm/yzm
//m/r on “a”+ w on “a,i”: i:after k,g; soft (-cja,sja,zja=-ji; -ja=-i); y: after the others
//zh“0”- ży,rzy; szy,czy; after other letters: -i/y //Ср/р all: -a
///“0”;-ów -i/y
m/r all: solid -ów; ż,rz,sz,cz;dz,c: -y; soft -i(+options:-ów/-y)
w/r on “a”+sr/r: “0”: after hard ones + sometimes after soft/sizzling ones; -y: after ż,rz,sz,cz; i: after soft// w/r“0”only -i/y //m-l is not highlighted
D(Dative)///To whom, to what?/// to, by///-y,-yu//-e, -and//-and///-am,-yam// -
Celownik /// Komu? Czemu? /// ku, dzięki, przeciwko, wbrew (to, thanks to, against, in spite of) /// -owi,u//-(i)e,y,i// y,i//-u
//m/according: owi,u (no rule)//m/r on “a” +all w/r:(i)e,y,i=P// s/r all: -u/// -om// -
B(Accusative)/// Whom? what?
///non-soul=I/soul=P// -
Biernik /// Kogo? Co?(mieć)/// za, przez, (na, nad, w), o/// m“0” nieżywotny=I/ m“0” żywotny(=P)=-a//
m/r on “-a” + f/r on “-a,i”=-ę// f/r“0”+ sr/r all =I/// =I: all not m-l m/ r living and not living + all f/r and cf//m-l=P
T(Creative/// By whom? What?/// behind, above, under, with, before (between) /// -oh, eat //-oh, her (oh, her) //yu, (eat) ///-ami,-yami // -
Narzędnik/// Kim? Czym?/// za, nad, pod, z, przed, między/// (i)em//-ą//-ą//(i)em/// ami(mi- soft)// -
P(Prepositional)/// About whom/ what?/// about, (in, on), with/// -e, -i(u/yu)//-e, -i//-i/// -ah ,-I// -
Miejscownik /// O kim? O czym? (Gdzie -where?) /// O; w, na, przy, po(walks where? po dashu =on the roof), po(when? po pracy =after work)/// ie, e, u//ie, e, y, i
//-ie m+sr+f hard: 8 soft and 3 black as in (I) m-l: t(a)=cie; st(а)=ście; (z)d=(ź)dzie;
-e m+sr+f: turn (s)ł=(ś)le; r=rze
-u (m/r "0" + sr without black) on ch,k,g,c,soft,thorn
//-e (f/r and m/r with “-a”) + 3cher: cha=sze, ka=ce; ga=dze
y/i(=P) w+m on “-a”:-y (on -c,-dz,-cz,-sz, rz,ż)/ i: (on l, j, i,ś,ń,ć,ź)
//"0": y/i(=P)
///-ach// -
Z(vocal)/// -/// -/// “0”/// Pl.=I// -
Wołacz/// -/// -/// -(i)e,-u//-o,-u,-i//-i,-y//=And
m “0” = P (excl. -(n)iec/-(ń)cze), decrease: -u// (f+m) by “-a” - hard, -ja:-o; decrease: -u; on i=i// "0":-i,y(=P)// av=I
///Pl = And: Panie! (Ladies!)// Pln=I: Panowie!(G-yes!) Państwo!(Ladies and Gentlemen!)
What good can be gained from this porridge? Firstly, the prepositions are very similar to Russian ones. For example, in the nominative in case they are not found either in the Russian line or in the Polish, which was obvious without any table.
Genitive also begins optimistically: about, near, without, for, from, to y, with, from, because of (who/what) roughly correspond to the Polish koło(obok), bez, dla, od, do, u, z/ze ; z powodu (kogo/czego), especially considering that in Polish it reads dla=[for]. Remembering the Little Russian accent in the textbook “I’m walking around the Christmas tree” (“Conduit and shwambraniya”), it’s easy to guess that koło(obok) = near, and having stumbled upon z/ze or z powodu a couple of times, you’ll realize that our prepositions are not in Polish “from, with(co), because of”, and there is “z/ze”. Z powodu awarii, ze szkoły, podczas burzy, oprócz cebuli (due to an accident, from school, during a storm/thunderstorm, except onions) and also naprzeciwko = opposite, wśród = among, podczas=w czasie=“during” good are guessed if you think about a village on the Russian-Ukrainian border.
