Polish Declension in Use

a booklet by barsorro

Preface
(... you've guessed right you can skip that part :)) The following is my attempt to familiarize foreign learners of Polish with the su !ect of declension and case government. " am a complete amateur in languages and language teaching. The idea to produce a guide like this has come out of internet friendships and meeting people attracted to Polish language and interested in learning it. #eing myself fond of languages " have understood my friends' impractical fancy $) and wanted to do all " can to keep up their interest and help their study. %nfortunately& may e !ust on account of an inade'uate search& " was una le to find much free self(study material for them on the "nternet . (...at the time.) )s a result& "'ve een rought to try and e*plain the intricacies of Polish grammar y myself. " realize that this is a old endeavour& oth generally (as Polish is pro a ly one of the more difficult languages to learn& 'uite different from the non(+lavic languages of the ,est that "'m a le to compare it with& and featuring some grammatical concepts that may prove a su stantial challenge to everyday users of -nglish& +panish& or Portuguese)& and especially for a person like me& who lacks any advanced formal education in the field of languages. .ot only did " have to learn up on some of the essential grammar theory and terminology as " went along& " also struggled with methodology and composition. " have simply never done anything like this efore& nor learned how to do it. "n conse'uence& the script you have in front of you can pro a ly serve as a good e*ample of how this kind of things should not e written :). "ts use of terminology is intuitive in places& and more than once !ust plain inventive. ,hat is pro a ly worse& the te*t features a multitude of digressions and side(notes& loosely related to the main threads of thought they appear in. This has een pro a ly my iggest fault at the work: " !ust couldn't help myself e*plain almost everything at once :) /f course& "'m offering you this self(criti'ue (... remem er: " come from a post(communist country :)) as a sort of caveat. " wouldn't have finished writing the script& and& 'uite surely& " wouldn't have su mitted it here& if " had thought that it was useless. .o& " elieve that& actually& it is not too ad :) " think " have reached my goal of presenting a concise& ut possi ly comprehensive& overview of the system of declension cases in Polish language: of showing oth in a sketchy theoretical description and on e*amples when and what for each case is used. 0y goal was to inform a out and to ac'uaint with the usage& so " think " can e pardoned for some theoretical imprecisions in fact& as it is& " elieve " might have used an e*cessive amount of terminology. " chose declension& ecause " suppose that must e the most alien and intimidating area of Polish grammar for most foreign learners. "n the numerous side(notes "'ve also smuggled in elements from other areas$ most of them deserve a separate and much more detailed treatment& ut " felt it was impossi le to leave une*plained some of the grammatical structures that surface in the e*amples. )n important note: this is a guide on function and usage. " haven't dealt in any way with the patterns of morphological changes in inflected words. " will speak straight with you: the patterns are rather numerous and not all that simple. "n my opinion& trying to learn them synthetically would e e*tremely difficult and tedious. There are& of course& reakdowns of the morphological paradigms& and you are welcome to check them out for e*ample& here: http://free.of.pl/g/grzegorj/gram/en/deklin00.html ut " suggest that you don't spend too much time on them. 1ou can use those ta les to get a general overview& and later& if necessary& to try and construct or confirm your speculations on inflected forms of some nouns you need (when you do that& watch out for the changes that have to e made to many of the ending stem(consonants2). 1et& as far as learning is concerned& " think it is etter to set on ac'uiring the patterns

more intuitively: y reading te*ts seeing words& realizing what a word's function in a sentence is and what declension case it must e in and thus& slowly and naturally& tuning your mind in to them. "f you would still rather get some 3clinical3 e*posure first& " suppose this set of ta les should e a it etter for that than those from the previous link: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Polish/Masculine_noun_declension (feminine and neuter noun charts are hyper(linked at the ottom of the page) " really wish " could offer you a we address of a 3declinator3 an applet that would present you with the full declensions of any given su stantive. %nfortunately& " haven't een a le to find anything like that& so it looks like there's no real way around using the declension ta les once in a while. 4/,-5-6& for a piece of good news& as " am writing this " have looked in to Wikisownik& which is the Polish part of the Wiktionary& and " can see that many (perhaps even: most) of the popular nouns are given there together with their full declensions2 ,ikis7ownik: http://pl.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wikis !" #$ownik:%trona_g !" #$ !& '&wna The declensions are presented on the page of an entry word& under the title: 3odmiana3. The 3lp" marker stands for 3liczba pojedyncza3 8 singular$ 3lm3 ( 3liczba mnoga3 8 plural. 9eclensions are listed after each marker in the regular order: 1. nominative, 2. genitive, 3. dative, 4. accusative, 5. instrumental, 6. locative, 7. vocative ut most of the forms are presented as only the suffi* that has to e added to the word(stem$ the nominative is given as a whole word& and the stem is the part of it that comes left of the vertical dividing line 3:3 (if there is no such dividing line& then it means that the nominative form has no suffi* and that the whole of the word in nominative is the stem)$ in situations of a stem(change in an inflection form& the whole inflected word is shown. " think that the ,ikis7ownik can to some degree stand as a surrogate 3declinator3. Things are easier the opposite direction. 1ou can enter any word found in a Polish te*t into the 3znajd sowa3 (find words) search o* of this dictionary: http://so.pwn.pl/)) (P,. dictionary of Polish orthography) and you will get the ase form (the nominative) of the word (plus select irregular inflection forms if that word has such ut those are not presented in a particularly clear way& "'m sorry) Then& once you have that ase form& you can use these online dictionaries to look up its meaning in -nglish: http://www.angool.com/ http://www.dict.pl/dict_iso http://slowniki.pwn.pl/angielski/pl/polski (these are the ones " use and like$ there are others around& too... and let's not forget a out the ,ikis7ownik which works very well as an interlingual dictionary) )t the end of this foreword& "'d like to recommend to you three "nternet addresses with valua le resources to help you e*tend your knowledge of Polish& and of Polish grammar in particular: ( "A Grammar of the Polish Language" a rilliant pu lic domain compendium of Polish grammar y ;rzegorz <agodzi=ski: http://free.of.pl/g/grzegorj/gram/en/gram00.html ( /scar -. +wan's "Polish Grammar in a Nutshell" http://polish.sla*ic.pitt.edu/firstyear/nutshell.pdf

(had I found that one earlier, maybe I wouldn't ha e written this booklet !"" ( a very impressive (at the first look at least) Polish section on the Transparent Language site (featuring a really& really nice log in -nglish a out Poland's current events& curiosities and trivia& as well as some language games and interactive tests): http://www.transparent.com/languagepages/polish/polish.htm

" suppose that the only thing left for me to do now is to wish you pleasant and fruitful studies :) " really hope you don't get discouraged easily Polish may not e an easy language to learn& ut there are areas of its grammar in which it is actually much simpler than& for e*ample& -nglish (tenses& the co(ordination of tenses& the conditional mood)$ in addition to that: Polish voca ulary tends to e markedly more specific than that of -nglish& so the conte*t is much less of an issue in the interpretation of things said. )s far as declension and inflection patterns are concerned& it might all look terrifying when approached from the angle of classifications and charts. "n practice& however& as soon as you get to know >??(@?? su stantives with a few (a random > or @& not necessarily all) inflection forms for each of them& your mind will e ready to supply the missing forms y making them up& ased on the memory and on intuitive perception of the morphological changes occuring in similar words in the desired declension case form. +ome of the forms deduced this way will& o viously& e wrong& ut you can always try cross(checking them with a declension chart and with the dictionary of orthography... )nd esides you don't e*pect to learn without making mistakes& do youA :) "'ve got a Polish prover for you that fits the occasion: "Jak si nie przewrcisz, to si nie nauczysz." ("If you don't stumble and fall e en once, then you will not learn for good#"" :) " keep my fingers crossed for you2 1ou have no reasons to worry after all there are a out B? million speakers of Polish& and "'d venture to say that at least half of them can e called fairly articulate and fluent $) 1ou wouldn't think those >? million are are all e*ceptionally gifted for languages& would youA :) ) zatem... Powodzenia2 (,ell then... " wish you success2)

Zaczynamy! (Cet's go2 Dliterally: 3,e start E commence23F )

The declension chart num er G. 4ere is an e*ample of all declension forms of three nouns (selected 'uite randomly) of three different genders (the masculine& the feminine& and the neuter). "'ll try to use those nouns in many of the e*ample sentences "'m going to make in the course of this ooklet& ut it's not always possi le to use !ust those three so& this chart is meant as a general overview of the num er of declension cases and the way they modify the nouns. Pay attention to the ordinal num ers for the cases they are traditionally always listed in that very order "'m going to use those num ers to refer to specific declension cases.

ord.num. , $ & ") . /

Polish)name mianownik dopeniacz celownik biernik narzdnik miejscownik woacz

int.)name e+.noun.masc. nominati*e kot geniti*e kota dati*e kotu accusati*e kota instrumental kotem locati*e kocie *ocati*e kocie0

e+.n.fem. truskawka truskawki* truskawce truskawk truskawk truskawce truskawko0

e+.neut. dziecko dziecka dziecku dziecko dzieckiem dziecku dziecko0

*) in case of all nouns ending in 3(ka3 the form of genitive (singular) is identical to the plural nominative

the word 3truskawki3 also stands for plural: 3strawberries3.

Hrom now on "'ll e either using the name of a case or and "'ll e doing that most of the time an acronym with the case's num er& e*ample: Przynie (r4) tu kota (d4, kot). Bring the cat here. d4 = declension (case number) 4 = the accusative (biernik) r4 8 case government for case 4 "'m going to use the letter 3r3 here& ecause 3case government3 is called 3rekc!a3 in Polish (we've orrowed the term from ;erman)& and " think that the letter 3r3 will stand out etter and e more noticea le in the te*t. Possi ly& "'m also going to use 3rekc!a3 in the e*plaining te*t& ecause it seems a handy& single(word term. 0ore a out the idea of case government: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/!ase_go*ernment

)nd now let's get down to usiness and see what those cases are all a out2 :)

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: >>> d1. the nominative (mianownik) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

This case is used for the words (mainly a noun& ut it can also e a personal pronoun& or even a proper/personal name Dbecause they also undergo declension in $olishF) that is the su !ect of a sentence.

-*amples: ot (d1) !i"e mleko (d4). #$%he cat drinks milk. 'ziecko (d1) grzecznie (adv.) si( ba&i (v).

%ruska&ka (d1) ronie na krzaku (d6). #$%he stra&berry gro&s on a shrub.

#$%he child is !laying in a nice and orderly manner. 1the)*erb)in)that)e+ample)is)2bawi si2)1it3s)a)refle+i*e)*erb)in)Polish45) e+planations)of)the)reason)for)a)*erb3s)position)at)the)end)of)the)sentences)and) of)an)in*ersion)like)the)one)to)2... si bawi2)will)appear)later)on)in)the) booklet5)let)me)just)say)that)2Dziecko bawi si grzecznie.2)would)ha*e)been) correct)as)well4 )a (d1) "em niadanie (d4). *+m eating break,ast.

-na (d1) my"e naczynia (d4). .he is &ashing$&ashes dishes.

/y (d1) chodzicie na d0ugie s!acery (d4). 1ou (plural) go ,or long &alks.

#nia (d1) mieszka teraz & #nglii (d6). #nia lives in 2ngland no&. /o"tek learned$used to learn 2nglish &ith me. 12angielskiego2)is)the)geniti*e)form)of)the)noun/adjecti*e)2angielski25)2mn2)is) the)instrumental)case)form)of)the)personal)pronoun)2ja25 ))don3t)get)terrified)with)the)symbols)6)73m)putting)so)many)of)them)here)to) show)you)that)the)use)of)the)geniti*e)form)1d$4)of)2angielski2)is)enforced)by) the)case)go*ernment)12rekcja24)1r$4)of)the)*erb)2uczy si2)1to learn:)in)Polish) it3s)a)refle+i*e)*erb)6)something)like)"to teach oneself"48)and)that)the) instrumental)form)1d"4)of)2ja2)is)enforced)by)the)rekcja)1r"4)of)the)preposition) 2z/ze2)1with4...)yes...)prepositions8)too8)ha*e)their)own)case)go*ernments)in) Polish:)they)re9uire)a)specific)declension)form)in)the)words)that)follow) them...5)7)will)not)use)so)many)symbols)at)once)in)other)e+amples:)just)remember) the)rule)6)a)symbol)refers)to)the)word/words)that)come)immediately)before)it4 /o"tek (d1) uczy0 si( (r2) angielskiego (d2) ze (r5) mn3 (d5).

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: >>> d2. the genitive (dopeniacz) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The functions of the genitive: a) to indicate possession it doesn't have to e something material& it can e some 'uality or either a physical or a non(physical state. "t is the su stantive that stands for the possessor which comes in the genitive. The genitive is also used to indicate a elonging to specific su category: where the noun in genitive is the one that defines the category and allows for a precise distinction of what we're talking a out (look at the e*ample with 3krzak truskawki3 elow).

4utro kota (d2) "est mi(kkie. %he ,ur o, a$the cat is so,t. rzak truska&ki (d2) "est niski. # shrub o, stra&berry is lo&. 1note)that)in):nglish)it)is)more)correct)to)say:)"% strawberry shrub is low#"4 5aba&ka dziecka (d2) "est bez!ieczna. %he toy o, the child is sa,e. olczyki te" s0a&ne" aktorki (d2) by0y z !latyny (d2).

%he earrings o, that ,amous actress &ere 6made6 o, !latinium. 1the)nominati*es);)21ta4)1s<awna4)aktorka2)1fem.48)2platyna2)1fem.45 )the)e+planation)for)why)it3s)2z platyny2)and)why)2platyna2)comes)in)the) geniti*e)here)you)will)find)in)point)2e42)of)this)section)on)the)geniti*e4 -d!o&ied7 tego !ana (d2) by0a !ra&id0o&a.

%he ans&er o, this gentleman &as correct. 1in)a)better):nglish:)"&his gentleman's answer was correct#"5 )the)nominati*e);)21ten4)pan2)1masc.44 )ako8 tych zd"(8 (d2) "est marna. %he 9uality o, these !hotos is !oor.

1the)nominati*e);)21te4)zdj=cia2)1plural4 ()singular)nominati*e);)21to4)zdj=cie2)1neut.44 Pla:e Brazylii (d2) s3 !i(kne. %he beaches o, Brazil are beauti,ul. 1the)nominati*e);)2'razylia2)1fem.44 .k;ra #ni (d2) "est do8 ciemna. %he skin o, #nia <#nia+s skin= is 9uite dark. 1the)nominati*e);)2>nia2)1personal)1first4)name44 /0osy >anueli (d2) s3 d0ugie, rude i lni3ce.

>anuela+s hair is long, red and shiny. 1the)nominati*e);)2Manuela2)1personal)1first4)name44 )in)Polish)we)don3t)use)a)collect*e)noun)for)2hair25)instead8)we)employ)the) plural)of)2wos" (a hair45)that3s)why)the)grammar)number)mismatch)between)the) original)sentence)and)the)translation: ))2Wosy ... s... an! "ere comes a list o# a!jecti$es in t"eir plural #orm%2 )))6)2(The) hair... is...25 )))one)more)thing:)the)adjecti*e)2ru!y" (here)inflected)into)plural)adjecti*e) "ru!e")to)fit)the)plural)2w<osy24)is)used)specifically)and)solely)with)reference) to)the)red)colour)of)the)hair8)or)to)a)red?head)person):44)

)s you can see& oth regular nouns and proper (personal) names are inflected into the genitive form and used in the function descri ed y this point (3a)3). 4owever& notice that this is not so with personal pronouns when a 3possessor3 is to e denoted y a personal pronoun (3!a3& 3ty3& 3on3& etc.)& we have to use an appropriate possessive pronoun : ?m;"$mo"a$mo"e..mo"e$moi (@)? my, ?t&;"$t&o"a$t&o"e..t&o"e$t&oi (@)? your, ?"ego? his, ?"e"? her, ?"ego? its (for "ono" 3.person.neuter), ?nasz$nasza$nasze..nasze$nasi (@)? our, ?ich? B their

"&asz$&asza$&asze..&asze$&asi (@)" yourA!l.,

(*))6)these)two)last)forms)refer)to)two)plural)genders:)non personal !asculine)and)personal !asculine )))6)we are not "oin" into the #etails of that now, $ut if you%re intereste# in the
&uestion of "en#ers, look there' http://free.of.pl/g/grzegorj/gram/en/gram0&.html@rodzaj)6)5)

))the)three)forms)that)come)before)the)two)marked)with)the)asteri+)1A4)apply)to) the)2possessed2)things)being)of)the)masculine8)the)feminine8)and)the)neuter) gender8)respecti*ely)1so8)we)ha*e8)e.g.8)2mBj)kot)1m428)2moja)truskawka)1f428) 2moje)dziecko)1n4245 ))when)the)2possessor2)is)in)the)third)person8)there)is)just)one)possessi*e) pronoun)ser*ing)for)e*ery)gender)of)the)things)posessed)1e.g.8)2jej)kot28)2jej) truskawka28)2jej)dziecko245 ))possessi*e)pronouns)follow)declension)6)what)is)presented)abo*e)are)possessi*e) pronouns)in)their)nominati*e)forms5)we3ll)get)to)the)inflection)patterns)for) possessi*e)pronouns)some)other)time... for)comparison8)here)are)the)geniti*e)case)forms)for)personal)pronouns: ?mnie? ("en. of "ja")8 ?ci( $ ciebie? (... of "ty"), ?"ego? ("on"), ?nas? ("!y"), ?"e"? ("ona"), ?&as? ("wy"), ?"ego? ("ono"), ?ich? ("oni")

( as)you)can)see)some)of)the)forms)are)identical ).

)nd note: while the 3possessor3 noun in genitive nearly always comes second in the word order& to the 3thing that is possessed3& a possessive pronoun nearly always comes efore the thing possessed. Cook: >o"e (possessi$e pronoun& &0osy s3 kr;tkie. >y hair is short. ?/0osy mo"e (poss.pron.& s3 kr;tkie.? not)plain)wrong8 %&;" (poss.pron.& !ies "est milutki. 1our dog is cute.

