A2 · Prepositions · about 7 minutes
Time phrases: w poniedziałek, za tydzień, dwa dni temu
prepositions of time
Day, month, time of day, duration and distance in time — each has its preposition and its case.
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.
Understand
RememberDays with the accusative, months with the locative — and za, temu, przez for “in”, “ago” and “for”.
- Signal words
- kiedy
- w
- o
- za
- temu
- przez
The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in Polish.
| day of the week: w + accusative | w poniedziałek, we wtorek, w środę, w sobotę |
| month, year: w + locative | w maju, w październiku, w 2026 roku |
| time of day: o + locative | o ósmej, o piętnastej |
| before, after: przed + instrumental, po + locative | przed obiadem, po obiedzie |
| from … to: od … do + genitive | od poniedziałku do piątku |
| in, ago, for: za, temu, przez + accusative | za tydzień, tydzień temu, przez tydzień |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
The day of the week takes w with the accusative.
W sobotę gramy w tenisa.On Saturday we play tennis.
The month takes w with the locative.
W sierpniu mamy urlop.In August we are on holiday.
The time of day takes o with the locative.
Spotykamy się o siódmej.We are meeting at seven.
“In” a time from now is za.
Autobus przyjedzie za pięć minut.The bus will come in five minutes.
“Ago” is temu, placed after the time, as in English.
Byłam tam rok temu.I was there a year ago. (a woman speaking)
How long something lasts takes przez.
Czekałem przez godzinę.I waited for an hour. (a man speaking)
Example sentences
We wtorek mam wolne.On Tuesday I have the day off.
Sklep jest otwarty od ósmej do dwudziestej.The shop is open from eight a.m. to eight p.m.
Po obiedzie idziemy na spacer.After lunch we are going for a walk.
7 more example sentences
Przed snem czytam książkę.Before going to sleep I read a book.
Wracamy za dwa tygodnie.We are coming back in two weeks.
Kasia urodziła się w 1998 roku.Kasia was born in 1998.
Za rok kończę studia.In a year I will finish my degree.
Pracuję tu od marca.I have been working here since March.
W niedzielę śpimy długo.On Sunday we sleep in.
Sklep będzie zamknięty przez tydzień.The shop will be closed for a week.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
For places you have learnt w with the locative, w domu. With the day of the week, though, w takes the accusative — w poniedziałek, w sobotę. Only months and years get the locative: w maju, w tym roku.
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.
Well done
How well do you know this topic?
This is filled in automatically after you practise. You can change it here at any time.
Next on the path: 53 · How aspect pairs are built: pisać – napisaćBack to the learning path
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
For the day of the week English says “on”, Polish w with the accusative (biernik): w poniedziałek, w środę, w sobotę, w niedzielę — and we wtorek, because two w in a row could hardly be said. For months and years, English “in”, Polish w with the locative (miejscownik): w maju, w październiku, w 2026 roku. For the time of day, English “at”, Polish o with the locative: o ósmej, o piętnastej.
For before and after there are przed with the instrumental (narzędnik) — przed obiadem, przed pracą — and po with the locative — po obiedzie, po pracy. For a span, od … do with the genitive (dopełniacz): od poniedziałku do piątku, od rana do wieczora.
Three phrases line up neatly with English. “In a week” (from now) is za tydzień. “A week ago” is tydzień temu — temu comes after the time, exactly like “ago”. And “for a week” is przez tydzień. All three take the accusative, which you cannot see on tydzień and rok but can on godzina: za godzinę, godzinę temu.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
“Ago” comes last — and “before” is przed
temu works exactly like “ago”: dwa dni temu“two days ago”dawno temu“a long time ago” “Before” with an event — “before dinner” — is przed: przed jedzeniem.
Dwa dni temu byłem u lekarza.Two days ago I was at the doctor’s. (a man speaking)
Worth knowing
Times of day and seasons without a preposition
For times of day and seasons Polish often needs no preposition, just a fixed form, mostly the instrumental: rano(in the morning)wieczorem(in the evening)latem(in summer)zimą(in winter)wiosną(in spring)jesienią(in autumn) Only “at night” is w nocy.
Wieczorem oglądamy film.In the evening we watch a film.
The verbs on this page, in every form: być · mieć · czekać · czytać · wracać · przyjechać · grać · urodzić się