The discrepancy between Polish and Russian prepositions is mainly stylistic and begins where schoolchildren get confused in cases. In Russian you should say “I’m going to school/to the cinema (V)” or “from school, from the cinema (R)”. And a deuce threatens a child who writes “from school, from the cinema” or, even more so, “to school” - if he is going to not only reach it, but also go inside and spend the whole day there. In this case, what is a two for a Russian is a five for a Pole. Polish schoolboy idzie do szkoły(Р)/ wraca ze szkoły(Р), chodzi do kina(Р), (idzie na film(В), idzie do domu/do parku(Р), which translates - goes to school(В) / returns from school (R), goes to the cinema (goes to the film (B), goes home / to the park (B). And the fact that Polish “cinema” gets the usual case endings, like other foreign words, is the least of the problems The list of places to which a Polish schoolchild goes/walks/drives is very long, but sometimes a Pole, for a change, goes “on/to” and even “above” something: na stadion(В) = to the stadium, nad morze(В )=on the sea (also on=nad any shore of a body of water) w Tatry(В)=in the Tatras (like in=w any other mountains), and this is the accusative case. And when going back from the mountains or from an event – genitive. Here the pair (B)/(P) completely coincides with the Russians: w Tatry// z Tatr, na stadion/ film/ concert/ obiad(B)// ze stadionu, z filmu/concertu/obiadu (P) (in the Tatras/ from the Tatras, to the stadium/ film/ concert/ lunch// from the stadium, from the film/ concert/ lunch), as well as the unusual to the Russian ear “nad morze(В)// znad morza(Р) = to the sea//from the sea” . Another funny example from Polish stylistics is our “according to what?” - according to instructions." We taught and taught that this is the dative case (according to the protocol, decision, etc.), but it turned out that in Polish all these expressions are genitive, although in Russian it is translated as dative: według= according to: ...mnie/niego(Р) = my/his (opinion(D); ...wskazówek(R) = instructions(D)
Dative, except for “according to what/what” does not bring any special surprises. Dzięki/wbrew (thanks to/in spite of) so it will be dzięki (niemu)twojemu przyjacielowi/ wbrew wszystkim= thanks to (him) your friend/ in spite of (or in spite of) everyone. Przeciwko(przeciw) komuś/czemuś(D) does not coincide with the Russian “against whom/what(R)”. Here, in contrast to “according to which,” everything is the other way around: in Russian it is genitive, in Polish it is dative. By the way, if anyone hasn’t guessed yet, in Polish dictionaries they write not komu/czemu (to whom/what) but komuś/czemuś (to someone/something), and not “kto/co”, but “ktoś/coś” etc. in all cases, since the particle “ś” corresponds to our “-or/-that”, although it is written without a hyphen. “Ku” is rare, and is usually translated: ku morzu/ zadowoleniu = to the sea/ pleasure (for example, mutual). From the Polish point of view, the Russian “walk on the roof, in the park” is not a dative case, but a prepositional case. This difference is easier to notice in the words m/r with a consonant: a Russian is walking “in the park, on the roof (D)” // is “in the park, on the roof (P)” and the Pole is only na/po dachu//w parku (P ) - on/on the roof//in the park, and cannot trample on the park as on the surface, especially in the dative case, although we can probably say that he turned “towards the park” = ku parkowi (D).