(notC D ?/0osy mnie (pers.pron. in !'& s3 kr;tkie.? WCDEF0

but)most)unnatural)in)normal)usage)

(notC D ?Pies ciebie (pers.pron. in !'& "est milutki.? WCDEFC ?Pies %&;" (poss.pron.& "est milutki.? not)plain)wrong8 but)most)unnatural)in)normal)usage)

)ego (poss.pron.& motocykl "est bardzo g0ony. Eis motorbike is very loud. 1here8)there)would)ha*e)been)less)difference8)because8)as)we)ha*e)noticed) earlier8)the)geniti*e)form)of)the)personal)pronoun)2on2)(he")is)identical)to)the) possessi*e)pronoun)for)that)person5)howe*er8)if)the)2je"o2)were)to)be)placed) after)the)subject)2!otocykl", then)the)resulting)sentence))6)2(otocykl jego jest go)ny.2))6)would)ha*e)looked)*ery)unnatural)and)stilted:)this)2je"o2)would)ha*e) been)percei*ed)as)being)the)possessi*e)pronoun)6)for8)as)we)know8)a)personal) pronoun)geniti*e)in)the)possessi*e)role)is)a)grammatical)error)6)and)the) positioning)of)a)possessi*e)pronoun)after)a)subject)is)only)allowable)in)solemn) utterances)and)in)*erse4

b) as the direct object in negative sentences. This is very characteristic of Polish grammar: in all the instances where a positive sentence has a direct o !ect in the accusative (and this is so pro a ly in more than I?J of all direct o !ects)& the corresponding negative sentence must have this direct o !ect set in the genitive. (side(note: 'uite a num er of careless andEor under(educated native Polish speakers have some difficulty with that rule& ut it sounds really ad if someone& who otherwise speaks fluent Polish& makes the mistake of leaving direct o !ects in the accusative in negative sentences).

F
.ote: a very typical e*ample of this usage is the Polish way of saying ?there is not GsomethingH Ihere, thereJ $ there are not Gsome thingsH Ihere, thereJ $ Gsomething, some thingsH isn+t (aren+t) Ihere, thereJ? ?Kie ma Itu, tamJ Gnoun in genitiveH? D

the cause for the use of the genitive lies in the literal reading of a sentence of this type: ?Ginde,inite sub"ect <L=, M.!erson.singularH nie ma Gob"ect <N=H?

?Ginde,inite sub"ect <L=, M.!erson.singularH doesn+t have Gob"ect <N=H? <L= A in)this)case:)an)unidentified)3somebody3)representing)us)all

))))))))...)and)an)additional)important)fact)is)that)the)2rekcja2)for)the)*erb)
2mieG2)1to ha(e4)wants)an)object)in)the)accusati*e

<N= A in)this)case:)the)thing)that)is)3missing38

 as you can see& the thing that is 3missing3 the 3thing3 from the sentence 3there isn't 'a 'thing'(3 is the direct object (of the ver 3mieK3)& and so in the negative sentence (3### nie ma ### 3) the 3thing3 must e put in the genitive. %u nie ma mo"ego kota (d2). >y cat isn+t here.

))1the)corresponding)positi*e)sentence)would)be)6)and)watch)out)for)a)totally)

<9uite)literallyD Eere (it) doesn+t have my cat.=

different)grammatical)construction8)including)the)fact)that)in)this)one)2kot2)is) the)subject)(!!): ?>;" kot (d1) "est tu.? >y cat is here.)

/ther e*amples of negative sentences: Kie g0aszcz( mo"ego kota (d2) zbyt cz(sto. * don+t stroke my cat too o,ten. 1notice8)howe*er8)that)the)noun)2kot2)has)identical)forms)for)the)geniti*e)(d2) and)the)accusati*e)(d4)8)so)that)a)positi*e)sentence8)which)takes)the)object)in) accusati*e8)looks)practically)the)same: P0aszcz( mo"ego kota (d4) bardzo cz(sto. * stroke my cat very o,ten.) Kie "em truska&ki (d2). *+m not eating a stra&berry. 1Hhe)positi*e)would)be:)2Iem)truskawk=)(d4).24 Kie gryz( truska&ki (d2). *+m not che&ing a stra&berry. 1P:)2Fryz=)truskawk=)(d4).24 Kie mam dziecka (d2). * don+t have a child. 1P:)2Mam)dziecko)(d4).2):)notice)that)the)accusati*e)in)the)neuter)nouns)1i.e.) those)ending)in)2?o2)is)always)the)same)as)the)nominati*e)1d,8)the)2basic2) form44 Kie lubi( "e" dziecka (d2). * don+t like her child. 1P:)2Jubi=)jej)dziecko)(d4).24 #y negatives we don't only mean negative statements ut also negative interrogatives (8 'uestion sentences) and negative imperatives (8 orders or re'uests): Kie g0aszcz ich dziecka (d2)C 'on+t stroke their childC 1a)positi*e)imperati*e)sentence)would)be:)2F<aszcz)ich)dziecko)(d4)02...) although)a)more)natural)one)would)actually)be)2Pog<aszcz)ich)dziecko)(d2)02:)why) is)that)so)is)a)subject)for)another)lecture...)5)as)for)now8)we3re)trying)to) concentrate)on)the)fact)that)where)positi*e)sentences)of)any)kind)6)including) imperati*es8)like)here)6)ha*e)objects)in)the)accusati*e8)the)corresponding) negati*e)sentences)ha*e)them)in)the)geniti*e4 Kie "ad0e "eszcze nigdy & :yciu truska&ki (d2)Q

Eave you never eaten a stra&berry in your li,eQ 1note)that)in)Polish)we)use)a)double)negati*e)in)such)sentences: ))2)ie ja#*e+ ... ni"#y ...2)6)2nigdy2)means)2ne*er2)6)while)in):nglish)you) either)say)2Ka*en3t)you)e*er)...2)or)2Ka*e)you)ne*er)...25 )a)positi*e)9uestion)here)would)be:)2!zy)jad<eL)juM)kiedyL)1w)Myciu4)truskawk=) (d4)N2)6)2Ka*e)you)already)Oe*erP)eaten)a)strawberry)1in)QyourQ)life4N24

)nd let's stress that once again: we are talking here of sentences whose ver s take direct objects in the accusative which is the a solute ma!ority of ver s that take direct o !ects (more a out direct o !ects and the accusative case in the section a out the accusative further on in the te*t). These ver s include those used in the e*amples a ove: 3mieK3 (to ha e"& 3!eLK3 (to eat"& 3g7askaK3 (to stroke (gi e caress""

c) Hor some verbs the object must always e in t e genitive (instead of the usual accusativedB). "n other words: they present a (fi*ed) case government for the genitive. )mong those ver s are: 3dotyka8? (to touch)& 3u:y&a83 (to use)& 3do&iadcza83 (to e)perience (sth", to suffer (sth")&
3!ozby&a8 si(3 (to get rid of)& Mbroni83 (to defend)& 3!ilno&a83 (to watch o er sth*sb + to stand guard to sth*sb + to keep an eye on sth*sb) Pozby&am si( tego kota (d2)C *+m getting rid o, that catC R:y&am truska&ki (d2) do zrobienia tego kokta"lu.

* use a stra&berry to make that cocktail. 1...)literally)it3s)more)like:)2(...) for the !akin" of that cocktail.28)but) that3s)not)really)important)right)now4 %a kobieta !ilnu"e mo"ego dziecka (d2), gdy "estem & !racy. %hat &oman &atches over my child &hen *+m at &ork.

Bezdomni cz(sto do&iadcza"3 zimna (d2). %he homeless o,ten su,,er cold. 1the)nominati*e);)2zimno2)1noun8)neuter44 'otkn(0am gor3cego garnka (d2) i si( !o!arzy0am.

* touched <fe!.= a hot cookingA!ot and * burned <fe!.= mysel,. 1the)nominati*e);)21gorRcy)?adj.4)garnek2)1masc.45)the)refle+i*e)pronoun)2si=2)6) which8)in)Polish8)is)the)same)for)all)persons8)i.e.8)it)stands)e9ually)for:) 2myself28)2yourself8)2himself28)...8)2yoursel*es28)2themsel*es2)6)is)usually)not) placed)2hanging)out2)as)the)last)word)in)a)sentence4 Pra&o !o&inno broni8 ka:dego oby&atela (d2). %he la& should de,end every citizen. 1the)nominati*e);)21kaMdy4)obywatel2)1masc.44 BroS mnie (d2)C 'e,end meC

d) when a certain !uantit" of a su stance (or even of something a stract) is the complement (the o !ect or a 3'uasi(o !ect3) of a ver that su stance comes in the genitive in those situations. /ften ( ut not always) a word like 3trochN3 (some)& or 3odro inN3 (a little bit of) precedes a su stantive put in genitive used this way:
Kale" mi &ina (d2), !rosz(. Pour me (some) &ine, !lease. 1in):nglish)you)need)to)add)the)word)2some28)in)Polish)6)because)the)*erb)choice) and)the)geniti*e)complement)6)it)is)not)strictly)necessary:)it)becomes)e*ident) that)it3s)some)9uantity)of)wine)that)is)meant5 )the)nominati*e);)2wino2)1neutr.44

%rzeba doda8 odrobin( cukru (d2).

<in English it would probably be best to sayD ?*t needs a some$a little more sugar.?= 1the)nominati*e);)2cukier2)1m44 %ego (d2) "est tu mn;st&oC %here is a lot o, that in hereC 12Hego2);)"enit. of "to" ("this,that"));)2of that2)6)it3s)abstract:)we)don3t) know)what)the)speaker)was)talking)about8)but)it3s)not)important:)the)speaker) wants)to)inform)us)about)the)9uantity)of)so!ethin")6)we)are)probably)e+pected)to) know)from)the)conte+t)what)it)is)that)he/she)means4 >am "u: do8 "ego zacho&ania (d2)C * already have enough o, his behaviourC 1the)nominati*e);)21jego4)zachowanie2)1fem.45)in)proper):nglish8)one)that)is) more)remote)from)Polish)synta+8)this)sentence)would)be:)273*e)already)had)enough) of)his)beha*iour.24

%here is a need to $ *t is necessary (= %rzeba...) to add a little bit o, sugar.

e) many prepositions (and prepositional e*pressions) are always followed with nouns in the genitive. "n other words: those prepositions govern the genitive case. +ome of them are (" cannot a solutely warrant that the list is complete& ut " guess " managed to remem er most of them :)):
A ?dla? (,or) A ?od? (,romD for all situations not covered y the preposition 3z$ze3 Dlook elowF: and especially& when you get something from a person) A ?do? (to, into)

A ?z$ze? (out o, in the sense that something is made of something (parts& materials)$

out o, $ ,rom (inside) to say that some ody or something comes from a place& is taken out of a place& or has this place as the origin$ in case of people& it can e used to denote the country& the city& etc.& that they come from$ generally speaking& this is the preposition to which the -nglish 3from3 would e translated in clear ma!ority of situations$ ?ze? is a phonetic variant used in those situations in which the first sound of the following word
would make pronounciation nearly impossi le: so& we have 3ze srebra3 and not 3z srebra3) A ?bez? (&ithout) A ?obok? (beside, neTt to) A ?na ze&n3trz? (outside)

A ?&e&n3trz? = ?& rodku? (inside) A ?!o&y:e"? (higher than, above) A ?!oni:e"? (lo&er than, belo&) A ?&zd0u:? (along, alongside) A ?zamiast? (instead o,)

A ?!odczas? = ?& czasie? (during)

Uaz & tygodniu ku!u"( "edzenie dla kota (d2). -nce in a &eek * buy ,ood ,or the cat. Vhyba z"em gruszk( zamiast truska&ki (d2).

* think ("chyba" = I think that / it seems to me that / probably) * &ill eat a !ear instead o, a stra&berry.

'osta0a to & !rezecie od dziecka (d2). .he got this as a !resent ,rom a$the$her child.

.ome eTam!les using other nouns to demonstrate the use o, the remaining !re!ositions ,ollo&ed by nouns in the genitiveD 'la >anueli (d2) !ortugalski "est 0at&y. 'la mnie (d2) "est trudny.

4or >anuela Portuguese is easy. 4or me 6it6 is di,,icult. 1the)nominati*es);)2Manuela2)1...)yes8)declension)applies)to)proper)names)as) well45)2ja2)1pers.pron.45 )side?note:)notice)that8)in)Polish8)in)the)second)sentence)there)is)no)need)for) an)e+plicit)subject)6)just)like)in)Portuguese)or)%panish8)it3s)enough)to)say) 2Sla)mnie)jest)trudny.2:)2Sla)mnie)on)jest)trudny.2)wouldn3t)be)wrong8)but)it) would)be)unnatural)in)this)place5)O2portugalski2)T)2j=zyk)portugalski2)()2j=zyk) 1masculine42)()2on2P4 5dener&o&any cz0o&iek chodzi od ciany (d2) do ciany (d2). <literallyD ,rom &all to &all= 1the)nominati*e);)2Lciana2)1f44

#n u!set <nervousW angered= !erson is &alking ,rom one &all to another.

%en naszy"nik "est ze z0ota (d2). %his necklace is (made) out o, gold. 1the)nominati*e);)2z<oto2)1neuter45 )2ze2)is)a)form)of)2z2)6)there)are)just)those)two)e+isting)1the)2z2)and)the) 2ze"&* don3t)worry:)there)are)no)words)2zi2)or)2zu2...)well...)there)is)2za28) but)that3s)a)different)preposition...)and)a)different)story):4 )the)2ze2)is)used)when)the)first)syllable)of)the)substanti*e)that)follows)would) make)it)too)difficult)to)pronounce)the)it)together)with)the)preposition5 )for)the)story)of)2za2)6)which)is)a)totally)different8)unrelated)preposition)6) look)into)sections)about)prepositions)in)the)descriptions)of)the)accusati*e)and) instrumental)cases4 ))))/oody #llen "est z Ko&ego )orku (d2). )a "estem z rako&a (d2). ))))Vzy "este z Polski (d2)Q

))))>;" !rzy"aciel "est)z Brazylii (d2). 5es!;0 #BB# by0 ze .z&ec"i (d2). /oody #llen is ,rom Ke& 1ork. *+m ,rom rak;&.

>y ,riend is ,rom Brazil. %he band #BB# &as ,rom .&eden. #re you ,rom PolandQ 1the)nominati*es);)2Eowy)Iork2)1m428)2UrakBw)1m428)2'razylia)1f428 )2%zwecja)1f428)2Polska)1f424
))))Ka"le!sze zegarki s3 ze .z&a"carii (d2). ))))%ego ciasta nie u!iek0a mo"a mama. -no "est ze skle!u (d2). ))))%e "ab0ka s3 z mo"ego drze&a (d2). %he best &atches are$come ,rom .&itzerland.

>y mom didn+t bake this cake@. *t is <comes= ,rom a sho!. %hese a!!les are <come= ,rom my tree. 1the)nominati*es);)2%zwajcaria)1f48)21to4)ciasto)1n428)2sklep)1m428)21moje4) drzewo)1n425)the)noun)2jab<ka28)as)you)can)guess8)is)the)subject)of)the)last) sentence8)so)it3s)in)the)nominati*e)form)as)well8)but)this)is)the)plural) nominati*e)6)the)singular)is)2jab<ko)1n425 )73*e)combined)the)sentences)again8)as)7)did)in)the)e+ample)abo*e8)because)they8) again8)demonstrate)a)common)trait:)in)the)pre*ious)e+ample8)the)common) denominator)was))the)notion)of)a)city)or)a)country)being)the)place)that)a)person)

comes)from5)in)this)e+ample8)we3re)talking)about)a)place)of)origin)for)a)thing5 )7)think)a)short)e+planation)is)due)with)regard)to)the)sentence)marked)with)the) asteri+)1A4.)Hhis)sentence)is)basically)the)same)as)the)following)sentence8)only) with)its)word?order)modified: )2Moja)mama)1d,4)nie)upiek<a)tego)ciasta)1d$4.2 Od$)6)because)2to)ciasto2)is)the)direct)object)in)a)negati*e)sentence:)we) ha*e)already)co*ered)this)application)of)the)geniti*e)in)the)point)2b42P )7)e+pect)you)now)to)be)asking)the)9uestion:)why)then)this)modified)word?orderN) Hhe)answer)is)the)emphasis.)7n)a)situation)like)we)ha*e)here)with)this)sentence) and)the)one)following)it8)in):nglish)one)would)use)the)passi*e)mode)in)the)first) one8)because)it)is)the)cake)the)that)is)central)to)the)message.)%o8)we)would) ha*e: 2Hhis)cake)wasn3t)baked)by)my)mom.)7t)comes)from)a)shop.2)1probably)the)Present) Perfect)Hense)should)actually)be)used)in)the)first)sentence:)2...)hasn3t)been) baked...28)but)let3s)not)get)further)into)that4. )7n)Polish8)howe*er8)1and)that3s)the)benefit)resulting)from)declension48)we)ha*e) a)*ery)fle+ible)word?order8)which)we)can)use)to)focus)the)reader3s)1or) listener3s4)attention)on)certain)parts)of)a)sentence)without)resorting)to)means) such)as)the)passi*e)*oice:)in)fact8)passi*e)*oice)is)not)used)too)often)in) Polish8)and)it)is)particularly)little)seen)in)informal)language.4 Kie b(d( dzi &ychodzi8 z domu (d2). * &ill not be getting out (o, home) today. 1the)nominati*e);)2dom)1m424 )ak d0ugo leci si( z /arsza&y (d2) do Pary:a (d2)Q

Eo& long is the ,light ,rom /arsa& to ParisQ <more literallyD Eo& long does one ,ly ,rom /arsa& to ParisQ= 1the)nominati*es);)2Warszawa)1f428)2ParyM)1f425 "leci si"' this is actually a su$ject for a separate little "lecture", $ut since it%s nothin" too co!plicate# why shoul# - lea(e it as a !ystery. /ou !i"ht $e reco"nizin" the "si" as the refle0i(e pronoun (which, inci#entally, is one an# sa!e for all "ra!!atical persons). 1owe(er, in this "ra!!atical construction, it #oesn%t ha(e !uch to #o with refle0i(eness. The co!$ination <verb in the 3.pers.sing> + "si" is use# in !uch the sa!e way as the "one/you" + <verb in the 3.pers.sing> in 2n"lish to speak a$out actions where the su$ject is poorly #efine#, or those that are talk of a uni(ersal e0perience' those of the secon# "roup usually ha(in" the nature of so!e e0peri!entally pro(e# truths, or reco!!en#ations. 20a!ples'
+ tym koncercie wci, jeszcze si m-wi. / +ne still keeps talking about t"at concert. / / 0eople still keep talking about t"at concert. 1!zie kupuje si znaczki pocztowe2 / W"ere !o you buy postal stamps2 3zym usuwa si te plamy2 / W"at !oes one remo$e t"ese stains wit"2)4

%he magician is taking (@out) a rabbit out o, a hat. 1the)nominati*es);)2krBlik2)1m48)2kapelusz2)1m45 )the)2Aout2)is)put)there)to)indicate)that)the)Polish)*erb)2wyjmowa2)means)2to) take)out)1of)somewhere42)6)this)*erb)is)only)used)when)the)object)of)the)action) is)inside)something4
Kie da si( :y8 bez !rzy"aci;0 (d2). *t+s im!ossible to live &ithout ,riends. 1the)nominati*e);)2przyjaciele2)1plural45 )the)phrase)2!a si2)6)being)a)specific)figure)of)speach)based)on)the)*erb) 2!awa2)1to "i(e4)6)is)used)impersonally)to)e+press)the)idea:)2it)is)possible) 1to)do)something428)2it)is)managable)1to)take/suffer)sth428)2Hhis)is)doable.26 123a si.244 Ka tym zd"(ciu sto"( obok mo"ego z&ario&anego kolegi (d2)

>agik &y"mu"e kr;lika (d4) z ka!elusza (d2).

