A2 · Adjectives and adverbs · about 7 minutes
Adjectives in the cases: w nowym domu, z dobrą kawą
adjective endings in every case
Few endings for many cases: -ego, -emu, -ym for masculine and neuter, -ej and -ą for feminine.
Do you know this already?
“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 3 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need8
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- firmacompany, firm
- szefowaboss (woman)
- szukaćto look for
- piętrofloor, storey
- sąsiadkaneighbour (woman)
- zimnocold
- bajkafairy tale; cartoon
- restauracjarestaurant
Understand
RememberAdjective and noun are always in the same case — both of them show it.
- Signal words
- w
- na
- z
- do
- bez
- o
The form
The forms side by side
All the forms in one overview: first what each one stands for, then the form in Polish, so you can compare them directly.
| genitive: masculine and neuter -ego, feminine -ej | nowy — do nowego domu, do nowej pracy |
| dative: masculine and neuter -emu, feminine -ej | mały — małemu dziecku, miły — miłej pani |
| accusative: feminine -ą, animate masculine -ego, otherwise as the nominative | ciekawy — ciekawą książkę, dobry — dobrego lekarza, duży — duży dom |
| instrumental: masculine and neuter -ym, feminine -ą | zimny — z zimnym mlekiem, z zimną wodą |
| locative: masculine and neuter -ym, feminine -ej | polski — w polskim mieście, w polskiej firmie |
| plural for all: -ych, -ym, -ymi | stary — w starych domach, z małymi dziećmi |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
Masculine and neuter take -ego in the genitive.
Idę do nowego kina.I am going to the new cinema.
In the locative masculine and neuter take -ym, feminine -ej.
Pracuję w dużej firmie w małym mieście.I work for a big company in a small town.
Feminine takes -ą in the accusative and the instrumental.
Mam nową pracę i miłą szefową.I have a new job and a nice (female) boss.
An animate masculine noun takes -ego in the accusative.
Mamy nowego psa.We have a new dog.
In the plural -ych, -ym and -ymi serve every gender.
Rozmawiam z nowymi sąsiadami.I am talking to the new neighbours.
Example sentences
Szukam taniego hotelu.I am looking for an inexpensive hotel.
Mieszkamy na trzecim piętrze.We live on the third floor.
Jedziemy nowym samochodem.We are going in the new car.
7 more example sentences
Kupuję kwiaty dla miłej sąsiadki.I am buying flowers for the nice neighbour.
Mówimy o ciekawym filmie.We are talking about an interesting film.
W starych domach jest zimno.It is cold in old houses.
Spotykamy się w małej kawiarni.We are meeting in a small café.
Nie mam wolnego czasu.I have no free time.
Dzwonię do starego przyjaciela.I am ringing an old friend.
Piszę list do kochanej babci.I am writing a letter to my dear gran.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
In English the adjective is the one word in “in a new house” that never changes, so it tends to stay in its dictionary form. In Polish adjective and noun both carry the case: after w answering “where?”, the locative — w nowym domu.
Quick check
A warm-up: 2 questions, answered straight away. They do not count towards your progress.
Practise
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
Now write it yourself9 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
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Next on the path: 44 · Reasons and results: bo, ponieważ, więc, dlategoBack to the learning path
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
When the noun changes its case, the adjective in front of it changes with it. English “in a new house” and “with new neighbours” leave “new” alone; Polish marks the case twice, on the adjective and on the noun. The good news: the adjective has far fewer endings than the noun, and they are almost without exception regular. Know the forms of nowy and you know them for nearly every adjective.
Masculine and neuter share every case except the nominative and accusative: genitive (dopełniacz) in -ego (nowego), dative (celownik) in -emu (nowemu), instrumental (narzędnik) and locative (miejscownik) in -ym (nowym). Feminine has even fewer: -ej in the genitive, dative and locative, -ą in the accusative (biernik) and instrumental. After k, g and soft sounds an i is added: polskiego, polskim, taniej.
In the accusative it matters again whether a masculine noun is alive: Mam nowy samochód, but Mam nowego kolegę. In the plural all genders share the same endings: genitive and locative -ych, dative -ym, instrumental -ymi — w starych domach, z małymi dziećmi.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
The case is shown twice — and that helps
Hearing -ym or -ą on the adjective, you already know which case is coming before the noun arrives: z nowym kolegą. What looks like more work is a second chance to understand.
Rozmawiam z nowym kolegą.I am talking to the new colleague.
Worth knowing
Possessives and demonstratives follow the same pattern
mój, twój, nasz and ten have almost the same endings as the adjective: mojego, mojej, moim; tego, tej, tym. Learn the adjective endings and you get the pronouns for free.
Mieszkam w tym małym domu.I live in this small house.
The verbs on this page, in every form: mieć · być · iść · pracować · jechać · mówić · kupować · szukać