In the accusative case“on, in, above” in the combinations na stadion, nad morze, w Tatry and na film/koncert - this has already been passed. Poles also go “to the spatzer” (na spacer(B). Spatzer = walking. The unusual thing about the spatzer is that it somehow managed not to get into the Russian language. There is “Motsion”, there is a “promenade”, but there is no spatzer. Well, okay, if you didn’t hit it, it means you’re not needed. In a completely Russian way, the Pole walks through the park or across the street (for example, along an underpass) - idzie przez park/ ulicę(B). True, he doesn’t walk very much in Russian with the preposition “in front” from the house to the platform (B) in front of the front door: idzie przed dom (B). We, of course, do not say: “I will go out (to) the front of the house" - but the cases coincide here. There is also the preposition “for ” in the usual version for us: “przepraszać za spóźnienie = to apologize for being late (B)”. Also sounds good in Polish za in the meaning “za darmo / za opłatą (T)” = “for free / for a fee (for money (B) )". It’s even a shame that in Polish this is not the accusative, but the instrumental case, and in fact it should be “(with what?) for free / with payment.” By the way, “how? - free, for nothing, for free" is an adverb in both languages, and it does not have any case endings.In addition, “za darmo” = “free” implies free tickets, bonuses, etc., and not the archaic slang “zadarma” and is always written separately. This booklet is za darmo, and that map is za opłatą(T), for a fee. But more often the choice (B)/(T) does not cause problems: położyć coś pod/na stół/ jest pod stołem= put something under/on the table (B)/ is under the table (T).
There is no “about” in Polish at all (about this, about that, etc.). Therefore, the options “about the road (P) / about the road (V)” are absent in Polish - there is only “o”, and with the accusative case, and not with the prepositional case, as we would like. It turns out that asking (someone) about something / about the road / about time” (P) is translated only in the accusative case = pytać (się) (kogoś) o coś/ o drogę o godzinę (В) – something in between between our “ask (about what) about the road/about time (B)” or “ask (what?) the road/time (B)”. It’s even more difficult to come to terms with the fact that “asking for an address” (B) = prosić o adres (B). By the way, the Polish preposition “o” in its rightful place in the prepositional case is translated without problems: to talk and think about someone (P) = mówić i marzyć o kimś (P). But the strangest combination for Russian ears is worse than “driving over the sea / over the river (B), or returning “from above” the river (R), and even asking for “the address” / going “in front of the house” ( B)” is the Polish “czekać na (kogoś/co)” = wait for (someone/what) (B). Only close genetic ties with Ukraine will tell you that czekać na ojca/autobus(B) = wait for father/bus(B). But not everyone knows Ukrainian verbs.
Instrumental case, like the prepositional one, adds almost no unusual combinations or new prepositions. “For free/for a fee” za darmo/ za opłatą(T)” has already happened. There is no need to translate “pod stołem /nad stołem=under/above the table (T)”. The Polish “nad”, passing into the instrumental case, becomes almost recognizable even in expressions like to be (where?) “at the sea (on the lake (P) = (where - “above what”?) nad morzem (nad jeziorem) (T) "- in contrast to “to go (to) nad morze (jezioro)(В)/ to return (from where) znad morza (jeziora)(Р)". Also turns idzie przed dom(В) into the usual stoi przed domem (przed kinem) (T) = stands in front of the house (or in front of the “kin”, excuse me, cinema). “Together (with whom) with my brother” also sounds “in Russian”, that is, z moim bratem. The use of prepositions between and for is absolutely clear when trying to translate “między stołem a szafą wisi lampa (śpi kot)/ za domem jest ogród.” Although there are plenty of surprises not related to prepositions and cases in this example: firstly, Poles use either “a” or “i "(and in this case no comma separates the “a”!), where in Russian there is always only “and”; secondly, “szafa” is our closet, which in Polish turned out to be feminine; thirdly , "ogród" is a garden, not a vegetable garden. So the correct translation is: “there is a lamp hanging between the table and the closet (the cat is sleeping) / there is a garden behind the house.” It can be considered that the Polish “for” fails the Russians (if you don’t take into account za opłatą(T) = for a fee (B) in just one case: “tęsknić za kimś/czymś(T) = miss someone/something (P)" , although here the classic rustic “I miss my family, girlfriends (T), and our home (T)” comes to the rescue - that is, I miss home.