 *n this !hoto *+m standing neTt to my crazy !al <!ale= and my best ,riend <fe!ale=. 1the)nominati*es)are:)21mBj)?possess.pron.4)1zwariowany)?adj.4)kolega)1masc.428 21moja)?p.p.4)1najlepsza)?adj.4)przyjaciB<ka)1fem.42 )note)that)the)conjunction)2i2)12and24)does)not)by)itself)ha*e)any) influence)on)the)declension)case)of)2moja najlepsza przyjaci-ka2)1conjunctions) are)totally)neutral)with)regard)to)declension4:)the)reason)why)that)part)of)the) sentence)is)in)the)geniti*e)is)that)it8)too8)is)associated)1and)go*erned)by4)the) preposition)2obok25)in)fact8)the)end)of)the)sentence)could)look)like)this:) 2...stoj obok mojego zwariowanego kolegi i obok mojej najlepszej przyjaci-ki.28)but)the)repetiti*e)2obok2)wouldn3t)look)well5 )in):nglish)you)say)2in)the)photograph28)in)Polish)you)use)the)preposition)2na2) which)most)conte+ts)corresponds)to)the):nglish)2on24.
/e&n3trz tego o&ocu (d2) nie ma !estki (d2).

i mo"e" na"le!sze" !rzy"aci;0ki (d2).

%here is no stone (= big seed) inside that ,ruit. 1Virst8)the)nominati*es:)21ten4)owoc2)1m48)2pestka2)1f45 )now8)notice)that)the)use)of)the)geniti*e)case)has)two)different)moti*ations) here:)2tego owocu2)is)demanded)by)the)preposition)2wewntrz28)2pestki2)is) demanded)by)the)fact)that)we)ha*e)2pestka2)as)the)object)of)a)negati*e)sentence) 6)in)this)case:)a)typical)2Hhere)is)no...2)sentence4 Vhcia0bym zobaczy8, co "est & rodku kota (d2).

* &ould like <!ale su$ject= to see &hat is inside a cat. 1...)of)course8)this)sentence)is)only)a)bit)of)black)humour5)and...)it3s) correct0)1although)73m)sure)cats)would)be)of)a)different)opinion):44 Ka ze&n3trz "ego domu (d2) stoi "aki !ode"rzany cz0o&iek (d1).

-utside his house there is a sus!iciousAlooking man$!erson standing. 1the)nominati*e);)21jego4)dom2)1m45 )2(jaki)& (po!ejrzany& czowiek2)1masc.4)is)the)subject)of)this)sentence:)once) again8)7)ha*e)used)the)fle+ible)word?order)to)place)the)key)element)of)the) sentence)at)the)the)head)of)it)6)that)sentence)e9uals)this)one:))24aki) po!ejrzany czowiek stoi na zewntrz jego !omu.28)where)you)ha*e)the)more) familiar)2subject8)*erb8)object2)order5 )7)can3t)resist)a)temptation)to)di*ert)your)attention)from)the)main)subject)for) yet)a)moment...:)note)that)the)2jego !om2)12his)house24)is)not)the)house) belonging)to)the)suspicious?looking)man)6)not)only)because)that)would)make)no) sense)as)far)as)the)message)of)the)sentence)is)concerned8)but)also)because)in) Polish)the)possessi*e)pronoun)used)for) )) )) the sub ect)) )of)a)sentence)is)2)) sw-j) !) 1inflected)appropriately)to)the)number8)gender)and)case)of)the)thing) 2possessed.24.):+amples: ))"4a umiem za!ba o swoje sprawy." / 5 can take care o# my business. ))"+na musi spakowa swoj walizk." / 6"e must pack "er suitcase.
272)is)the)subject)of)the)sentence8)and)the)2possessor2)of)the)business. 2%he2)is)the)subject)of)the)sentence)and)the)possessor)of)the)suitcase.

while)1when)the)subject)is)not)the)same)as)the)2possessor24...: ))"+na umie za!ba o moje sprawy." / 6"e can take care o# my business. ))"4a musz spakowa jej walizk." / 5 must pack "er suitcase. )Hhis)rule)is)not)*ery)strict)if)the)subject)is)the),st)or)the)$nd)grammatical) person)1either)singular)or)polural45)howe*er8)for)a)&rd)person)subject)a)*ariant) of)2sw-j2)is)the)only)correct)possessi*e)pronoun. )Hherefore8)had)7)wanted)to)say)that)a)suspicious)man)is)standing)outside)his) own)house8)7)would)ha*e)said: 20o!ejrzany czowiek stoi na zewntrz swojego !omu.24 / tym mie"scu &oda & morzu si(ga mi tylko !o&y:e" kolan (d2).

*n this !lace the &ater in the sea reaches ,or me only above my knees. 1first8)this)is)not)*ery)good):nglish8)but)7)didn3t)want)to)stray)too)far)away)

from)the)Polish)synta+)6)in)a)proper):nglish)it)would)be)something)like)this: 24t this spot, the water of the sea reaches only a$o(e !y knees.25 )second8))the)nominati*es:)2kolano2)1singular8)neuter8)nominati*e4)()2kolana2) 1singular8)neut.8)geniti*e45))2kolana2)1plural8)nominati*e...)yeah8)7)know)it) looks)just)like)sing.)geniti*e...4)()2kolan2)1plural8)geniti*e44 >am tego (d2) !o&y:e" uszu (d2)C * have this reaching above my earsC 1this)is)a)figurati*e)and)*ery)popular)way)of)saying 2I've really had enou h o! "his#25 )the)nominati*es:)2to2)12this24)1neuter45))2ucho2)1singular8)nominati*e4)() 2ucha2)1singular8)geniti*e48)uszy)1pl.)nom.4)()uszu)1pl.)geniti*e45)2tego2);) geniti*e)of)2to2)1demonstrati*e)pronoun45 )the)reason)for)the)geniti*e)form)of)2to2)12tego24)is)that)we3re)speaking)of) some)29uantity2)of)his)beha*iour8)or)rather)6)of)e+periencing)that)beha*iour:) look)at)the)last)e+ample)illustrating)the)earlier)point)2d424 %a sukienka "est d0uga (ona) si(ga !oni:e" kolan (d2). %his dress is long it reaches belo& the knees.

)ego &yniki by0y !oni:e" oczeki&aS (d2). Eis results &ere belo& eT!ectations. 1the)nominati*e:)2oczekiwania2)1plural)6)this)noun)usually)comes)in)plural44 %o by0 cios !oni:e" !asa (d2)C %his &as a blo& (a !unch) belo& the &aistlineC 1;)1fi"urati(e4)something)grossly)unfair5 )the)nominati*e);)2pas2)1masc.45)))note)that)2pas2)means)the)2waist2)1or) 2waistline"), i.e.)the)middle)part)of)a)human)body8)but)it)also)means)2a $elt2:) after)all8)that3s)where)you)wear)a)belt8)isn3t)itN):44 'roga biegnie &zd0u: rzeki (d2). %he road runs alongside the river. 1the)nominati*e:)2rzeka2)1f44 R:y&am o0;&ka (d2) zamiast d0ugo!isu (d2). * use a !encil instead o, a ballA!oint. 1the)nominati*es:)2o<Bwek2)1m48)2d<ugopis2)1m45 )the)moti*ations)for)the)use)of)geniti*e)are)different)for)the)two)nouns)in)the) sentence:)2o-wka (d2)2)is)demanded)by)the)*erb)2u,ywa2)1look)at)sub?point) 2c4248)2!ugopisu (d2)2 is)re9uired)by)the)preposition)2zamiast24 Podczas "azdy (d2) autobusem musisz trzyma8 si( !or(czy (d2).

'uring a ride in a bus you must hold onto a handrail. 1the)nominati*es);)2jazda2)1f48)2por=cz2)1f45 )like)in)the)pre*ious)e+ample8)the)reason)for)inflecting)2jaz!a2)into)its) geniti*e)12jaz!y24)is)the)2rekcja2)of)the)preposition)2po!czas28)and)the)reason) for)the)use)of)geniti*e)2porczy2)is)the)2rekcja2)of)the)*erb)2trzyma si2)1to) hold)on)/)to)hold)onto)sth45 )the)noun)2jaz!a2)can)describe)any)kind)of)journey)on)wheels8)including)getting) a)ride)in)a)car)or)dri*ing)one4 / czasie deszczu (d2) dzieci si( nudz3. 'uring the rain children get bored. 1or8)in)a)good):nglish:)25hil#ren "et $ore# when it%s rainin".25 )the)nominati*e);)2deszcz2)1m45 )maybe)it3s)not)the)best)place)for)that8)but)let)me)9uickly)clarify)that)the) *erbal)phrase)2to)get)bored2)corresponds)in)Polish)to)a)refle+i*e)*erb)2nudziG) si=2)6)now8)the)2si2)part)can)come)either)after)or)before)the)main)*erb8)and)it) is)usually)a*oided)that)the)2si2)would)come)as)the)last)word)in)a)sentence.4

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: >>> d". the dative (ce#ownik) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

a) The main function of the dative is to designate t e indirect object of a ver . ,hat it means is that if we have an action that takes an o !ect (a person or a material thing)& ut the result of the action affects another person (or thing)& then that 3another3 person (or thing) we call the indirect o !ect and the su stantive for that person (or thing) we (usually) put in the dative. "n -nglish& designation of the indirect o !ect is achieved through the use of constructions like 3to me3& 3for you3 or !ust y putting the indirect o !ect efore the direct o !ect in the order of the sentence.
4ere are some e*amples of -nglish sentences to show what " mean :) 3,he ga e me a book#3 3a ook3 is the direct o !ect& 3me3 is the indirect o !ect. 3-e bought his child a toy#3 3his child3 is the indirect o !ect& 3a toy3 is the direct o !ect. The o !ect of the ver 3to uy3 is the thing you uy& and that's the direct o !ect& ut an important goal of the sentence is to show the eneficiary of the purchase& the person whom the result of the action really affects and that's the child (the indirect o !ect of this sentence). 3.i e it to me#3 again& we have the ver 3to give3 here& ut in this case the indirect o !ect comes as second in the order of sentence& so the 3to me3 construction must e used.

)nd now some e*amples using the three model nouns: a cat& a straw erry& a child. Vzesz( kotu (d$) ,uterko (d4). * comb $ *+m combing the ,ur ,or my cat. 12futerko2);)diminuti*e)of)2futro25)when)we)speak)about)the)soft)coat)of)the) small)furry)animals8)we)use)the)dimuniti*e5)note:)a)more)uni*ersal)term)for)the) hairy)coat)of)an)animal)is)2sierLG2...)yeah8)how)did)7)guess)you)wouldn3t)like) it)muchN)54)1...)7)mean:)the)pronounciation.4))Wnfortunately8)this)the)only)word) to)use)with)regard)to)dogs)and)horses...5)all)neuter)nouns)1i.e.)these)ending) with)2?o2)ha*e)the)accusati*e)1d-4)form)identical)with)the)nominati*e)1d,44 Vukier doda"e s0odyczy (d2) truska&ce (d$). .ugar adds s&eetness to a stra&berry. 1in)most)situations)the)indirect)object)would)be)something)animate8)a)person)or) an)animal8)but8)as)this)e+ample)shows8)it)doesn3t)ha*e)to)be)so.)What)is) affected)by)the)adding)of)the)sugarN)2Hruskawka28)rightN):4))%o)we)ha*e)a) strawberry)in)the)dati*e. )67)don3t)want)to)pile)to)many)things)in)one)place8)but)in)this)sentence)you)can) see)another)e+ample)of)the)geniti*e)(d2))being)used)to)say)that)sugar)a)certain) amount8)or)some8)sweetness)1d,);)2s<odycz24)to)the)strawberry)6)this)is)the) aspect)of)geniti*e)usage)that)we3*e)talked)about)in)the)point)2d42)of)the) earlier)section4. Vzytam ksi3:eczk( mo"emu dziecku (d$). *+m reading a (children+s) book to my child. 1the)nominati*es);)2ksiRMeczka2)1f48)21moje4)dziecko2)1n45 )2ksi,eczka2)is)the)dimuniti*e)of)2ksi,ka2)1f4)which)is)2a)book2:)2ksi,eczka2) often)suggests)a)small)format)of)a)book)6)and)therefore)it)is)often)used)for) personal)documents)in)the)format)similar)to)that)of)a)passport)6)but)it)is)also) the)word)that)is)applied)to)all)books)for)little)children4

b) the important thing to remem er is that the action descri ed y the ver affects the indirect o !ect this says nothing a out the nature of the effect& which doesn't have to e& and very often is not& eneficial or advantageous to the indirect o !ect.
%hey <= somebody, we don't know who, some thieves= stole the &atch ?,or me?. 1of)course8)in):nglish)a)sentence)like)that)looks)ridiculous)and)one)would)say) 2Hhey)stole)my)watch.2))6)73m)just)trying)to)use)the)nearest)corresponding) grammatical)construction.)7n)Polish)it)is)also)correct)to)say)2Wkradli)mBj) zegarek.28)which)literally)has)the)meaning)of)2Hhey)stole)my)watch.25)howe*er8) this)doesn3t)appear)as)natural)as)the)*ariant)with)the)dati*e)which)puts) emphasis)on)the)person)affected5 )2mi2);)the)dati*e)of)2ja2)1pers.pron.44 %emu ch0o!cu (d$) umar0a matka (d1). Rkradli mi (d$) zegarek.

[syntax translation:] 4or that boy $ %o that boy 6his6 mother has died. 1>HH:EH7DE00:)the)2synta+)translation2)is)meant)to)show)the)structure)of)the) sentence0)Hhe)natural)way)to)speak)the)same)message)in):nglish)would)be:)2This $oy%s !other has #ie#.2.)>s)before)1in)the)sentence)with)the)watch48)we)prefer)a) sentence)like)27emu c"opcu (d$) umara matka.2)to)2(atka tego c"opca (d2) umara.2)in)situations)when)this)is)a)recent)e*ent)and)when)we)want)to)touch) upon)the)personal)and)tragic)aspect)of)the)fact.)We)want)to)show)that)what) happened)really)affected)somebody.)Hhe)second)sentence)6)which)literally)means) 2Hhe)mother)of)the)boy)1has4)died.2)12(atka tego c"opca umara.24)6)sounds) 9uite)impassionate)and)almost)suggests)that)this)is)something)that)happened)in)a) further)past.)>n)important)note)to)make)is)that)the)Polish)sentence)does)not) carry)the)meaning)that)the)mother)died)for the $oy)in)the)way)it)is)understood) in)the):nglish)language:)that)she)died)to)sa*e)his)life8)or)to)protect)him.)Eo.) Kere)we)speak)only)about)the)fact)that)her)death)influences)him)1his)life45 )21temu4)ch<opcu2);)the)dati*e)of)21ten4)ch<opiec25 )2matka2)is)the)subject)of)this)sentence)6)Polish)synta+)is)*ery)fle+ible8)so) there)is)no)problem)in)modifying)the)word)order)so)that)the)thing)that)the)whole) sentence)is)about)would)appear)right)at)the)start4 5e!su0 si( nam (d$) samoch;d. %he car broke do&n on us. 17)think)that)this)americanism)6)this)2on us2)6)has)a)*ery)similar)function)to) the)Polish)dati*e:)in)this)sentence)it3s)not)so)important)that)car)broke)down8) but)that)the)failure)affected)the)2us2:)probably8)2we" couldn3t)get)somewhere)on) time5 )2nam2);)the)dati*e)of)2my24

c) The Polish like it a lot to speak a out things happening without there eing some ody that can e held responsi le :) /O& !oke aside& "'m speaking here a out sentences with indeterminate subjects. +omething happened& ut we're totally uninterested or una le to say who did it. )nd yet... we are often interested who was affected y the action :)
Perhaps somewhat funnily& some of those things that we speak a out so impersonally in Polish are 'uite personal e*periences " guess we assume that they come to us whether we want them or not& and that's why we put ourselves as o !ects rather than su !ects of them :) Cook at these e*amples:

)est mi (d$) zimno. <syntax tr = (*t) is cold to me.

