A1 · The cases · about 7 minutes
The seven cases at a glance
the seven cases
Polish shows the case at the end of the noun — seven cases, and no article.
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 need10
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- widziećto see
- kotcat
- prezentpresent, gift
- dawaćto give
- kwiatflower
- częstooften
- kochaćto love
- siedziećto sit, to be sitting
- oknowindow
- parkpark
Understand
RememberWhat English does with word order and prepositions, Polish does with the ending.
- Signal words
- kto?
- co?
- kogo?
- czego?
- komu?
- z kim?
- o czym?
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.
| nominative — who? what? | mama, dom, okno |
| genitive — of whom? of what? | mamy, domu, okna |
| dative — to whom? to what? | mamie, domowi, oknu |
| accusative — whom? what? | mamę, dom, okno |
| instrumental — with whom? with what? | mamą, domem, oknem |
| locative — about whom? about what? | mamie, domu, oknie |
| vocative — calling somebody | mamo! domu! okno! |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
The case sits at the end of the noun, not in an article.
Widzę mamę.I can see Mum.
The verb decides the case of its object.
Mam kota.I have a cat.
The preposition decides the case of the noun after it.
Jestem w domu.I am at home.
After nie an accusative becomes a genitive.
Mam kawę, ale nie mam mleka.I have coffee, but no milk.
The person you call is in the vocative.
Mamo, jestem w domu!Mum, I’m home!
Example sentences
Mama jest w pracy.Mum is at work.
Kupuję prezent dla mamy.I am buying a present for Mum.
Daję mamie kwiaty.I am giving Mum flowers.
6 more example sentences
Często rozmawiam z mamą.I often talk to Mum.
Myślę o mamie.I am thinking about Mum.
To jest okno.This is a window.
Kot siedzi na oknie.The cat is sitting on the windowsill.
Idę do domu.I am going home.
Mamy duży dom.We have a big house.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English speakers tend to leave the noun in its basic form and trust the preposition to do the work, as it does in English. But w dom is simply wrong: after w for a place the noun needs its locative ending.
Quick check
A warm-up: 2 questions, answered straight away. They do not count towards your progress.
Practise
9 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
Now write it yourself8 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
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Next on the path: 10 · Personal pronouns: ja, ty, on, ona, onoBack to the learning path
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
In English the role of a noun comes from its position and from the preposition in front of it; the noun itself hardly changes: coffee, of coffee, with coffee. In Polish the noun changes: kawa, kawy, kawie, kawę, kawą. The ending tells you what part the noun plays in the sentence. You already know the principle from English pronouns: “she” does something, “her” has something done to it — ona and ją in Polish.
There are seven cases. The nominative (mianownik) is the subject and the dictionary form. The genitive (dopełniacz) covers “of”, quantities and absence. The dative (celownik) is the receiver, “to whom”. The accusative (biernik) is the direct object. The instrumental (narzędnik) is “with whom, with what” and what somebody is after być. The locative (miejscownik) is “where” and “about what” — it only ever stands after a preposition. And the vocative (wołacz) is the form you use to call somebody.
Three things decide the case: the verb (mam “I have” takes the accusative), the preposition (w “in” for a place takes the locative) and negation (after nie an accusative becomes a genitive). So learn verbs and prepositions together with their case — the way you know that it is “depend on”, not “depend of”.
For a start, three patterns are enough. Most words in -a are feminine and go like mama, most words in a consonant are masculine and go like dom, and words in -o and -e are neuter and go like okno.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
English still has cases — in its pronouns
“He sees her” and “she sees him” swap the roles by swapping the forms, and the order could almost move. That is exactly how a Polish noun works: the ending carries the role. Piotr daje mamie kwiaty — mamie is the receiver wherever it stands.
Piotr daje mamie kwiaty.Piotr is giving Mum flowers.
Worth knowing
The locative never stands alone
There is no Polish sentence with a locative and no preposition. When you see a locative ending, it is always preceded by w, na, o, przy or po.
Rozmawiamy o pogodzie.We are talking about the weather.
The verbs on this page, in every form: mieć · być · kupować · widzieć · rozmawiać · dawać · myśleć