Prepositional, when it comes to questions o kim? o(w;na;po) czym? gdzie? extremely similar to Russian, as can already be seen: marzyć o kimś - think/dream about someone (P); na/po dachu//w parku= (be) on/ (walk) on the roof//in the park (P). The complexity of the Polish “where” is most likely due to the unusual declension of geographical names. The coolest exception is three European countries: Hungary, Germany, Italy. In Polish these are Węgry, Niemcy, Włochy, and their population is Węgrzy, Niemcy, Włosi (mln genus), and the inhabitants are spoken of as Węgrach, Niemcach, Włochach. Since the “correct” endings are already occupied by nationalities, the Pole writes about countries “Węgry/na Węgrzech - Hungary/in Hungary” (and not “na Węgrach”, this would turn out to be chauvinism!). Germans and Italians behave similarly: w Niemczech=in Germany, we Włoszech=in Italy. These are exceptions that are in any Polish textbook, but the use of “na” and “v” does not hurt the Russian ear. Similarly with the city of Zakopane/in Zakopane - Zakopane/w Zakopanem (and not “w Zakopanym” and not “w Zakopanych”!). Inconsistencies about where to write “in” and where “on” generally occur less frequently than one might expect. This, for example, is our “at the university” = na uniwersytecie in Polish. Village/(na)in the village = wieś/na wsi is distinguished by the use of “na wsi” to mean “summer in the village,” meaning the countryside, rather than as a preposition. But there are two prepositions that are often used “not at all in Russian”, these are przy, po. After all, a Russian dines at the table (T), but a Pole eats “at the table” = przy stole (P), even if they are sitting next to each other. And of course “after”, if it is not “walking on the roof, on the site”, namely “after finishing something there”: (when?) po pracy (P) = after work (P). There will also be an after dinner/concert, etc.
But Prepositions are not used in the vocative case, since the “o” in the exclamation “Oh Mouse!” This is not a preposition at all, but an interjection like “Ah! Oy!”, and the correct address to this beast would rather be “o Myszy!”
Of course, it is impossible to list ALL the cases where Polish prepositions coincide/do not coincide with ours. But two and a half pages of instructive examples from Polish textbooks provide an excellent opportunity to completely get confused in Polish endings, which at first seemed simple and familiar. Which allows us to finally fill in the table of Polish cases with words. By the way, when checking it in a textbook, especially one translated from English, pay attention to the sequence of cases - it does not always coincide with “our Russian”.
Perhaps the most noticeable and difficult difference between Polish and Russian declensions is soft and hard endings. Since the letters “я”, “у” and “ь” are absent in Polish, then ń,ś,ć,ź /ni,si,ci,zi are the same “soft” letters that are written differently in depending on the position at the end of the word/before the vowel; “softening of consonants” - p/pi, b/bi, n/ni, m/mi, w/wi, s/si, z/zi, f/fi functions as a “soft sign” in endings –i=[and] or –ie=[e]; in addition, rz, dz and z may behave differently in standard alternations; and of course we must take into account the favorite Polish “zhy, shi with “y”. All this is easy to remember, roughly like a telephone directory or like case endings in Russian. Therefore, you have to memorize individual words, and it is better if with prepositions/verbs, or in short phrases. In order not to immediately add adjectives to nouns, we will use the magic pronoun “this / this / this / these”, which well warns that the Polish stove is masculine, the wardrobe is feminine, etc. This = ten, and “that” = tamten (ta=tamta, etc.). They behave the same in all variants, including “ci” and “tamci”, so for gender/number it is enough that this/this/this=ten/ta/to; these(men)/(not men)=ci/te