<proper En = * ,eel cold. (orD *t+s cold (here)).

)est mi cie!0o. * ,eel &arm. (...You don't need to give me your sweater, dear )) Vzy nie "est Vi (d$) za gor3coQ 'on+t you ,eel too hotQ (!""#$"I%$& this is not a 'uestion "(on't you think you're too attra)tive*" +))+ 12!i2);)the)dati*e)of)2Hy24 )e" (d$) "est smutno. .he ,eels sad. 12jej2);)the)dati*e)of)2ona24 )est mu (d$) trudno.

%hings are di,,icult ,or him. $ Ee+s ,inding his li,e hard. 12mu2);)the)dati*e)of)2on24

)s you can see& the repeating pattern of those e*amples isD )est X noun/pronoun in !ati$e X a!$erb 1all)ad*erbs)end)in)2?o28)so)if)you)know)that)something)is)not)a)noun)and)when) it)ends)in)2?o2)it)is)an)ad*erb5 )...)to)be)9uite)precise8)in)the)e+ample)with)2jej2)abo*e8)we)ha*e)the)pronoun) in)the)first)position)in)the)sentence8)but)that3s)just)a)matter)of)word)order:) placing)the)pronoun)first)makes)more)emphasis)be)put)on)it:)such)modification)to) the)word)order)may)suggest)that)the)2she2)of)the)sentence)was)sad)while)2the) others2)1some)2others28)we)don3t)know)who4)were)not5)of)course8)the)following) *ariant)of)the)sentence)is)e9ually)correct:)24est jej smutno.24.

There are also a few ver s a out impressions and personal e*periences for which we use a different type of dative construction which is& again& a construction in which the person who feels and e*periences the things is not the su !ect ut the indirect o !ect of the ver . %a !iosenka !odoba mi (d$) si(. <syntax tr = %his song ?!resents itsel, &ell? to me.

[proper En ] * like this song. 1Son3t)get)too)scared)about)the)seeming)2weirdness2)of)it.)>nd)don3t)take)this) :nglish)2present itself2)too)directly)6)the)Polish)*erb)2po!oba si2)isn3t)so) stiff)and)formal:)it)is)a)really)nice)*erb)whose)meaning)is)something)like)2to $e likea$le28)2to $e pleasin"2. )7t3s)important)that)you)understand)the)way)we)e+press)the)notion)that)we)like) something)in)the)Polish)language:)we8)sort)of8)don3t)say)that)it)is)us)who) choose)to)like)it)6)it)is)more)that)the)thing)itself)is)pleasing)and)we)cannot) help)being)affected)by)it.)7sn3t)that)sweetN)544 )>ctually8)7)belie*e)that)the)%panish)language)has)a)similar)dati*e)construction) for)the)27)like)sentences28)doesn3t)itN )))2!e gusta la canci"n 2)6)I like the song.) )))2#o me gustan hormigas 2)6)I don't like ants.

)one)note:)sentences)of)this)type) ))))20o!oba mi si)Xco))(d4)Y2 ))ha*e)the)meaning:) ))))2Xso!ethin"Y)appeals to !y senses)Oespecially to the si"htP2)56 )but)when)you)speak)about)something)that)fits)your)preference8)that)is)in)your)

taste8)that)you)ha*e)a)sympathy)for8)when)you)talk)about)people)you)like8)or)

things)to)eat8)when)this)2liking2)is)stronger)and)lasting8)then)you)say: ))))28ubi)Xco))(d4)Y25)this)e+pression)follows)the)typical)grammatical)patern8) i.e.)the)person)who)likes)this)2something2)1or)somebody4)is)the)subject)of)the) sentence4

6*t6 seems to me that * have done <masc v $orm= something &rong. 1actually)6)surprise8)surprise0)54))6)there)is)not)much)to)add)or)e+plain)there8) because)in):nglish)the)e+pression)is)similar8)the)only)difference)being)that)in) Polish)we)ha*e)a)refle+i*e)*erb:)2wy!awa si24 Przy!omnia0o mu (d$) si(, :e musi &zi38 lekarst&o.

/yda"e mi (d$) si(, :e co zrobi0em 7le.

[syntax translation:] 6*t6 reminded itsel, to him, that he has to take a medicine. 12mu2);)the)dati*e)of)2on25 )well8)there3s)one)more)thing)that)you)might)ha*e)noticed:)in)Polish8)in)a)noun) clause)%which is a type o$ subordinate clause like the one in this example, i e , one that serves as a complement o$ the verb o$ the main clause&)we))) don$t)) )adjust)the)tense)to)fit)the)tense)of)the)main)clause)6)so)we) ha*e)2!usi2)1present)tense4)no)matter)what)the)tense)of)the)main)sentence:)in) this)case)6)the)past)12przypo!nia*o si244 Yni0o "e" (d$) si(, :e lata. .he dreamt she &as ,lying. 17t3s)9uite)impossible)to)make)a)2synta+)translation2)for)this)one.)Hhe)*erb) 2)ni2)can8)in)some)situations8)be)used)like)2to #rea!2)in):nglish8)with)the) 2dreamer2)being)the)subject)and)the)acti*e)agent)in)the)sentence:)24a )ni.2)?) 2-%! #rea!in".2))'ut)in)case)you)want)to)tell)the)story)of)a)*ision)you)had)in) your)sleep8)it)is)much)more)common)and)more)natural)to)say)that)something)2was) dreamt)to)you2.)7)think)it)makes)a)lot)of)sense8)because)we)don3t)acti*ely)shape) our)dreams8)do)weN)1...)Kello8)Mr.)Vreud0)545 )in)this)e+ample)you)can)see)again)how)the)noun)clause)1the)subordinate)clause4) is)in)present)tense)12lata2:)the)past)would)ha*e)been)2lataa"& e*en)though)the) main)clause)speaks)about)an)action)that)was)happening)in)the)past:)2)nio jej si2)?)the)present)would)be)2)ni jej si244

Ee remembered that he had to take a medicine.

d) +ome ver s take t e main object in dative (like an indirect o !ect) even if there is no direct o !ect (which nearly always comes in the accusative) given in the sentence. Cook at those e*amples:
Z dzi(ko&a8 (to thank)D

'zi(ku"( Vi (d$). %hank you. 1and)not)2Szi=kuj=)Hy)(d1).2)or)2Szi=kuj=)!i=)(d4%a&&us.).24 Podzi(ku" temu !anu (d$). %hank this gentleman. [imperative sentence] 1the)nominati*e);)21ten4)pan24 Podzi(ku" "e" (d$) za !rezent. %hank her ,or the !resent. [imperative sentence] 1the)nominati*e);)2ona24.

<ust consider that (in the logic of the Polish language) thanking is not a process in which you somehow modify or directly influence some ody& which is what usually happens when you have actions (ver s) that take a direct o !ect. 6ather than that& thanking seems to e viewed as an action that is only directed at some ody. "t so as if we didn't 3thank a person3 (3dziNkowaK kogo/ (d4)3 incorrect) ut thanked 3to a person3 (3dziNkowaK komu/ (d )3) (of course& this second e*pression is incorrect in -nglish).

) similar thing happens with the Polish ver 3to help3 (Z !omaga8). ,e look upon the action as one of 3gi ing help to someone3 (3pomagaK komu/ (d$)3)& rather than doing something that somehow directly changes the person that is eing helped. Vz(sto !omagam mo"emu tacie (d$). * o,ten hel! my dad. 1the)nominati*e);)21mBj4)tata2)1masc.44 )anek !omaga s&o"emu bratu (d$) na!isa8 &y!raco&anie szkolne.

)ohnny is hel!ing his brother &rite a school essay. 1the)nominati*e);)2jego/1swBj4)brat2)1masc.45 )the)use)of)inflected)2sw-j2)1instead)of)2jego24)is)dictated)by)the)fact)that) the)2possessor2)refered)to)by)this)possessi*e)pronoun)is)also)the)subject)of)the) sentences))?)73*e)presented)that)shortly)as)an)e+tended)side)note)to)one)of)the) e+amples)in)the)point)2e42)of)the)section)on)the)geniti*e4. Pom;: mi (d$)C Eel! meC

Another important verb using an indirect object in the dative is the Polish equivalent o the !nglish "to say / to tell / to speak" "Z m-wi"" #ell, this is not one verb in Polish to cover all situations o a person speaking or saying things to another person $ other people, but this is certainly the one most used" %he person that you tell the things al&ays comes in the dative, &hether the sentence says &hat &as said or not" 'ne note( un ortunately, the per ective orm o the verb "m)&i*" is quite irregular( "po&ied+ie*"" ,#e-ll talk about the per ective aspect o verbs at some other occasion."
Po&iem mo"e" dzie&czynie (d$) o moich !roblemach.

* &ill tell my girl,riend about my !roblems. 1the)nominati*e);)21moja4)dziewczyna2)1fem.4 )si#e note:)yes8)7)could)ha*e)also)used)2swojej2)in)place)of)2mojej2)in)that) sentence5)howe*er8)this)is)not)obligatory)for),st?person)subjects)1while)it)is) obligatory)in)case)of)some)of)the)other)grammatical)persons8)particularly:)the) &rd45)in)fact)the)indi*idual)possessi*e)pronoun)12moja248)when)used)with)a),st? person)subject8)appears)more)personal4 Po&iedz mi (d$)C %ell meC 5a&sze m;&i( Vi (d$) !ra&d(C * al&ays tell you the truthC W) Po&iedzia0 s&o"emu tacie (d$), :e rozbi0 "ego samoch;d.

Ee told his dad that he had crashed his <i.e., his ,ather+s= car. 1the)nominati*e)2jego/1swBj4)tata2)1masc.45 )once)again)you)can)obser*e)the)use)of)an)2indi*idual2)possessi*e)pronoun) 12jego24)and)the)2generic28)2meant?for?the?subject2)2swBj2:)the)dad)2belongs2) directly)to)the)guy)who)is)the)subject)of)the)sentence5)the)car8)howe*er8) doesn3t)directly)belong)to)the)guy8)but)to)the)dad)6)and)this)we)are)informed) about)on)account)of)the)2jego2)ha*ing)been)placed)before)the)car.)Kad)the)car) also)directly)belonged)to)the)guy8)the)sentence)would)ha*e)been)as)follows: )2Powiedzia<)swojemu)tacie8)Me)rozbi<)swBj)samochBd.2)?)here)the)owner)of)the) car)and)the)2owner2)of)the)dad)is)the)same)person.4 >;&i0em mu (d$), :eby u&a:a0. * told him <not once= to be care,ul. 1...)again8)this)is)a)matter)of)the)perfecti*e)/)imperfecti*e)aspect)of)a)*erb8) and)we)won3t)deal)with)that)here)in)detail)?)let)me)just)say)that)2m-wiem2)is) the)imperfecti*e)form)of)2m-wi28)and)that)if)the)sentence)was)meant)to)inform) about)a)single)specific)warning)then)we)would)ha*e)it)use)the)perfecti*e)and8) conse9uently8)look)like)this:)20owie!ziaem mu9 ,eby uwa,a.2...)of)course8)in) both)cases)it)is)a)male)person)who)was)gi*ing)the)warning:)if)it)had)been)a) female8)the)conjugated)*erb)would)ha*e)ended)with)2:am244

There is pro a ly yet a num er of ver s that use dative for the main o !ect. Two more that " can think of now are 3Z wierzy Pkomu/ (d )Q3: to belie e PsomebodyQ& and 3Z u#a Pkomu/+czemu/ (d )Q3: to trust PsomebodyEsomethingQ /ierz( Vi (d$). * believe you.

Kie &ierz( temu !olityko&i (d$)C * don+t believe that !oliticianC 1the)nominati*e);)21ten4)polityk2)1masc.44 R,am mo"e" !rzy"aci;0ce (d$). * trust my (,emale) ,riend. 1the)nominati*e);)21moja4)przyjaciB<ka2)1fem.44 Po !rostu "e" (d$) u,am. * sim!ly trust her. 1the)nominati*e);)2ona2)1personal)pron.44 Kie u,am mo"emu kotu (d$)C * don+t trust my catC 1nominati*e);)21mBj4)kot24 1Zou)might)want)to)notice)that)in)the)negati*e)sentences)abo*e)the)objects)do) not)change)into)geniti*e.)Cemember:)only)the)direct)objects)in)the)accusati*e) case)change)their)grammatical)case)1to)the)geniti*e4)in)negati*e)sentences.4)

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: >>> d4. the accusative (bie%nik) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The accusative is y far the most used case for direct objects which means that& e*cept for some ver s that take direct o !ect in the genitive (some of which " already presented earlier) and really few that use the instrumental case (which "'ll cover later)& almost e ery transitive verb has its direct o !ect in the accusative. "n other words& if you have a ver that speaks a out some action that has an o !ect& in a out R?J of situations that o !ect will e in accusative case. The direct o !ect is what the action of the ver directly influences or changes in some way. "t can also e a direct result of an action. #$$%&$'(&)* in negative sentences +e al+a"s use t e genitive instead o, t e accusative) -*amples: armi( (r4) mo"ego kota (d4). *+m ,eeding my cat. /0anie kro"( (r4) ostatni3 truska&k( (d4). )ust no& *+m cutting the last stra&berry. 1nominati*e);)21ostatnia4)truskawka24 >atka uczy (r4) dziecko (d4) my8 z(by (d4).

%he mother teaches the child to &ash 6its6 teeth. 1nominati*es);)2dziecko2)1neuter:)the neuter nouns, all o, whi)h end with "-o", have identi)al ,orms ,or the nominative and ,or the a))usative48)2z=by2)1plural:)nouns whose plural ,orm ends with "-y" in the nominative, have the same ,orm in the a))usative45)the)singular)nominati*e)is)2zRb2)1masc.4)1a tooth445 notice)that)we)ha*e)two)*erbs)here)6)the)entire)phrase)2my zby2)is)the) indirect)object)of)the)*erb)2uczy28)but8)more)importantly8)let3s)obser*e)that) both)of)the)*erbs)12uczyG2)and)2myG24)are)transiti*e)and)take)a)direct)object)in)

the)accusati*e)6)%45)the)direct)object)of)2uczy2)is)the)person)you)teach)6)in) this)case:)2dziecko)(d4)28)and)the)direct)object)of)the)*erb)2my2)is)what)you) wash)6)2z=by)(d4)24)

" could practically end there... ut why not have a few more e*amplesA :) (especially if " have found them& so " didn't even have to invent them :) "'ve orrowed the e*ample sentences from a matchless free compendium of Polish grammar y ;rzegorz <agodzi=ski& availa le online at: http://free.of.pl/g/grzegorj/gram/en/gram00.html ) >atka &idzi (r4) syna (d4). #$%he mother sees 6her6 son. 1the)nominati*e);)2syn2)1masc.44 .0ysz( (r4) muzyk( (d4). * (can) hear music. 1d,);)2muzyka2)1fem.44 )emy (r4) obiad (d4). /e are eating dinner. 1d,);)2obiad2)1masc.44 Pi"ecie (r4) &ino (d4). 1ou are drinking &ine. 1d,);)2wino2)1neuter44. -!o&iem (r4 ' (op"ional) r$) Vi (d$) ba"k( (d4).

* &ill read you a children+s story $ a ,able $ a ,airyAtale. 1d,);)2bajka2)1fem.45 )the)translation)to):nglish)makes)things)a)bit)confused)but)the)direct)object) here)is)2bajka28)because)what)you)read)is)a)story8)not)a)person)6)the)person)you) read)the)story)to)is)the)indirect)object)of)the)action)of)reading5)the):nglish) sentence)can)be)easily)modified)to)show)that)clearly:)2- will a story to you.24 Pac"ent dosta"e (r4) lekarst&o (d4) codziennie z rana. %he !atient gets the medicine every day in the morning. 1d,);)2lekarstwo2)1neuter44 %&o"e zacho&anie (r4) mart&i rodzic;& (d4). 1our behaviour &orries 6your6 !arents. 1parents);)2rodzice2)1d,8)pl.45)singular)2parent2)6)2rodzic2)e+ists8)but)is) rarely)used8)because)in)Dld?Polish)that)word)clearly)referred)to)a)father8)not) to)a)mother.)Hherefore8)2rodzic2)is)used)only)in)the)formal)language.)Hhe) normally)used)form)is)2je!no z ro!zic-w2)6)2one)of)the)parents2.4

/h yes& " would have nearly forgotten that there are a couple of prepositions that take words in accusative :)

" can now recall five: 3na3& 3po!3& 3za3& 3prze!3& and 3w/we3... There's a catch& though. These prepositions do not always govern the accusative case. There are no prepositions with a single 3rekcja3 for the accusative case. These five " have !ust named are prepositions that elong to what "'d like to call a 3dual-re.cja3 category. This means that they govern one case in one type of situations& and another one in other situational settings. ,ell& it's not so ad& as it looks at the first glance: all those prepositions have a 3primary rekc!a3 S which for the 3na3 and the 3w+we3 is the locative (dT)& while for the 3pod"& the 3za3 and the 3przed3 is the instrumental (dU) S and they have a 3secondary rekc!a3& which is always one for the accusative. .ow& the 3primary rekc!a3 is the one that is used in the ma!ority of situations ("'d like to refer to them as 3static situations3). The rekcja for the accusative (3the secondary rekc!a3) applies only to the situations where the preposition descri es the destination& the goal& or the specific target of an aimed movement S which can also e an action of thrusting& poking& sta ing& or shooting. "'d like to refer to them as the 3motionto+ards situations3. The important thing characterizing the 3motion*towards situations3 that re'uire the use of the accusative rekc!a is that the movement would e directed& that it would e dynamic& and that it would e aimed at reaching the target. " realize that in theory it looks like a pretty izzare concept& ut the e*amples will show you that it's not that difficult in practice.

