B1 · Prepositions · about 7 minutes
nad, pod, przed, za, między: place or direction
prepositions with two cases
Where something is takes the instrumental, where it is going takes the accusative.
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 need7
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- kołdraduvet
- wycieraczkadoormat
- granicaborder
- wchodzićto go in; to go up
- lampalamp
- wpaśćto drop in; to fall in
- szafawardrobe, cupboard
Understand
RememberWhere? — instrumental. Where to? — accusative.
- Signal words
- gdzie
- dokąd
- nad
- pod
- przed
- za
- między
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.
| where? + instrumental | nad stołem, pod stołem, przed domem, za domem |
| where to? + accusative | pod stół, pod łóżko, za dom, za szafę |
| between: między … a … | między bankiem a apteką |
| by the water: nad + instrumental or accusative | nad morzem — nad morze, nad jeziorem — nad jezioro |
| abroad: za + instrumental or accusative | za granicą — za granicę |
| na works the same way: locative or accusative | na stole — na stół |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
For “where?” nad, pod, przed, za and między take the instrumental.
Czekam przed kinem.I am waiting outside the cinema.
For “where to?” they take the accusative.
Dziecko chowa się pod kołdrę.The child is crawling under the duvet.
With między the two places are joined with a.
Apteka jest między pocztą a bankiem.The chemist’s is between the post office and the bank.
nad with a body of water means “by” or “to”.
Latem mieszkamy nad jeziorem.In summer we live by the lake.
za with the accusative also means “for”, when thanking and paying.
Dziękuję za pomoc.Thank you for your help.
Example sentences
Klucze są pod wycieraczką.The keys are under the doormat.
Za domem mamy mały ogród.Behind the house we have a small garden.
Mój brat pracuje za granicą.My brother works abroad.
7 more example sentences
W sierpniu jedziemy nad jezioro.In August we are going to the lake.
Nad miastem lata helikopter.A helicopter is flying over the town.
Spotkajmy się przed dworcem.Let’s meet outside the station.
Mieszkam pod Krakowem.I live just outside Kraków.
Kot schował się za kanapę.The cat has hidden behind the sofa.
Nad łóżkiem wisi obraz.There is a picture over the bed.
Na weekend jedziemy za miasto.For the weekend we are going out of town.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English says “at the seaside” and “to the seaside”, but with most of these prepositions it says nothing at all: “under the table” is both a place and a direction. Polish always decides by case. Somebody at the seaside is nad morzem; somebody going there goes nad morze. After jechać, iść and other verbs of movement towards a goal, the accusative follows.
Quick check
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Practise
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Next on the path: 78 · Choosing the aspect: signals in the sentenceBack to the learning path
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
English uses one preposition for both the place and the movement: “the cat is lying under the table” and “the cat is running under the table”. Polish separates them by case: the place takes the instrumental (narzędnik), the direction the accusative: pod stołem — pod stół. This goes for nad (above, over), pod (under), przed (in front of), za (behind) and między (between).
You need them for places all the time: Samochód stoi przed domem, Ogród jest za domem, Lampa wisi nad stołem, Sklep jest między bankiem a apteką. With między the two places are joined with a, not i. The direction with the accusative (biernik) comes mostly after verbs of movement: Pies wchodzi pod łóżko“the dog crawls under the bed”Piłka wpadła za szafę“the ball rolled behind the wardrobe”
A few fixed phrases are best learnt in both forms: nad morzem (at the seaside) — nad morze (to the seaside), nad jeziorem — nad jezioro, za granicą (abroad) — za granicę (going abroad). You know the same game from na, only with the locative and the accusative: na stole — na stół.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
“Into” and “onto” are hidden in the case
English sometimes marks the movement with “into” or “onto”, mostly not. Ask yourself whether something is moving towards the place: if it is, use the accusative. Pies leży pod stołem, kot wchodzi pod stół.
Pies leży pod stołem, a kot wchodzi pod stół.The dog is lying under the table, and the cat is crawling under it.
Worth knowing
przed and za for time as well
Both prepositions come back in time phrases: przed with the instrumental means “before” (przed obiadem), za with the accusative means “in” (za tydzień).
Przed wyjazdem kupuję bilety.Before leaving I buy the tickets.
The verbs on this page, in every form: być · mieć · mieszkać · jechać · czekać · spotkać · latać