Singular
| Them. | pilot "pilot" | kot "cat" | dąb "oak" | gość "guest" | dzień "day" |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus. | pilota | kota | dębu | gościa | dnia |
| Dat. | pilotowi | kotu | dębowi | gościowi | dniowi |
| Vin. | pilota | kota | dąb | gościa | dzień |
| TV | pilotem | kotem | dębem | gościem | dniem |
| Etc. | pilocie | kocie | dębie | gościu | dniu |
| Call. | pilocie! | kocie | dębie! | gościu! | dniu! |
Plural
| Them. | piloci | koty | dęby | goście | dni |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus. | pilotow | kotów | dębów | gości | dni |
| Dat. | pilotom | kotom | dębom | gościom | dniom |
| Vin. | pilotow | koty | dęby | gości | dnie |
| TV | pilotami | kotami | dębami | gośćmi | dniami |
| Etc. | pilotach | kotach | dębach | gościach | dniach |
Singular endings
Nominative
Genitive
Ending -A have:
1) animate nouns ( pan"Sir, sir" - pan a , ptak"bird" - ptak a ), excl.: wół"ox" - wol u ; bawol"buffalo" - bawol u ;
2) titles:
- months ( czerwiec"June" - czerwc a , listopad"november" - listopad a ),
- dishes ( dzban"jug, jug" - dzban a , talerz"plate" - talerz a , kielich"glass, cup" - kielich a ),
- instruments ( młot"hammer" - młot a , noż"knife" - noż a ),
- weights and measures ( gram"gram" - gram a , meter"meter" - meter a ),
- monetary units ( dollar"dollar" - dollar a , rubel"ruble" - ruble a ),
- dancing ( walc"waltz" - walc a , polonez"polonaise" - polonez a ),
- body parts ( palec"finger" - palc a , nos"nose" - nos a );
3) diminutive forms of nouns, mainly with a suffix -ik/-yk (stolik"table" - stolik a , wozek"cart" - wózk a ),
4) nouns with suffixes -ik/-yk (słownik"dictionary" - słownik a );
5) Slavic, as well as some borrowed names of cities and names in -burg (Krakow"Krakow" - Krakow a , Berlin"Berlin" - Berlin a , Wieden"Vienna" - Wiedni a , Hamburg"Hamburg" - Hamburg a ).
Ending -u have:
1) inanimate borrowed nouns ( committee"Committee" - committee u , atrament"ink" - atrament u ); Recently there has been a tendency for borrowed nouns to appear that have an ending in this case -A , more often these are words whose stem ends in r : televisor"TV" - televisor a , computer"computer" - computer a .
2) abstract nouns ( ból"pain" - ból u , czas"time" - czas u , calm"peace, tranquility" - calm down u );
3) collective nouns ( las"forest" - las u , tłum"crowd" - tłum u , oddzial"Department" - oddzial u );
4) real nouns ( miód"honey" - miod u , cukier"sugar" - cukr u , piasek"sand" - piask u );
5) names of days of the week ( wtorek"Tuesday" - wtork u , czwartek"Thursday" - czwartk u );
6) names of cities that end in -grad, -grod, -gard , as well as some borrowed ones ( Starogard - Starogard u , Belgrad - Belgrad u , London - London u , Amsterdam - Amsterdam u );
7) names of countries or parts thereof ( Iran"Iran" - Iran u , Krym"Crimea" - Krym u ).
Dative
In this case the predominant ending is -owi , and a small group of nouns acquires the ending -u (ojciec"father" - ojc u , brother"Brother" - brother u , chłop"peasant, man" - chłop u , pan"Sir, sir" - pan u , kot"cat" - kot u , pies"dog" - ps u , świat"world" - świat u , ksiądz"priest" - księdz u , Bóg"God" - God u , lew"a lion" - lw u , diabeł"devil" - diabł u , kat"executioner" - kat u ).
Accusative
For animate nouns, the endings of the accusative case are the same as in the genitive case, and for inanimate nouns - as in the nominative case.