4ere are the prepositions again: ?na? on to! o, $ onto the to! o, the version that is used with a word in the accusative is ?onto the

to! o,?

?!od? under (underneath, beneath) again& the word that comes after it is put in the accusative only when there is aimed movement directed to a place which is underneath something ?za? behind $ in behind the second translation variant carries the sense of a motion*towards situation& which is one where we would put the su stantive that follows in the accusative ?!rzed? in ,ront o, $ to the ,ront o, in the instances where the second translation variant applies& we have the accusative rekc!a ?&$&e? in $ in (into) this preposition governs the accusative nearly e*clusively in situations where the following su stantive is a target of a thrusting& poking& punching& pricking& kicking or shooting action$ watch out not to form too strong a mental association etween the 3w/we3 and the -nglish 3into3& as the 3into3 more fre'uently corresponds to the Polish preposition 3!o3 (which we have already met with in the section about the genitive, which is the declension case it governs) 1the)2w/we2)*arianti*ity)is)moti*ated)by)facilitating)pronounciation)6)just)like) in)case)of)the)2z/ze2)that)we)ha*e)already)seen)in)the)section)on)the)geniti*e4

-*amples: .koczy0 na st;0 (d4). Ee "um!ed onto a$the table.

&utD [e:a0 na stole (d6(lo&a"ive). Ee &as lying on a$the table. 1the)nominati*e);)2stB<2)1masc.44 .amoch;d (d1) !rze&r;ci0 si( na dach (d4). #$%he car rolled onto its roo,.

&utD .amoch;d (d1) le:a0 na dachu (d6). #$%he car &as lying on its roo,. 1the)nominati*e);)2dach2)1masc.44 Uzucam !ieni3dze (d4direct object) na st;0 (d4because of the preposition and the dynamic action).

&utD Pieni3dze (d1) le:3 na stole (d6). %he money is lying on the table. 1nominati*es:)2pieniRdze2)1plural[the word is usually used in plural48)2stB<2)1masc.44 /chodz( !od st;0 (d4). *+m coming in under a$the table.

*+m thro&ing money on the table.

&ut6:)).iedz( !od sto0em (d5(ins"rumen"al). *+m sitting under a$the table.

ot (d1) ucieka !od st;0 (d4). #$%he cat is running [running to hide ' escaping] under a$the table. &utD ot (d1) !i !od sto0em (d5). %he cat is slee!ing under a$the table.

)nd now for an interesting e*ample :) : The refle*ive ver 3c"owa si3 (literally: 3to be hiding oneself3) can e used in two ways: G. to say that a s dEsth is moving furtively (silently& 3invisi ly3) to a place where they can hide& or >. to say that s dEsth is 3staying low3 in a hide(out.

.ow look how the choice of the declension case tells us whether the little girl is still running to her hide(out& or if she's already there& !ust lying low and keeping 'uiet notice that nothing changes in the whole sentence e*cept for the gram. case of one noun :) 'zie&czynka (d1) cho&a si( !od 0;:ko (d4).

#$%he little girl is going in under a$the bed to hide there. 1nominati*e);)2<BMko2)1neut.44 'zie&czynka (d1) cho&a si( !od 0;:kiem (d5).

#$%he little girl is hiding under the bed. 1we)don3t)know)how)long)she3s)been)there5)actually8)she)might)ha*e)just)slid)in) there8)but)she)is)not)in)the)process)of)running)to)the)bed)or)s9ueezing)in)under) it)right)now):44

Pac"ent &chodzi za !ara&an (d4). %he !atient comes in behind the screen. 1nominati*e);)2parawan2)1masc.44 !ompareD Pac"ent (d1) czeka na lekarza (d4) za !ara&anem (d5)ins"rumen"al).

#$%he !atient is &aiting ,or a$the doctor behind the screen. 1the)nominati*es);)2lekarz2)1m48)2parawan2)1m45 )accidentally8)we)ha*e)one)unplanned)usage)e+ample)here)6)2na)lekarza2)is)also)a) situation)where)we)ha*e)the)preposition)2na2)followed)by)a)noun)in)the) accusati*e):)howeve%' this)is)something)a)bit)different8)because)here)the)2na2) doesn3t)ha*e)the)function)of)telling)us)about)a)location)6)this)2na" belongs)to) the)2rekcja2)of)the)*erb)2czeka2:)in):nglish)we)say)2to wait for s$#,sth28)in) Polish8)"czeka na kogo)/co))(d4)24 /ysz0am za drz&i (d4).

* &ent [$em verb $orm] out o, the door $ * ste!!ed outside (through) the door. [literally:] * &ent behind the door. [bad English]

!ompare6:)).ta0am za drz&iami (d5). * &as standing [$em verb $orm] behind the door. 1the)nominati*e);)2drzwi2)1always)plural)in)Polish044 -n za&sze !cha si( !rzed szereg (d4). Ee al&ays !ulls ,or&ard o, the line.

[even more literally:] Ee al&ays !ushes himsel, to (a !lace) in ,ront o, the line. 1the)nominati*e);)2szereg2)1masc.45 )the)phrase)2pc"a si prze! szereg2)is)a)Polish)idiom)signifying)as)much)as)2to come out olunteering when nobody needs you to, or when it can e en cause trouble or embarassment25) its)meaning)is)noticeably)different)from)the)seemingly)similar):nglish)phrase) 2to step out of line24 !ompareD Prezydent !rzemaszero&a0 !rzed szeregiem (d5) :o0nierzy (d2).

%he !resident marched through in ,ront o, a line o, soldiers. 1notice)that)the)president)did)not)walk)towards)the)soldiers:)he)just)walked) along)the)line)formed)by)them)6)which)means)that)we)ha*e)no)2mo"ion "owards2) situation8)and)so)the)preposition)2prze!2)adopts)the)more)common)of)its)two) *arianti*e)case)go*ernments)here)6)the)one)for)the)instrumental8)d"4 %en idiota (d1) uderzy0 & m;" samoch;d (d4), gdy sta0em na czer&onym &ietle (d6)C %hat idiot hit my car as * &as standing at the red signalC [literally:] (...) as * &as standing on the red light.

1the)nominati*es: ))21mBj4)samochBd2)1masc.8)the)accus.)form)looks)the)same48 ))21czerwone4)Lwiat<o2)1neut.4)6)the)phrase)2sta na czerwonym )wietle2)makes) use)of)the)preposition)"na2)with)its)ordinary8)2primary2)go*ernment)for)the) locati*e.

))2idiota2)1masc.4)this)is)the)subject)of)the)main)clause8)so)it)is)the) nominati*e)form)6)7)just)wanted)to)assure)you)that)7)ha*e)made)no)mistake)here:) it3s)one)of)the)few)masculine)nouns)in)Polish)that)end)with)2?a2)and)show)a) declension)pattern)similar)to)that)of)feminine)nouns5 )this)is)an)e+ample)of)the)preposition)2w2)being)coupled)with)an)accusati*e) object8)because)of)the)2!otion towar#s2)situation8)or)more)specifically:)an) action)of)hitting)something)1in (olish it's expressed as "hitting into something"48)which)is)the)most) typical)sort)of)action)re9uiring)the)accusati*e)after)the)2w25 )this)particular)e+ample)sentence)could)ha*e)used)a)different)*erb)combined)with) the)2w2:)2wjec"a w2)12to #ri(e into2)1with)the)sense)of:)to ha(e a collision with4: 27en i!iota wjec"a w m-j samoc"-! (!;& (...&2)12That i#iot #ro(e into !y car (...)248)and)as)you)can)see)the)nature)of)the)situation)calls)for)the)accusati*e) rekcja)of)the)2w2)also)in)this)e*entuality. )side?note:)the subordinate clause here is an adverb clause ) we need to corelate the tenses o$ the clauses simply because the whole point o$ this particular subordinate clause is to say when the action o$ the main clause took place %this is di$$erent $rom what we had with the subordinate noun clauses in two examples $or the point "c&" o$ the section on the dative&4 (ompa%eD 5a&sze &o:( ma!( (d4) & samochodzie (d6). *+m al&ays carrying a ma! in 6my@6 car. 1the)nominati*es:)2mapa2)1fem.48)2samochBd2)1masc.4)6)A4)you)may)ha*e)already) noticed)it)in)the)earlier)e+amples)that)in)Polish)we)use)possessi*e)pronouns) 9uite)sparingly)and)we)don3t)place)them)before)the)nouns)whose)belonging)or) direct)relation)to)the)subject)comes)as)ob*ious)from)the)conte+t5 )in)Polish)there)are)two)popular)*erbs)corresponding)to)the):nglish)carry:) 2nosi2)and)2wozi2)6)the)first)is)fitting)to)use)when)you)carry)the)things) walking)1like)a)porter8)or)when)you)simply)carry)little)things)on)you8)in)the) pockets)of)your)clothes)or)on)your)body45)the)second)comes)into)play)when)we)use) any)means)of)transportation4

/ne nota le e*ception to the rule regarding the choice of case government in the "dual rekcja" prepositions is the ver 3sia!a3 to take a seat does not use the accusative& even though it is a ver that speaks a out a 3motion towards3. ,ith that ver & the noun that comes after a preposition uses the same case as with the 3static3 (not speaking of any dynamic changes) ver : 3sie!zie3 to be sitting. +ee the e*amples: .iadam na krzele (d6). * take a seat on a chair.

Eotes:)the)nominati*e);)2krzes<o2)1neuter4.)Hhe)first)acti*ity)is)2dynamic2) %with a *uality o$ a set target o$ the movement, i e o$ a "motion towards"&8)the)second)is)2static28)but)the) dynamic)2sia!a2)always)uses)the)same)2rekcja2)as)the)static)2sie!zie2.)Hhe) 2primary)case)go*ernment2)of)the)preposition)2na2)is)for)the)locati*e)1d)45)let) me)repeat)it8)the)2secon#ary rekcja2)1for)the)accusati*e)1d444)would)be)used)in) most)of)the)dynamic8)2!otion towar#s2)situations)[)not)those)concerning)the) action)of)the)*erb)2sia!a28)though. Vh0o!czyk siada za sto0em (d5). #$%he boy takes a seat behind a$the table.
>nd)pretty)much)the)same)hereD

Iust)as)well)as)withD .iedz( na krzele (d6). *+m sitting on a chair.

Vh0o!czyk siedzi za sto0em (d5).

%ame)thing)as)before8)the)only)difference)being)that)the)natural)complement) for)the)preposition)2za2)is)a)word)in)the)instrumental)case)(d5).

#$%he little boy is sitting behind the table.

"t's really time to finish the story of this declension case& ut... " remem ered a preposition that #/0#12 takes the accusative in the word that follows it2 :) That preposition is 3przez3 3through3& 3across3& 3by3. -*amples:

 * al&ays go across the street care,ully. 1the)Polish)sentence)puts)the)emphasis)on)the)2carefulness2)1that3s)why)2zawsze ostro,nie2)6)2always carefully2)6)goes)up)front)and)starts)it48)so)in):nglish) this)message)would)be)put)best)like)this:)2*t$s a#wa+s ca%e,u##+ that * c%oss go ac%oss the st%eet.25)the)nominati*e);)2ulica2)1fem.44 Patrz( !rzez okno (d4). *+m looking out a$the &indo&. 1in)Polish)we)say)273m)looking)through)a/the)window25)the)nominati*e);)2okno2) 1neut.44 %a sza,a nie !rze"dzie !rzez drz&i (d4)C %his &ardrobe &ill not go through the doorC 1the)nominati*e);)2drzwi2)1always)plural44 oS skacze !rzez !rzeszkod( (d4). #$%he horse is "um!ing <across= a hurdle. 1in):nglish)the)*erb)jump)can)be)used)transiti*ely8)that)is:)the)thing)that)is) being)jumped)o*er)simply)becomes)the)direct)object8)and)thus)no)prepositions)are) necessary5)in)Polish)the)*erb)2 )) )) skaka)) 2)is)always)intrasiti*e:)it)cannot)ha*e)a) direct)object)and)there)has)to)be)a)preposition)12przez28)2na!24)used)before)an) object)1an)indirect)object45 )the)nominati*e);)2przeszkoda2)1fem.45 )2przeszkoda2)comes)from)the)*erb)2przeszkadzaG2:)to)disturb8)to)be)a)trouble8) to)be)an)obstacle/hurdle4 %en samoch;d si( nie !su"e, bo zosta0 &y!roduko&any !rzez Kiemc;& (d4). %his car doesn+t break do&n, because it had been !roduced by the Permans W)) 1the)nominati*e);)2Eiemcy2)1plural45 ))singular)forms);)2Eiemiec2)1masc.4)(d1)8)2Eiemca2)(d4)4

5a&sze ostro:nie !rzechodz( !rzez ulic( (d4).

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: >>> d.. the inst%umenta# (na%z/dnik) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

a) The main role of the instrumental case is to indicate that a su stantive is an instrument or a means (a method& a way) y which the action of the ver is e*ecuted. This 3instrument3 doesn't always have to e a physical o !ect. "n -nglish that function of the instrumental is handled y putting 3with3 in front of the word (3to be doing something !ith something3)& or with such constructions as 3by)means)of)6so!ethin"73& 3using) 6so!ethin"73& or& in specific circumstances: 3by)6so!ethin"73.
-*amples: Pisz( list (d4%a&&u) !i;rem (d5%ins"r). *+m &riting a$the letter &ith a !en. 1the)pen)is)the)instrument8)the)tool)of)the)action)of)writing5)the)letter)is)the) direct)object)of)the)action)6)it)is)what)directly)results)from)the)writing5 )the)nominati*es);)2list2)1masc.48)2piBro2)1neut.44 >anuela lubi !isa8 !i;rem (d5). >anuela likes to &rite &ith a !en. 1side?note:)a)simple)infiniti*e)6)ending)in)2:2)6)comes)after)the)*erb)2lubiG2) when)we)speak)about)liking)to)do)something4 Vodziennie "ad( do szko0y (d2) autobusem (d5). 'aily $ 2very day * go to school by bus.

1the)bus)is)a)means)of)going5 )66it)is)important)to)know)that)in)Polish)we)say: ))2i!2)12i)2);)to "o (on foot)4:)when)we)go)on)foot5 ))6while8)when)we)use)some)means)of)transport)we)say: )))2ja!2)12jec"a2);)to ri#e (...,in,on sth)4:)for)any)kind)of)land)*ehicle8 )))2lec2)12lecie" < to fly (in,on sth)4:)for)any)air/space)transport8 )))or)2pyn2)12pyn2);)to float (in,on sth)4:)for)water)transport5 ))with)all)these)*erbs)1jec"a9 lecie8)pyn4)the)specific)*ehicle)is)usually) indicated)by)a)noun)in)the)instrumental5 )6off?topic:)we)ha*e)a)use)of)the)geniti*e)in)this)sentence:)2do)szko<y)(d2)2) 1to school4)6)the)preposition)2!o" is)always)followed)by)a)word)in)the)geniti*e5 )the)nominati*es);)2szko<a2)1fem.48)2autobus2)1masc.44 >ieszam zu!( (d4) 0y:k3 (d5). *+m stirring (=6 miTing) the sou! &ith a laddle. 1the)nominati*es);)2zupa2)1fem.48)2<yMka2)1fem.45)the)soup)6)direct)object8)the) laddle)6)the)tool)of)the)action4) Kie &iem, "ak o!isa8 to (d4) s0o&ami (d5). * don+t kno& ho& to describe it &ith &ords. 1the)nominati*es);)2to2)1neuter4)1;)it, this48 )2s<owa2)1plural8)d,4)6)2s<owo2)1sing.8neutr.8d,44 Kie &iem, "ak &yrazi8 to (d4) "ednym s0o&em (d5). * don+t kno& ho& to eT!ress that &ith one &ord. 1the)nominati*e);)21jedno4)s<owo2)1neuter44 Pisarz oczaro&u"e czytelnik;& (d4) o!o&ieci3 (d5).

%he &riter enchants the readers &ith the story. 1the)readers8)being)the)direct)object)of)the)enchanting8)are)also)the)direct) object)of)the)sentence)6)so8)they)come)in)the)accusati*e5 )the)nominati*es:)2czytelnik2)1singular8)masc.8)d,48)2czytelnika2)1d-48 )2czytelnicy2)1plural8)d,48)2czytelnikBw2)1pl.8)d-45)2opowieLG2)1singular8)fem.8) d,44

.ote that the action doesn't have to e intentional: Rbrudzi0am sobie (d$) bluzk( (d4) sosem !omidoro&ym (d5).