There are some exceptions to this rule, more significant than in the Russian and Belarusian languages. The accusative case of the following nouns coincides with the genitive case form:
1) corpse"dead body" ( Widziałem trupa“I saw a corpse”) - obviously, by analogy with other designations of the dead ( nieboszczyka"dead man" wisielca"gallows" topielca"drowned man");
2) in stable expressions ( mieć stracha"afraid", mieć pecha"fail", mieć bzika"to be abnormal" (with the same meaning - mieć fiola), dac drapaka"to run away" (with the same meaning - puścić się w uciekacza);
3) in the names of devices and tools ( wziąć noża"take the knife" kupić winczestera“buy a Winchester”), cigarettes ( palić papierosa"smoking a cigarette"), dancing ( tańczyć walca, mazura"dance a waltz, mazurka"), mushrooms ( znaleźć muchomora, rydza“find fly agaric, saffron milk cap”), cars ( ukraść mercedesa"steal a Mercedes")
Instrumental case
Ending -em (las"forest" - las em , koń"horse" - koni em ). In this case, the basis on the back lingual ( g, k ) softens ( Bóg"God" - Bogi em , człowiek"Human" - człowieki em ).
Prepositional
Hard nouns have an ending -e , which causes alternation of consonants and sometimes vowels in the stem ( sąsiad"neighbour" - o sąsiedzi e ) (for more details, see ""). For nouns of the soft variety, as well as with a stem on g, k, ch - ending -u (słoń"elephant" - o słoni u , Mińsk - w Mińsk u ).
Vocative case
Almost all nouns have the same form of the prepositional case, except: most nouns in -ec form the vocative form using the ending -e (ojciec"father" - o ojc u, ojcz e! ; chłopiec"boy, boy" - o chłopc u, chłopcz e! ).
Although textbooks provide vocative forms for all masculine nouns, their use in modern Polish is quite limited. In reality they have:
1) naming of persons - first names, surnames, names of degrees of relationship, designations of a person by profession, titles, titles. But even here one can notice the gradual disappearance of the vocative case. Only words do not obey this pan"sir, sir" ( panie), obywatel"citizen" ( obywatelu), titles ( director"director" - dyrektorze, prezes“chairman, president (of the company)” - prezesie), abusive names ( łotr"scoundrel, scoundrel" - łotrze, łajdak"scoundrel, scoundrel" - łajdaku, cham"boorish" - chamie), proper names ( Henryk - Henryku, Andrzej - Andrzeju).
2) and names of animals, especially domestic ones ( Chodź, Piesku!"Come here, doggie").
There are irregular forms of the prepositional and vocative case: syn"son" - o synu, synu!; dom"house" - o domu, domu!; pan"Sir, sir" - o panu, panie!; Bóg"God" - o Bogu, Boże!
Plural endings
Nominative
Endings -i, -y, -e, -owie .
Ending -i have the following lexemes:
2) impersonal masculine nouns with a stem on g, k (pociąg"train" - pociąg i , ptak"bird" - ptak i );
Ending -y have the following words:
1) impersonal masculine nouns of the rigid variety (except for forms in g, k ) (kot"cat" - kot y , dom"house" - dom y );
3) nouns with suffix -ec (chłopiec"boy, guy" - chłopc y , głupiec"fool" - głupc y );
Ending -e have the following words:
1) personal-masculine and impersonal-masculine nouns of the soft variety ( lekarz"doctor" - lekarz e , kraj"a country" - kraj e ).
2) borrowed words from -ans (kwadrans"quarter of an hour" - kwadrans e , alians"alliance" - alians e ).
Ending -owie used much less frequently - in a few personal masculine nouns ( pan"Sir, sir" - pan wie , Arab"Arab" - Arab wie ), although recently the number of such words has been increasing. Among them:
1) names of degrees of relationship ( syn"son" - syn wie , wuj"maternal uncle" - wuj wie , ojciec"father" - ojc wie , mąż"husband" - męż wie , stryj"paternal uncle" - stryj wie );
2) names of persons occupying a high place in the social hierarchy ( marszałek"marshal" - marszałk wie , wódz"leader" - wodz wie , król"king" - król wie , senator"senator" - senator wie );
3) rank designations ( generał"general" - generał wie , mistrz"master" - mistrz wie , professor"Professor" - professor wie ).