* soiled [$em v $orm] mysel, the blouse &ith tomato sauce. 1this)is)also)an)interesting)sentence)because)we)ha*e)three)different) grammatical)cases)in)use)here: )1,4)the)direct)object)of)the)sentence)is)the)blouse8)because)it)was)the)blouse) that)was)soiled5 )howe*er8)1$4)we)also)ha*e)an)indirect)object8)because)the)soiling)of)the)blouse) really)affected)6)personally)e*en)more)than)grammatically)54))6)the)owner)of)it:) the)2!e2)1a)woman4)in)the)sentence5)it)is)the)2!e2)who)is)complaining)about)the) misfortune)and)its)conse9uences5)for)that)reason)we)ha*e)a)refle+i*e)dati*e) 2sobie2 )))Othis)refle+i*e)dati*e)2sobie2)6)just)like)the)accusati*e)2si2)6)is) uni*ersal:)21to4)myself28)21to4)yourself28)21to4)himself28)21to4)herself28)21to4) oursel*es28)etc.P5 )and)finally8))1&4)we)ha*e)2the)means28)2the)method28)or)2the)instrument2)of)the) soiling)54)6)with to!ato sauce:)this)comes)in)the)instrumental5 )the)nominati*es: )))2sobie28)being)uni*ersal)to)all)gram.)persons)it8)doesn3t)ha*e)just)one) nominati*e:)well8)in)this)case)it)would)be)2ja25 )))2bluzka2)1fem.8)d,48)2sos)1masc.4)pomidorowy)1adj.)?masc.4)1d,424

b) Pro a ly the second most fre'uent use of the instrumental is that when it is coupled with the ver 3by3 (to be) in all sentences of the type: 7/you/he/they...)am)1are4)/)was)1were4)/)will)be...)somebody/something. (those sentences speak of a ,unction& a role in life& a status in it& etc.) #$$%&$'(&: this 3some odyEsomething3 means a noun. "f the word after the (con!ugated) 3by3 is an ad!ective& then that ad!ective is put in the nominative (the 3 asic form3 the only thing to take care of there is to make it agree with the su !ect a out the gender: masculine& feminine& or neuter).
-*amples: >anuela "est aktork3 (d5) i !iosenkark3 (d5). >anuela is an actress and a singer. 1the)nominati*es:)2aktorka2)1fem.48)2piosenkarka2)1fem.44 Basia "est !rzeliczn3 dzie&czyn3 (d5). Basia is a &onderously beauti,ul girl. 1the)nominati*e);)21przeLliczna4)dziewczyna2)1fem.44 Panna .antos "est Brazyli"k3 (d5). >iss .antos is a Brazilian. 1the)nominati*e);)2'razylijka2)1fem.48)the)masculine)form)is)2'razylijczyk2(d1)4 Uobert 'eKiro "est s0a&nym aktorem (d5) i re:yserem (d5). Uobert 'eKiro is a ,amous actor and director. 1the)nominati*es:)21s<awny4)aktor2)1masc.48)21s<awny4)reMyser2)1masc.44 >artin [uther ing by0 od&a:nym cz0o&iekiem (d5).

>artin [uther ing &as a brave man (!erson). 1the)nominati*e:)21odwaMny4)cz<owiek2)1masc.44 )ane Poodall rato&a0a goryle (d4). -na te: by0a dobrym i od&a:nym cz0o&iekiem (d5).

)ane Poodall &as saving gorillas. .he too &as a good and a brave !erson. 1the)nominati*es:)2goryle2)1plural8)d-)has)the)same)form)as)d,48 2goryl2)1sing.8masc.8d,45)21odwaMny)i)dobry4)cz<owiek2)1masc.44 >usia0by by8 &ariatem (d5), :eby to zrobi8C Ee &ould have to be a madman to do itC 1the)nominati*e:)2wariat2)1masc.4)+ a $emale "wariat" is "wariatka" %a madwoman ,&5 )a)more)natural)way)to)e+press)this)message)in):nglish)would)ha*e)been)2-e would ha e to be crazy to###2)6)with)an)adjecti*e4 -n b(dzie tu no&ym sze,em (d5). Ee &ill be the ne& boss here. 1the)nominati*e);)21nowy4)szef2)1masc.4)+ $emale boss = "szefowa" %$em , d-&4

)s said efore the situation is different when the words descri ing the person are !ust solo ad!ectives without nouns. Then& the ad!ectives come in the nominative the 3 asic3 form (whose gender& let me repeat& must agree with that of the su !ect). Cook at these e*amples and compare them to those a ove to see the difference: >anuela "est utalento&ana (ad ective' d1). >anuela is talented. 1...6Jet3s)play)and)add)a)noun)now...)we3ll)get8)for)e+ample: >anuela "est utalento&an3 (ad . d.) aktork3 (noun' d.)4. Basia "est !rzeliczna (ad ective' d1). Basia is &onderously beauti,ul. %a ka&a "est brazyli"ska (ad . d1). %his co,,ee is Brazilian. 1additional)information:)in)Polish8)differently)than)in):nglish8)the)adjecti*es) relating)to)countries)and)nationalities)are)written)all)in)lower?case)letters5 )..)and)we)don3t)use)stand?alone)nationality)adjecti*es)to)refer)to)people3s) nationalities:)in):nglish)you)can)say)2-e is a $ole (noun".2)or)2-e is $olish (ad"#"#2 )6)in)Polish)you)cannot)say)20n jest polski#2))...)unless)you3re)talking)about)an ob ect)1a)material)thing4)that)comes)from)Poland)and)has)a)masculine)noun)for) its)name: )2&o jest m1j telewizor (masc#"# 0n jest polski#2) ))12This is !y T8 set. -t [literally: Ke] is 9olish.245

the)only)way)to)talk)about)people)is:)20n jest $olakiem (noun$ d%).28)20na jest $olk2 (noun$ d%).2)1the)nominati*es:)2Polak2)1masc.48)2Polka2)1fem.45)unlike)the) adjecti*es)mentioned)abo*e8)the)nouns)for)representati*es)of)nations)are)written) starting)with)a)capital)letter.4 'eKiro "est s0a&ny (ad . d1). 'eKiro is ,amous.

>artin [uther ing by0 od&a:ny (ad . d1). >artin [uther ing &as brave.

)ane by0a bardzo %adverb )adverbs are not in$lected& dobra (ad . d1). )ane &as very good. >ie"my nadzie"(, :e b(dzie od!o&iedzialny (ad . d1).

>usia0by by8 szalony (ad . d1), :eby to zrobi8C Ee &ould have to be crazy to do itC [et+s ho!e that he &ill be res!onsible.

c) There are some ver s that take the direct object in t e instrumental. The list is not long& and even though " don't intend to present here that entire list& " elieve there must e only few that " have left out :)

(H) zostawa / stawa si (kim) (d5)& to become (somebody" talking a out a role& a !o & a function& or a out ac'uiring a certain 'uality or status$ 3zostawa3 is only used to talk a out !o s and functions$ 3stawaK siN3 is used when the personal aspect of the role is important$ also& 3stawa si3 can e followed with a stand(alone ad!ective& and then we have the same situation as in the point 3 )3 a ove) -*amples: 5osta0 aktorem (d5) & &ieku d&udziestu trzech lat. /kr;tce sta0 si( bardzo s0a&nym cz0o&iekiem (d5).

Ee became an actor at the age o, NM. .oon he became a very ,amous !erson.

Po !e&nym czasie sta0 si( ca0kiem nieznony (a so#o ad ective 0 d1).

#,ter a (certain) time he became totally intolerable.

(H) rusza to mo e (something"$ actually& rusza can take direct o !ect either in the instrumental or (like most other ver s) in the accusative and it's not a matter of free choice& really: A rusza = a wor! in t"e accusati$e when we move an o !ect from one place to another (and leave it there)$ it is usually& ut not e*clusively& used with o !ects that are rather heavy and difficult to move& push& etc.$ ecause the action is rarely continuous or repetitive& in most cases the perfective for of the ver is used (3ruszy3 33to ha e mo ed33). -*.: >usimy "ako ruszy8 t( sza,( (d4). /e have to move this &ardrobe someho&. 1the)nominati*e);)21ta4)szafa2)1fem.44 )ak to (d4) ruszy8Q Eo& to move thisQ 1the)nominati*e);)2to2)1neut.45)the)2it2)doesn3t)always)mean)something)physical:) this)is)a)popular)phrase)to)use)in)situations)when)you)need)to)do)something) difficult8)especially)when)it3s)about)sol*ing)some)practical)problem)that)you) ha*e)ne*er)tried)yourself)against)before8)so)you)don3t)know)e*en)how)to)start:) 2:here #o - start.28)21ow #o - "o a$out this.24 Uusza0e mo"e rzeczy (d4)Q Eave you touched [masc v $orm] my thingsQ 1literally)it)is:)21ave +ou moved m+ things228)but)the)kind)of)situation)when) this)sentence)is)used)would)be)when)you)see)that)somebody)was)manipulating)your)

personal)belongings)while)you)were)away)1a)*isible)e*idence)of)which)would) probably)be)that)the)things)ha*e)changed)position4:)in):nglish)the)*erb)2to) touch2)is)used)for)the)occasion5 )the)nominati*e:)21moje4)rzeczy2)1plural4)()21moja4)rzecz2)1sing.8fem8d,44 .otice that the direct o !ect in accusative means that the negatives for those sentences are uilt with the direct o !ect in the genitive: Kie rusza" moich rzeczy (d2)C 'on+t touch my thingsC 1the)nominati*e);)21moje4)rzeczy2)1plural44 Kie b(d( rusza8 %&oich rzeczy (d2). * &ill not touch your things. 1the)nominati*e);)21Hwoje4)rzeczy2)1plural44

)nd now we move from an actual off(topic to something on(topic :) which is the second usage of the ver rusza this time& finally& with a word that follows the ver eing put in the instrumental:

A rusza = a wor! in t"e instrumental when we move move parts of our ody& or when we make controlled movements with an o !ect y holding it in our hand(s) or as if we were holding it in our hand(s). -*.:

Boli mnie, gdy ruszam !ra&3 r(k3 (d5). * ,eel !ain &hen * move my right hand. 1more)literally:)2*t gives me !ain &hen...25)the)nominati*e);)21prawa4)r=ka2)1fem.44 Kie rusza" g0o&3 (d5)C 'on+t move your headC 1...something)you)might)hear)at)a)hairdresser3s):4)5)notice)that)ha*ing)the) direct)object)in)the)instrumental)1and)not)in)the)accusati*e4)in)positi*e) sentences8)the)rekcja)of)this)2ruszaG2)maintains)the)instrumental)also)for)the) negati*e5 )the)nominati*e);)2g<owa2)1fem.44 Uusz myszk3 (d5). >ove the (com!uter) mouse. 1the)nominati*e);)2myszka2)1fem.44 [udzie na 0odzi !o&oli rusza"3 &ios0ami (d5).

%he !eo!le on the boat slo&ly move the oars. 1the)nominati*e);)2wios<a2)1plural48)2wios<o2)1sing.8)neut.44

(H) opiekowa si (= a wor! in t"e instrumental> kim) (!?& / czym) (!?)) to look after (somebody + something"

-n &eekends * look a,ter my sick ,ather. 1the)nominati*e);)21mBj4)1chory4)ojciec2)1masc.44 %a kobieta nie o!ieku"e si( s&oim dzieckiem (d5) dobrze.

/ &eekendy o!ieku"( si( moim chorym o"cem (d5).

%his &oman doesn+t look a,ter her child &ell. 1the)nominati*e);)21jej)/)1swoje44))dziecko2)1neut.4 )again8)the)direct)object)being)in)the)instrumental)case)means)that)it)stays)in) the)instrumental)also)in)this)negati*e)sentence5)

)2dobrze2)is)an)ad*erb)6)these)are)non?inflected:)they)always)stay)the)same4 Vzy b(dziesz o!ieko&a8 si( moim kotem (d5), gdy mnie nie b(dzieQ

/ill you look a,ter my cat &hen *+m not hereQ 1the)nominati*e);)21mBj4)kot2)1masc.45 )side?note:)notice)that)in)Polish)we)put)that)subordinate)clause)6)the)part) after)the)2"#y , when2)6)in)the)future)tense)in)this)kind)of)situation:)talking) about)a)a)future)possibility/condition4

(H) zajmowa si (kim) (!?& / czym) (!?)) to take care of + to deal with + to be+get busy with + to do as one's occupation or special interest / !racy za"mu"( si( rachunko&oci3 (d5).

#t &ork * deal &ith accountancy. $ ... * take care o, the accountancy. 1the)nominati*e);)2rachunkowoLG2)1fem.4)6of)course8)there3s)no)need)for)you)to) remember)this)particular)noun:)7)just)had)to)think)of)something)that)you)can)be) dealing)with)at)work8)so)as)to)demonstrate)the)meaning)of)the)*erb4 5a"m( si( tym (d5)C *+ll deal &ith thisC $ *+ll take care o, thisC 1the)nominati*e);)2to2)1neuter44 5a"mi" si( s&oimi s!ra&ami (d5)C %ake care o, your o&n businessC 1meaning:)2-t%s not your cup of tea;28)2<in# your own $usiness;25 )2sprawy" (p#.' d1))6)matters, issues5)2sprawa2)(sing.' d1)4 -na kiedy troch( za"mo&a0a si( s!ortem (d5).

$ s"e use! to "a$e somet"ing to !o wit" (...) s!orts. 1the)slash)separates)two)translation)*ersions8)each)carrying)a)moderately) different)meaning:)that3s)because)the)Polish)2zajmowaG)si=2)is)somewhat) ambiguous)1imprecise4:)it3s)difficult)to)say)clearly)by)the)light)of)that) sentence)if)the)2she2)was)an)acti*e)sportswoman8)or)if)she)was)doing)something) 2around2)the)sports:)she)might)ha*e)been)a)sports)journalist)for)e+ample5) without)a)conte+t)we)would)usually)assume)an)acti*e)in*ol*ement:)i.e.8)that)she) was)doing)the)sports8)that)she)was)a)sportswoman5 )the)nominati*e);)2sport2)1masc.44
-ni &iedz3, "ak za"mo&a8 si( dzieckiem (d5). %hey kno& ho& to take care o, a child. 1the)nominati*e);)2dziecko2)1neut.44

#t some !oint in the !ast s"e use! to !o (...) $

(H) c"wali si

(czym) (!?) / also! kim) (!?&) to boast (about" something (somebody", to pride oneself on something

>y neighbour incessantly boasts his command o, )a!anese. 1notice)the)use)of)the)instrumental8)but)also)the)use)of)the)geniti*e )6)in)the)nominati*e:)2the)knowledge)/)command)of)Iapanese2 )))))))))))))))))))));)2znajomoLG)(d1))japo\skiego)(d2)25 )the)nominati*e);)2japo\ski2)1adj.8)masc.44

>;" s3siad bez !rzer&y ch&ali si( s&o"3 zna"omoci3 (d5) "a!oSskiego(d2).

Kie ch&al( si( s&oimi sukcesami (d5). * don+t boast about my successes. 12moje)/)1swoje4)sukcesy2)1pl.8d,48)2mBj)/)1swBj4)sukces2)1sing.8d,44

(H) kierowa (czym) (!?) / also! kim) (!?&)

to steer + to direct (a team of people" + to dri e (a car"

>y dad directed the trans!ort de!artment. <?... the de!artment o, trans!ort.?= 1the)nominati*es);)2dzia<2)1masc.48)2transport2)1masc.44 to kieru"e tym samochodem (d5)Q /ho is driving this carQ 1the)nominati*e);)21ten4)samochBd2)1masc.45 )side?note:)an)alternati*e)6)and)e9ually)much)used)6)*erb)meaning)2to #ri(e (a !otor (ehicle)2)is)2prowa!zi)(r;&2:)notice)that)prowa!zi)comes)with)the) standard)case)go*ernment)for)transiti*e)*erbs8)which)means)it)is)followed)by)a) word)in)the)accusati*e5)therefore8)the)sentence)abo*e8)gi*en)the)other)*erb)for) 2to)dri*e28)would)look)as)follows: )23to prowadzi ten samoch1d (d4)4244 Przy!adek kiero&a0 "ego :yciem (d5). Vhance directed his li,e. 1the)nominati*e);)21jego4)Mycie2)1fem.44 iedy b(d( kiero&a8 mie"skim autobusem (d5).

>;" tata kiero&a0 dzia0em (d5) trans!ortu (d2).

* &ill drive a city bus some day $ at some !oint in the ,uture. 1the)nominati*e);)21miejski4)autobus2)1masc.45 )side?note:)the)same)sentence)using)the)alternati*e)*erb)2prowa!zi2: ))23iedy/ b5d5 prowadzi6 miejski autobus (d4).24

(H) stero&a8 (czym) (!?)& to steer, to control

Pilot steru"e samolotem (d5). #$%he !ilot steers a$the !lane. 1the)nominati*e);)2samolot2)1masc.44 -n nigdy nie stero&a0 0odzi3 (d5). Ee has never steered a boat. 1the)nominati*e);)2<Bd]2)1fem.45)no)change)of)case)for)the)object)substanti*e)6) but)you)already)know)that)only)the)accusati*es)change4 Uuchami (d5) robota (d2) steru"e kom!uter (d1).

# com!uter controls the movements o, the robot. 12ruchy2)1pl.8d,48)2ruch2)1sing.8d,48)2robot2)1masc.8d,45 )sorry)for)adding)a)little)complication8)but)you)should)also)be)prepared)for) this8)because)that3s)just)an)element)of)natural)Polish:)obser*e)that)the) sentence)has)an)in*ersed)word)order)6)the)subject)12ko!puter24)has)been)mo*ed)to)

the)last)position)in)the)sentence5)that)sentence)is)in)no)significant)way) different)from)this)one:))2@omputer steruje ruc"ami robota.28)with)the)e+ception) that)the)first)one)6)the)one)in)the)e+ample)6)looks)and)sounds)more)natural:)the) reader/listener)would)ha*e)a)natural)tendency)e+pect)the)most)significant8) informati*e)part)of)the)sentence)to)come)at)its)end8)so)that3s)the)position)we) try)to)shift)it)to.)7n):nglish8)that)same)e+pectation)of)the)reader/listener)has) to)be)satisfied)through)the)use)of)passi*e)*oice:)2&he mo ements of the robot are controlled by a computer#24

d) )s with the three cases efore& we have a few prepositions + ic govern t e instrumental case. /ne of them is pretty characteristic& ecause it always comes with a word in the instrumental& and esides... ... ,e already know that the main function of the instrumental is to speak a out the tools and means of an action& which is something that in -nglish we achieve most of the time y using constructions like 3I did something !ith something else3& where the 3something else3 is the tool or the means rightA ,ell& we also know that the preposition 3with3 is used in other conte*ts as well for e*ample& in the sentence 3I'm walking with my friend&3 the friend is not a tool :) .ow& the thing is that the Polish preposition 3with3 3z / ze3 always comes with the instrumental& ut we use it only in the 3together with3 meaning$ so& we say:
*+m re!airing a$the ,aucet &ith a monkey &rench. 1the)nominati*es:)2kran2)1masc.48)2klucz)francuski2)1masc.45 )2kran2)1the)faucet4)is)the)direct)object)here8)and)so)6)in)the)regular)fashion) 6)it)comes)in)the)accusati*e5)2klucz #rancuski2)is)the)tool)of)the)action)and)it) comes)in)the)instrumental)6)there3s)no)reason)to)put)the)Polish)preposition)2z / ze2)here8)of)course4 )nd now look at this sentence: Ka!ra&iam kran (d4) z s3siadem (d5). Ka!ra&iam kran (d4) kluczem ,rancuskim (d5).