Also have this ending:
1) forms on -log , options are possible here ( filolog"philologist" - filolodz y / filolog wie , geolog"geologist" - geolodz y / geolog wie );
2) forms on -mistrz , endings here can also be variant ( burmistrz"burgomaster" - burmistrz e / burmistrz wie , zegarmistrz"watchmaker" - zegarmistrz e / zegarmistrz wie );
3) forms with a base on -r (there may also be options: inżynier"engineer" - inżynierz y / inżynier wie , rector"rector" - rektorz y / rector wie , senator"senator" - senatorz y / senator wie );
4) forms with a base on -n (opiekun"guardian" - opiekun wie , patron"cartridge" - patron wie );
5) forms with the suffix - ek (dziadek"grandfather" - dziadk wie , wujek"maternal uncle" - wujk wie , staruszek"old man" - staruszk wie ).
Among the forms of the masculine nominative case, the smallest number are forms with the ending -a . These are some impersonal masculine borrowed nouns ( akt"Act" - akt a , grunt"soil, earth" - grunt a ).
Genitive
Endings -ów, -i, -y . Ending -ów have:
1) nouns based on a hard consonant ( pan"Sir, sir" - pan ów , dom"house" - dom ów ).
2) a small number of nouns with a base on a soft and hard consonant ( kraj"a country" - kraj ów , uczeń"student" - uczni ów ).
However, most nouns with a hardened consonant as a stem have the ending -y (talerz"plate" - talerz y , wąż"snake" - węż y );
Ending -i typical for nouns with a soft stem ( gość - gość i , nauczyciel"teacher" - nauczyciel i ).
Dative
Ending -om (kot"cat" - kot om ).
Accusative
For personal masculine nouns it coincides with the genitive case, for impersonal masculine nouns it coincides with the nominative case.
Instrumental case
Ending -ami (zegar"watch" - zegar ami ). Only in some cases does the ending occur -mi : goście"guests" - gość mi , liśсie"leaves" - liść mi , ludzie"People" - ludź mi , bracia"brothers" - brać mi , konie"horses" - koń mi , ksiądz"priest" - księż mi , pieniądze"money" - pieniędz mi , przyjaciele"Friends" - przyjaciół mi .
Prepositional
Ending -ach (domy - odom ach ).
Peculiarities of changes in some masculine nouns
Nouns on -anin (Rosjanin"Russian", Аmerykanin"American") form singular forms from the full stem ( Rosjaninowi, Amerykaninowi), and the plural forms are from the abbreviated form ( Rosjanom, Amerykanom They are declined according to the pattern of the solid variety, except for the nominative plural ( Rosjanie, Amerykanie). Most of them have a zero ending in the genitive plural, except for the following - Amerókanów, Afrykanow, Meksykanow, republikanow.
Some nouns form their plurals from another stem or a stem with irregular alternations: rock"year" - lata, człowiek"Human" - ludzie, tydzień"a week" - tygodnie, brother"Brother" - bracia, ksiądz"priest" - księża.
A special group consists of country names:
These forms retain archaic endings. If these nouns denote a collection of representatives of a people, they have a different form.
In the accusative case, nouns answer the questions: Whom? What? And adjectives, numerals and pronouns - Which one? Which one? As in the Russian language, when forming these forms, it is necessary to take into account not only the gender, but also the category of animateness/inanimateness.
Accusative singular (Biernik liczby pojedynczej)
As a rule, the accusative case is one of the first to be studied (after the instrumental). And this is not without reason. There are almost no pitfalls in this rule and numerous exceptions that need to be remembered. And in speech, words are often used in the accusative case.