*+m re!airing the ,aucet (together) &ith 6my6 neighbour. 1the)nominati*e);)2sRsiad2)1masc.4)()a)female)neighbour:)2sRsiadka2)1fem.44 .otice the similarity and the difference etween those two sentences. "n -nglish oth of them could e nearly identical the only thing to do is to replace a tool with a person :) (even though adding the word 3together3 does make the sentence read nicer). "n Polish we don3t use the 3z / ze3 when talking a out a out a out a tool E an instrument... ...4/,-5-6: " guess that the association with the -nglish usage& where 3with3 is applied to instruments& might help memorizing that the case to e used after the Polish preposition 3with3 (i.e.& the 3z / ze3) is al+a"s the instrumental. /O& " need to clarify here that 3z / ze3 is not used e*clusively in the meaning of 3together with3: its usage is really 'uite similar to that in -nglish the ma!or (onlyA) difference pro a ly lies in it never eing used in designating the tools and means of actions. +ee it for yourself on a few more e*amples: -na ba&i si( z "ego dzieckiem (d5). .he is !laying &ith his child. 1the)nominati*e);)21jego4)dziecko2)1neut.4 )notice)the)ambiguity)of)the):nglish)e+pression)2to)play)with2:)it)can)mean)2to) engage)in)mutual)entertainment28)but)it)can)also)be)read)as:)2to)manipulate8)to) treat)1a)person4)instrumentally2)[)the)right)interpretation)largely)depends)on)a) conte+t5)in)Polish8)there)is)no)e9ui*ocality)here:)to)con*ey)that)more)sinister8) underhand)message)of)the):nglish)phrase8)one)would)ha*e)to)lea*e)out)the)2z28)so) as)to)make)the)sentence)look)this)way:)2+na bawi si jego !zieckiem.24

Vo "est nie & !orz3dku z t3 truska&k3 (d5). Vhyba "est ze!suta.

* think [lit.: "possibly ' likely"] it is gone bad. 1the)nominati*e);)21ta4)truskawka2)1fem.44

Bardzo lubi( ciasto z truska&kami (d5). * really like a cake &ith stra&berries. [lit.: ". much like "] 1the)nominati*e);)2truskawki2)1plural44 >am mas( k0o!ot;& z moim kotem (d5). -n & og;le nie s0ucha si( mnieC

.omething is &rong [lit.: "not in order"] &ith this stra&berry.

* have a lot o, trouble &ith my cat. *t &ouldn+t obey me at allC 1the)nominati*e);)21mBj4)kot2 )2suc"a si (r'& kogo) (!'&%2)[)to listen to an# o$ey or#ers of so!e$o#y4

)s an ending note for the description of Polish preposition 3with3 3z / ze3 (and of its usage with o !ects in the instrumental case)& let me remind you to be cautioned that the same(looking preposition 3z E ze3 ( ut followed y a word in t e genitive) has a ver" di,,erent meaning look ack into the section a out the genitive for details.

There are a few more prepositions which want the words that follow them to e in the instrumental. )ctually& " can now think of four& and let's hope that this is a out all of them :) 4ere they are: A ?na!?, ?pona!? o er, abo e A ?po!? under A ?za? behind (, beyond) ?mi!zy / pomi!zy

A ?mi!zy kim)/czym) (!?&% a

kim)/czym) innym (!?&%?,

between 'somebody+something( (and 'somebody+something else(" between 'some people+things( A ?prze!? in ,ront o,, be,ore

jakimi) lu!Ami/rzeczami (plural9!?&%?,

)ll of these prepositions define position in space (the last one can also e used to speak a out time). 6emem er that in Polish we have this situation where spatial (space(related& position(related) prepositions can e followed y o !ects either in the grammatical case which is specific for those particular prepositions (like the instrumental for 3na!3& 3po!3& 3za3& 3prze!3) or in the accusative. ("'m talking here a out something " call the 3dual&re'c"a3.) The accusative is used when a preposition comes with a ver e*pressing the notion of 3motion towards3. Cook ack into the section a out the accusative for more details. 4ere we shall !ust have a few e*amples of the mentioned prepositions in circumstances where the ver does not speak of a 3motion towards3 the location pointed to y them& and so where they come with an o !ect in the instrumental:

(?na!?) >ucha lata mi (d$) nad g0o&3 (d5). # ,ly is ,lying above my head. 1the)nominati*es);)2ja2)1pers.)pronoun48)2g<owa2)1fem.45 )2mi2)is)the)dati*e)in)the)function)of)showing)2the)one)who)is)affected)by)the) action2)6)again8)when)relating)things)in)Polish)we)look)at)things)from)the)more) personal)perspecti*e)of)2the)one)who)is)affected)by)the)darned)fly2)rather)than) from)that)of)2the)one)whose)head)the)insect)is)o*er2):45

)yes8)7)know)that)the)*erb)2to)fly2)is)not)e+actly)2static28)but)here)it)is)used)
in)its)imperfecti*e8)continuous)form8)so)that)the)sentence)doesn3t)tell)us)that) the)fly)would)ha*e)been)trying)to)reach)a)specific)place)abo*e)2my2)head5)no8) the)fly)was)just)flying)there8)aimlessly8)ho*ering)abo*e)my)head:)it)might)ha*e) been)e*en)flying)in)circles)544 Kad nami (d5) &ieci s0oSce. #bove us the sun is shining. 1the)nominati*e);)2my2)1personal)pronoun44 %rzymam !arasol &ysoko nad g0o&3 (d5).

*+m holding the umbrella high above 6my6 head. 1the)nominati*e);)2g<owa2)1fem.44

(?po!?) 5gubi0a kluczeQ Poszuka" !od 0;:kiem (d5).

Eave you lost [$em v $orm] the keysQ [ook$>ake a search under the bed. 1the)nominati*e);)2<BMko2)1neut.45 )2szukaG2)1to)make)a)search8)to)look)for)something4)is)not)a)*erb)associated) with)motion:)it3s)an)action)that)goes)on)in)a)specific)location8)but)does)not) ha*e)the)character)of)an)aimed)mo*ement)from)a)point)>)to)a)point)'4 Kie ma nic le!szego !od s0oScem (d5) ni: truska&kiC

%here is nothing better under the sun than stra&berriesC 1this)is)a)fairly)popular)6)e*en)if)a)little)oldfashioned)now)6)way)of)saying) that)something)is)really)great)and)that)you)lo*e)it):44 Kie mog( si( ruszy8C Rtkn30em !od biurkiem (d5)C PomocyC

* can+t moveC * got stuck [$em v $orm] under the deskC 6.omebody6 hel! meC 1the)nominati*e);)2biurko2)1neut.44

(?za?) Pdzie "est m;" kotQ -n mo:e by8 za sza,3.

/here is my catQ Ee$*t can be behind the &ardrobe. 1the)nominati*e);)2szafa2)1fem.44 5a siedmioma g;rami (d5), za siedmioma lasami (d5), (*n a land situated) beyond seven mountains, beyond seven ,orests, :y0a sobie kiedy !i(kna kr;le&na.

once u!on a time there lived a beauti,ul !rincess. 1the)nominati*es: )))2gBrami2);)1d"8pl.4)of)2gBry2);)1d,8pl.4)of)2gBra2)1d,8sing.8fem.45 )))2lasami2);)1d"8pl.4)of)2lasy2);)1d,8pl.4)of)2las2)1d,8sing.8masc.45 )6this)2=eyon# se(en...2)1actually)27eyond the se enth###2)would)ha*e)been)better) :nglish4)is)the)classic)opening)phrase)for)fairy?tales)in)Polish:)for)us)to)say 2...in a land far, far away2)wouldn3t)be)poetic)enough):45 )6you)might)also)be)interested)in)why)it3s)2,ya sobie2)1...3li*ed)2to/for) herself23...4)6)well8)that3s)a)subject)for)a)separate)short)lesson..)but8)*ery)

briefly:)adding)2sobie2)after)a)*erb)that)doesn3t)really)re9uire)it)is)a)medium) used)to)emphasise)a)kind)of)solitude)of)the)subject5)it)can)also)be)a)means)to) focus)the)attention)of)the)reader/listener)on)that)person/character8)to)mark) him/her/it)as)one)that)the)narrotor)sympathizees)with.4 5obacz, czy kto nie idzie za nami (d5). .ee i, there is nobody &alking behind us. 1the)nominati*e);)2my2)1pronoun45 )you)might)argue)here)that)the)*erb)2to)walk2)is)definitely)a)2motion)*erb28)but) again:)the)concept)of)2!otion towar#s2)is)that)the)subject)mo*es)towards)a) specific)place)in)space)6)the)subject3s)aim)is)to)reach)a)specific)location5) this)is)not)the)case)here:)if)one)person)keeps)following)another)there)is)no) place)that)the)follower)wants)to)reach4

(?mi!zy?) >i(dzy moim blokiem (d5) a blokiem (d5) mo"ego zna"omego (d2)

there are t&o other buildings standing. 1the)nominati*e);)2blok2)1masc.48)21mBj4)znajomy2)1masc.45 )again8)2(!wa& (inne& bu!ynki28)regardless)of)their)position)as)last)in)the) sentence8)are)the)subject)here)6)this)sentence)could)be)rewritten)this)way)1and) it)would)be)totally)all?right)grammatically8)only)it)would)look)unnatural8) ha*ing)the)informati*e)part)of)the)statement)not)where)the)reader/listener)would) e+pect)it8)i.e.8)at)the)end)of)the)sentence4:)28wa inne budynki stoj2 mi5dzy###24
>i(dzy naszymi blokami (d5) sto"3 d&a inne budynki (d1).

Bet&een my (a!artment) block and the block o, my a9uaintance

sto"3 d&a inne budynki (d1).

Bet&een our (a!artment) blocks there are t&o other buildings standing.

/hen you &rite, make bigger ga!s <s!aces= bet&een lettersC 1the)nominati*es: )))21wi=ksze4)przerwy2)1pl.8d,48)21wi=ksza4)przerwa2)1sing.8fem.8d,48 )))2litery2)1pl.48)2litera2)1sing.8fem.8d,45 )2przerwa2)6)an)empty)space)between)two)things)1usually)a)little)one48)a)gap8)a) distance5 )2robi2)1to do8)to make4)has)the)standard)rekcja)1r-48)so)plural)2przerwy2)come) in)the)accusati*e)1which)looks)the)same)as)the)nominati*e)for)most)plural) nouns44 / szkole (d6), !rzer&a to czas mi(dzy "edn3 lekc"3 (d5) a drug3 (d5).

Pdy !iszesz, r;b &i(ksze !rzer&y (d4) mi(dzy literami (d5)C

<literallyD and the second 6one6=. 1the)nominati*es); )));)2szko<a2)1fem.48)21jedna4)lekcja2)1fem.4)2druga)1lekcja42)1fem.45

))))side?note_,:))2w szkole (d) 0#ocative)2)results)from)the)rekcja)of)the)preposition) 2w2)12in2)1sometimes)2at245 ))))side?note_$:))the)2to2)used)here)is)not)an)2it2)nor)a)2this2...)actually8)that3s)a) matter)that)surely)deser*es)more)than)just)a)short)mention):4...)but8)in)a)nutshell: )this)2to2)acts)as)a)linking)*erb8)working)much)like)the):nglish)2to $e28)or)the)Polish) 2$y>2)when)you)want)to)characterize)the)subject)by)e&uallin")it)to)another)substanti*e:) it3s)use)is)limited)only)to)substanti*es)[)the)2thin" of reference2)cannot)be)an) adjecti*e)here.)Dne)could)say)that)the)function)of)this)2to2)is)9uite)similar)to)that)of) the)*erb)2byG2)as)described)in)the)point)2b)2)of)this)section)1the)section)about)the) instrumental4:)they)are)both)ways)of)specifying)the)character)or)the)9ualities)of)the)

#t school, the break is the time bet&een one lesson$class and another

subject5)the)difference)is)subtle8)and)so)is)the)choice)of)the)method)to)use. )7n)general)terms8)one)could)say)that)the)*ariant)with)2 )) )) by) 2)is)used)more)to)talk)about)a) role8)a)function8)something)attained)or)ac9uired8)and)probably)not)e+hausting)all)that) the)speaker)can)say)about)that)particular)subject. )Hhe)construction)with)the)2 )) ))2 to)) 8)on)the)other)hand8)would)be)preferred)when)specifying) more)intrinsic)9ualities)and)characteristics8)or)ones)that)are)so)dominant)that)they) practically)encapsulate)the)nature)of)the)subject)1at)least8)from)the)speaker3s) perspecti*e48)as)if)allowing)for)a)clear)categorization: )2Xthe subject( e9uals 'a substanti e representing a ciass of characteristic things(5 ))):+.:)23ot to zwierz5 domowe#2)[)2:at is a pet animal#2 )Kowe*er8)this)distinction)is)not)*ery)strict. )Dne)important)thing)to)remember)is)that)2 ))) ) by)) 2)is)always)conjugated)and8)in)this) function8)it)is)always)followed)by)an)object)in)the)instrumental)1d"48)whereas)the)2 )) ))2 to)) is)not)inflected)in)any)way)and)joins)with)substanti*es)in)the)nominati*e)1the)2basic2) case8)d,44

# ,rog has membranes bet&een 6its6 ,ingers in order to s&im better. 1the)nominati*es:)2b<ony2)1pl.d,48)2b<ona2)1sing.8fem.8d,48 2palce2)1pl.d,48)2palec2))1sing.8masc.8d,4)6)it3s)worth) mentioning)here)that)the)Polish)2palec2/2palce" refer)refer)to)any)digit/digits:) both)to)the)fingers8)and)to)the)toes4 )aka "est odleg0o8 (d1) mi(dzy tymi miastami (d5)Q

\aba ma b0ony (d4) mi(dzy !alcami (d5), :eby le!ie" !0y&a8.

/hat is the distance bet&een these citiesQ 1the)nominati*e:)21te4)miasta2)1pl.d,48)21to4)miasto2)1sing.8neut.8d,44 >i(dzy czer&on3 kurtk3 (d5) a niebiesk3 (d5) nie ma r;:nicy (d2) & cenie (d6).

Bet&een the red "acket and the blue one there is no di,,erence in !rice. 1the)nominati*es:)21czerwona4)kurtka2)1fem.48)2niebieska)1sukienka42)1fem.adj.48 2rBMnica2)1fem.48)2cena2)1fem.45 )2nie !a2)comes)with)a)word)12r?nica24)in)the)geniti*e...)becauseN):4 )))Hhat3s)right0)6)because)it3s)a)classic)sentence)of)the )))))2there is no ... $ there are no ...2)type8)whiere)the)direct)object)always)comes)in)the) geniti*e)6)and)the)e+act)reason)of)that)is)e+plained)in)the)section)about)the) geniti*e)1shortly)speaking:)2!ie>2)is)a)typical)r-?*erb45 ))it3s)2w cenie)1d.)?locati*e42)because)the)le+ical)unit)2r-,nica w ...2)uses) the)2primary2)rekcja)for)the)preposition)2w28)which)is)one)for)the)locati*e5) most)colligations)in)which)the)preposition)is)coupled)with)a)word)other)than)a) *erb)use)the)2primary2)case)go*ernment)of)the)prepositions)they)incorporate5 )the)locati*e)is)the)case)dealt)with)in)the)ne+t)section4

(?prze!?) Przed szko03 (d5) czekali ucznio&ie (d1).

%here &ere students &aiting in ,ront o, the school. 1the)nominati*es: )))2szko<a2)1fem.48)2uczniowie2)1students8)pupils44)6)plural8d,8 )))2ucze\2)%a male student, also used in a non/gender/speci$ic designation&)6)masc. )))2uczennica2)%a $emale student&)6)fem.5 )))additionally, a group consisting solely o$ $emale students would be re$erred to as:)2uczennice2)6)pl ,$em ,dthe)word)2uczeB2)applies)to)the)students)of)primary)and)secondary)schools:) at)the)uni*ersity)le*el)we)ha*e:)2student2)%masc and generic&8)2studentka2)%$em &8 2studenci2)12studentki24)%pl & ))2uczniowie2)is)the)subject)of)the)sentence8)but)because)it)is)also)the)most)

material)element)of)it)1the)sentence)is)all)about)saying)that)it)was)students)6) and)not)somebody)else)6)that)were)waiting)in)front)of)the)school48)we)want)that) word)at)the)end8)because)that3s)where)the)reader3s/the)listener3s)attention) would)focus4 .tan(limy !rzed &yborem (d5)D !odda8 si(, albo &alczy8 dale".

/e stood <&e came to stand= be,ore a choiceD to give u! or to ,ight on. 1the)nominati*e);)2wybBr2)1masc.44 Uozma&ia0em z ni3 (d5) !rzed d&iema godzinami (d5).

* &as talking [masc v $orm] &ith her t&o hours ago <literallyD be,ore t&o hours=. 1the)nominati*e);)21dwie4)godziny2)1plural44

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: >>> d). the #ocative (mie scownik) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

There will e no su (points (a& & c& ...& n $)) in the description of this case. This case is used only following certain prepositions. That's why in -nglish terminology it is sometimes called 3the prepositional case3. The name 3locative3 comes from the fact that many of the prepositions have to do with location. #ut as you have already seen 'uite a num er of prepositions associated with location come with o !ects in other declension cases (the instrumental& the genitive& the accusative)& and... there is at least one very important preposition that does not refer to location and yet it always comes with the locative. ,e are going to start with that one: 3o3 no mistake: !ust one letter 3o3 :) it stands for: 3about3 ( ut only in the sense of something eing a su !ectEtopicEmatter of a conversation& etc.& and not as a synonym of: 3circa3& 3around3& 3appro*imately3) - kim (d6) m;&icieQ #bout &hom are you talkingQ $ /ho are you talking aboutQ 1the)nominati*e);)2kto2)1interrogati*e)pronoun44 Uozma&iamy o naszym s3siedzie (d6).