In addition, nouns and adjectives of the neuter gender, inanimate words of the masculine gender, as well as words of the feminine gender that in the nominative case end in a soft or hard consonant, in the accusative case in the singular and plural have the same form as in the nominative (she listed in the dictionary). That is, we do not need to select endings for these words.
Accusative case of nouns (Biernik rzeczowników)
Ka in both Russian and Belarusian languages, ending -A have animate nouns that are masculine. For example:
Brat— brata(brother-brother);
Pies— psa(dog-dog);
Czł owiek— czł owieka(person-person);
Mąż-męża(husband-husband).
Attention! Masculine words in - A (męż czyzna, kierowca, poeta i t.d.) adjoin the group of feminine nouns also ending in -A. Therefore, all these masculine nouns are declined as feminine words.
Zero ending (as in the nominative case) We write in masculine inanimate nouns, as well as in feminine words ending in a consonant. For example: noc(night), dom(house), stół (table), telefon(telephone), mysz(mouse).
Exceptions:
- Currency names – rubla, dolara, franka;
- Dance names - krakowiaka, walca, mazura;
- Car brand names – fiata, golfa, mercedesa;
- Words for cigarettes - papierosa, carmena, marsa.
- Word grzyba(mushroom).
Although these masculine words refer to inanimate nouns, in the accusative case they end in -A.
All neuter nouns in the accusative case retain the ending of the nominative case: dziecko(child), pole(field), imię (Name), muzeum(museum).
Ending -ę have feminine words that end in a vowel, as well as masculine nouns that in the nominative case end in -A. At first glance, this ending, unusual for us, is difficult to remember, but if you consider that in place of Polish nasal sounds in the Russian and Belarusian languages there is often a sound [u], then everything becomes clear. For example:
Kawa— kawę (coffee, white kava-kava);
Rę ka— rę kę (hand-hand);
Muzyka— muzykę (music-music);
Gospodyni-gospodynię(hostess-hostess);
Mężczyzna-mężczyznę(man to man).
Exception: pani— panią (woman to woman).
Accusative case of adjectives (Biernik przymiotników)
Ending — ego we write all adjectives are masculine(even in those that agree with masculine nouns in -A), denoting the attribute of an animate noun. At the same time, do not forget that in these forms the sounds k And g– soft, so you need to put a letter before the end i:
Wysoki— wysokiego(high-high);
Dł ugi— dł ugiego(long-long);
Zielony— zielonego ( green-green);
Zdrowy— zdrowego(healthy-healthy).
Widzę niski ego męż czyznę – I see a tall man.
Ending -ą adjectives are feminine. For example:
Ł adna-ł adną (beautiful-beautiful);
Cierpliwa— cierpliwą (patient-patient);
Gorzka— gorzką (bitter-bitter).
In other cases (in neuter adjectives, as well as in masculine words that agree with an inanimate noun), we write the same ending, as in the nominative case: — e , — i or — y : mał e dziecko(Small child), pię kny dom(beautiful house), kró tki Wiersz(short poem).
Accusative plural (Biernik liczby mnogiej)
When choosing an ending, you need to pay attention not to the category of animate/inanimate (as we do in Russian), but to whether there is a man in the group of people in question. The fact is that in the plural in the Polish language, a distinction is made between personal-masculine (rodzaj męskoosobowy) and impersonal-masculine (feminine-thing) forms (rodzaj niemęskoosobowy). The first includes nouns that denote men, and the second includes all other words (denoting women, children, animals, any inanimate objects).
In the accusative case, personal masculine nouns and related adjectives have the same endings as in the plural, and non-personal masculine nouns - as in . For example:
Wykładowca szanuje(who?) swoich studentow– The teacher respects his students.
Znam(who?) wszystkich prezydentów Polski– I know all the presidents of Poland.
Uwielbiam(who?) Duże psy(not dużych psów!) – I adore big dogs.
Dziewczyna chce pomalować (co?) swoje dł ugie paznokcie– The girl wants to paint her long nails.