/e are talking $ having a conversation about our neighbour. 1the)nominati*e);)21nasz4)sRsiad2)1masc.45)the)feminine)*ariant)is)2sRsiadka24) %a ksi3:ka "est o !sach (d6). %his book is about dogs. 1the)nominati*e);)2psy2);)plural)of)2pies24 .3siadka m;&i0a dobrze o %&oim !sie (d6).

%he (,emale) neighbour s!oke &ell o,$about your dog. 1the)nominati*e);)21HwBj4)pies2)1masc.44 - czym (d6) by0 ,ilm, kt;ry ogl3da0a &czora"Q

#bout &hat &as the movie that you &atched [$em v $orm] yesterdayQ 1again8)that3s)not)an)e+ample)of)good):nglish8)but)the)synta+)corresponds)well) to)that)of)the)Polish)sentence5)the)nominati*e);)2co2)1interrogati*e)pron.44

 %he yesterday+s movie &as about an enchanted cat. 1the)nominati*e);)21zaczarowany4)kot2)1masc.44

/czora"szy (ad".) ,ilm by0 o zaczaro&anym kocie (d6).

There is also a different& second use to the preposition 3o3 it is placed efore the num er of the hour when giving the time$ also: efore one of several time(specifying nouns (most nota ly: the word 3pora3: the time, the hour, the moment) the corresponding -nglish preposition for these situations is the 3at". "n this use the preposition 3o3 also governs the locative: >;" !oci3g &yrusza o godzinie sz;ste" (d)).

>y train de!arts at siT (o+clock). <more literallyD ?... at the siTth hour?= 1the)nominati*e);)21szBsta4)godzina2)1fem.44 !aybe it's not very pertinent to the essence o$ our sub0ect here, but a $ew explanations seem inevitable 1he number expressing the hour in (olish is an ordinal number, and as such it is in$lected in con$irmity with the declension pattern o$ ordinal numbers, which happens to be the same as that o$ ad0ectives 2lso, it is customary to put that ordinal number a,ter %rather than be$ore& the word "god.ina" %in accord with the general tendency to place the more material words a$ter those carrying less meaning& 3sually, however, ) with the exception o$ the very $ormal or bureaucratic usage ) the noun "god.ina" is altogether omitted, leaving 0ust the "bare" ordinal number: still in the $eminine variant and appropriately in$lected: - sz;ste" (,em.o%d.num.'d)) z&ykle nie ma mnie (d2) "eszcze & domu (d)). <syntax translation: ?#t the siTth usually there is not me yet at home.?= 1the)nominati*es);)2szBsta2)1fem.)ordinal)no.48)2ja2)1pers.pron.48)dom)1masc.45 )2domu)1d.42)is)demanded)by)the)case)go*ernment)of)the)preposition)2w2:)more) about)it)in)a)few)lines3)time):44 - te" !orze (d)) zaz&ycza" "eszcze !racu"( (ve%b). #t siT *+m usually not home yet.

#t this$that time *+m usually still &orking. (... *+m usually still at &ork) 1the)nominati*e);)2pora2)1fem.45)2zazwyczaj" < "zwykle24

/ther prepositions followed y a word in the locative case are: ( 3w / we3 in, inside (3we3 like the 3ze3 for the 3z3 is a version of the preposition used when necessary to make pronounciation possi le). ( 3na3 on, on top of ( 3po3 G. o er the surface+area+space of said of peopleEthings moving& spreading& spilling& etc.& over an area or space$ all o er >. after ; when speaking a out time$ notice that the contrasted word 3prze!3 (before) uses dU) ( 3przy3 at& right ne)t to$ also: by me+you+him+her & by my+your+his+her side ... )nd these are all the prepositions showing locative rekcja that " can think of. ("'m sorry& " don't have a list to check that against& so you will have to rely on my memory& ut " really dou t " could miss any significant one$ and " don't actually presume to create any complete le*icons my goal is to present the most important and representative e*amples.) #ear in mind& though& that those few prepositions "'m talking especially of the 3o3& 3w3 and 3na3 (a out& in& and on) are pro a ly the most used of all. Cet's see some e*amples now& shall weA :)

(?w / we?) 'zieS dobryC Vzy Piotr "est & domu (d6)Q Pood morningC *s Peter at homeQ 1the)nominati*e);)2dom2)1masc.4 )notice)that)in)Polish)we)use)the)preposition)2in2)12w24)with)the)word)2home28) and)that)we)don3t)ha*e)a)distinction)between)the)2home2)and)the)2house2)6)both) things)1one3s)regular)place)of)residence8)and)a)stand?alone)building)to)li*e)in4) are)called)2dom24 - ranyC / lod;&ce (d6) "u: nie ma mleka (d2)C

.hucksC %here+s no milk le,t in the ,ridgeC 1the)nominati*es);)2lodBwka2)1fem.48)2mleko2)1neut.45 )7)think)the)reason)for)the)2milk2)landing)in)geniti*e)case)here)must)be)ob*ious) for)you)all)by)now)[)if)it3s)not8)7)can)only)suggest)that)you)come)back)to)the) section)on)the)geniti*e5 )2ju,2)actually)means)2alrea#y2)or)2any!ore2)[)here8)it)is)used)emphtically)to) e+press)the)surprise)and)disappointment)at)not)finding)the)milk)when)it3s) needed8)rather)than)to)con*ey)simple)information)or)to)intimate)that)the)milk)is) running)out)too)9uickly)in)the)household)54)1that)last)allusion)could)ha*e)been) read8)had)there)been)an)2alrea#y2)there)in)the)sentence4:)that3s)why)7)went)for) the)word)2left" in)the)translation.4 >o"a s3siadka zakocha0a si( & aktorze (d6) z teleno&eli (d2).

an actor ,rom a soa!Ao!era. 1the)nominati*es);)2aktor2)1masc.48)2telenowela2)1fem.45 )the)preposition)2z2)1from, of, out of4)demands)d$)%see the sect on the genitive& )2to fall in lo(e (with so!e$o#y)2)6)2zakoc"a si (w kim) (!C&&24
.!r;bu" !osta&i8 si( & mo"e" sytuac"i (d6). %ry to !ut yoursel, in my !osition. 1the)nominati*e);)21moja4)sytuacja2)1fem.44 Vo oni &idz3 &e mnie (d6)Q /hat do they see in meQ

>y (,emale) neighbour ,ell in love [$em v $orm] &ith [(olish uses an "in" here]

<meaningD ?/hat+s (so) s!ecial about meQ?= 1the)nominati*e);)2ja2)1personal)pron.44 )acek ca0ymi &ieczorami siedzi & kinie (d6).

)ack sits at [(olish uses an "in" here] the cinema all evenings. 1the)nominati*e);)2kino2)1neut.44 - te" !orze z&ykle "estem & !racy (d6).

#t this time * am usually at [ "in" again] &ork <at my &ork!lace=. 1the)nominati*e);)2praca2)1fem.44 Pi(knie"szego &idoku (d2) nie ma & ca0e" Polsce (d6)C

%here isn+t a more beauti,ul vie& in the &hole PolandC 1the)nominati*es);)21pi=kniejszy4)widok2)1masc.48)21ca<a4)Polska2)1fem.45 )..yet)another)e+ample)of)a)2there)is/are)not)/)there)is/are)no2)type)of) sentence8)and)the)use)of)geniti*e)in)it4 / !ude0ku (d6) s3 "eszcze d&ie czekoladki (d1).

%here are still t&o chockolates le,t in the boT. 1the)nominati*e);)2pude<ko2)1neut.445

Cet me mention it again here that the preposition 3w/we3 also elongs to the group of those which can alternatively e followed y an accusative o !ect. 4owever& the usage of the accusative with 3w/we3 is really limited remem er that the directional 3into3 (for the 3motion towards3 situations) is already covered y the preposition 3!o3 for most purposes. Thus& the construction V3w/we3 = accusati$eW is used mostly in situations where something is eing stuck or thrusted into something else& or when that 3something else3 is the target of punches& kicks& shots& etc. Cook at these two e*amples: >am to & nosie (d6)C * have this (u!) in 6my6 noseC 1the)nominati*e);)2nos2)1masc.45 )here)we)ha*e)the)2natural28)2static2)rekcja)of)the)preposition)2w2)6)for)the) locati*e5 )7)guess)you)mar*el)at)the)choice)of)an)e+ample:)yes8)the)phrase)2mie co)% w nosie2)does)ha*e)a)figurati*e)meaning):4):)it)means)2to care nothing about 'something(28)2to not gi e a darn about 'something(2...)7)will)also)add)that)the)*ersion) featuring)the)nose)is)an)euphemistic)one):4))6but)73m)not)saying)more):44 Po8 zdener&o&a0 si( [masc v $orm] i &aln30 [masc v $orm] mnie & nos (d4).

%he ,ello&$the guy got angry and smashed me in the nose. 1the)nominati*es);)2ja2)1pers.pron.48)2nos2)1masc.45 )the)nose)was)the)target)of)a)punch8)so)it)comes)in)the)accusati*e5 )the)direct)object)of)the)*erb)is)the)the)2!e2)6)that)comes)in)the)accusati*e)as) well5)2go)2)1masc.4)literally)means)2a,the "uest28)but)in)collo9uial)language) it)is)used)to)refer)to)any)male)character8)just)like)2"uy28)2fellow28)2$loke28) etc.8)in):nglish4

/ther e*amples: /bi0 &idelec & kurczaka (d4). Ee stuck the ,ork in the chicken. 1the)nominati*e);)2kurczak2)1masc.44 /bi0 &zrok & ziemi( (d4).

Ee stuck 6his6 eyes <literallyD 6his6 sight, 6his6 look= in the ground. 1the)nominati*e);)2ziemia2)1fem.45 )this)is)9uite)a)commonly)used)phrase)when)saying)that)somebody)drooped)their) head)and)remained)standing)with)their)eyes)to)the)ground:)so)to)a*oid)9uestions) and)not)to)let)others)read)anything)out)of)their)face8)or)when)contemplating) something)sad4

(?na?) 5a&sze zosta&iam klucze na stole (d6) & kuchni (d6).

* al&ays leave the keys on the table in the kitchen. 1the)nominati*es);)2stB<2)1masc.48)2kuchnia2)1fem.45 )in)this)sentence)we)ha*e)two)different)prepositions)that)both)go*ern)the) locati*e:)2na2)and)2w25 )in)natural)Polish)the)formula)2### na stole w kuchni#2)would)usually)be)preferred)o*er) 2### na kuchennym (ad/.) stole#2)12...)on)the)kitchen)table248)which)is)the)more)natural) way)to)say)the)thing)in):nglish.4

Poczeka" na mnie (d4) na ulicy (d6). /ait ,or me (out) on the street. 1the)nominati*es);)2ja2)1personal)pronoun48)2ulica2)1fem.45 )notice)that)the)*erb)21po4czekaG2)is)intransiti*e8)and8)being)such)it)doesn3t) take)a)direct)object5)howe*er8)those)kinds)of)*erbs)often)can8)and)often)#o8) take)complements)in)form)of)the)so?called)2prepositional o$jects2.)Hhe):nglish) *erb)2to wait28)used)in)a)conte+t)like)abo*e8)also)takes)an)object)*ia)a) preposition:)you)wait)2for so!e$o#y,so!ethin"28)not)2wait so!e$o#y,so!ethin"25) at)least)not)in)the)regular8)popular)usage.)Hhe)choice)of)the)preposition)is)a) matter)of)the)idiosyncrasy)of)a)language8...)%as we see in this example, where the English "to wait" is complemented with ",or" and "poc4eka5" is complemented with "na" %which more o$ten corresponds to the English "on"&&...)but) such)int%ansitive3ve%b0p%eposition co##igations)are)stable8)and)they)go*ern)the) case)of)the)following)substanti*e)in)their)own8)specific)way5)*ery)often)when) the)preposition)of)such)colligation)is)one)of)those)ha*ing)2#ou$le rekcja2)6) like)2w/we28)2na28)2po!2)6)the)rekcja of)the)entire)colligation)is)the)2dynamic2) 2secon#ary rekcja2)of)the)preposition)1and)that)one8)let)me)remind)you8)is) always)for)the)accusati*e45)that3s)the)e+planation)of)the)reason)for)the) accusati*e)2mnie2)after)the)first)2na2)of)the)sentence5 )the)second)2na2)1in)2na ulicy24)has)the)normal)locati*e)function8)so)it)comes) with)2ulica2)in)the)locati*e)case:)let)me8)howe*er8)reiterate)it)that)if)we)had) a)sentence)like)2:ome out to me on+onto the street#2)1this)supposed)to)be)in)imperati*e) mood4)we)would)frame)it)this)way:)2Wyj!A !o mnie na ulic)(d4).28)because)we) ha*e)a)clear)2motion?towards2)situation)here8)and)so)the)accusati*e)form)is) needed)6)see)the)section)about)the)accusati*e)6)d-4 >am ba0agan na g0o&ie (d6). #le & g0o&ie (d6) mam !orz3dek.

* have a mess on my head. But in my head * have an order. 1again8)as)in)the)first)e+ample)in)this)group8)we)ha*e)the)prepositions)2na2)and) 2w2)6)and)they)both)go)with)a)word)in)the)locati*e5)the)nominati*e);)2g<owa2) 1fem.44 R !sychoanalityka (d2) le:y si( na kozetce (d6).

#t a !sychoanalist+s one lies <rests= on a couch. 1the)nominati*es);)2psychoanalityk2)1masc.48)2kozetka2)1fem.45 )side?notes:),.)when)talking)about)*isiting)a)professional)to)get)a)certain)type) of)ser*ice8)the)corresponding)element)to)the):nglish)2at)'name of a profession('s2)is) 2u name o# a pro#ession in t"e geniti$e%25 $.)in)Polish8)the)impersonal)2one 'does something(2)is)e+pressed)by)combining) the)third)person)singular)conjugation)of)the)appropriate)*erb)with)the)refle+i*e) pronoun)2si2:)2je+>2)?)2je si2)1one eats48)2pi>2)?)2pije si2)1one drinks48)2i+>2) ?)2idzie)si=2)1one goes (on foot"4...)etc.5)no)subject)is)present)in)this)type) impersonal)e+pression)in)Polish5 )howe*er8)refle+i*e)*erbs8)which)already)use)the)pronoun)2si2)because)of)that) refle+i*eness8)re9uire)the)use)of)a)different)impersonal)construction8)one)with) a)dummy)subject)2czowiek2)1a human, a person4:)2nu#zi> si2)1to $e "ettin" $ore#4) 6)2czowiek si nu!zi2)1one is getting bored, lit : a person is getting bored44 Ka"cieka&sze in,ormac"e & te" gazecie (d6) s3 na ostatnie" stronie (d6).

%he most interesting in,ormation in this ne&s!a!er are on the last !age. 1the)nominati*es);)21ta4)gazeta2)1fem.48)21ostatnia4)strona2)1fem.45 )it)is)worth)noting)that)2in#ormacja2)1sing.8fem.8d,4)is)a)countable)noun)in) Polish)1for)most)of)the)popular)conte+ts48)so)it)is)absolutely)normal)to)speak) of)it)in)plural:)2in#ormacje2)1pl.8d,45)2infor!acja2);)2a piece of information25)the) noun)is)uncountable)when)used)in)the)sense)of)2infor!ation ser(ice28)e.g:) 2in#ormacja turystyczna2)1tourist information44

5obacz, co tam le:y na ziemi (d6). .ee &hat+s lying there on the ground.

[that's in imperative mood, the person addressed being the gram 6nd p sing ] 1the)nominati*e);)2ziemia2)1fem.44 .ied7 !rosto na krzele (d6)C .it straight on the chairC [imperative, exactly like above] 1the)nominati*e);)2krzes<o2)1neut.44 Ka niebie (d6) !o"a&i0a si( t(cza (d1).

# rainbo& a!!eared$has a!!eared in the sky. 1the)nominati*e);)2t=cza2)1fem.45 )as)we3*e)already)seen)in)a)few)earlier)e+amples8)the)thing)that)matters)in)the) sentence)is)what)appeared)in)the)sky5)therefore8)the)word)order)is)so)set)as)to) put)the)word)2t=cza2)in)the)end8)where)it)will)get)focused)attention)of)the) reader/listener5 )Polish)uses)just)one)past)tense8)so8)although)there)is)a)grammatical) differentiation)between)completed)and)uncompleted)actions)1by)means)of)*erbs) taking)perfecti*e)or)imperfecti*e)aspect)forms48)it)is)only)from)the)conte+t) that)one)can)say)if)a)completed)action)took)place)in)a)distant)past)or)just)a) moment)ago8)and)what)signifance)for)the)present)it)has4) )ab0ka rosn3 na "ab0oni (d6). #!!les gro& on an a!!le tree. 1the)nominati*e);)2jab<o\2)1fem.44

(?po?) .amoch;d "edzie !o ulicy (d6). #$%he car is going over a street. 1the)nominati*e);)2ulica2)1fem.45 )the)only)really)well)fitting)preposition)in)Polish)here)is)the)2po2)6)(mo ing" o er (the surface of")6)which)to)you8)7)understand8)must)look)somewhat)odd)and) complicated):4))26amoc"-! jec"a na ulicy.2)would)be)understandable8)but) incorrect8)and)it)would)look)and)sound)really)strange5 )for)the)different)*erbs)applicable)to)different)manners)of)going)12i)28) 2jec"a28)2lecie248)look)at)one)of)the)first)e+amples)in)the)section)about)the) instrumental)6)d".4 Uuszy0a (ver*) maszyna (d1) !o szynach (d6) os!ale (adver*).

%he machine started ahead over the tracks sluggishly. 1the)nominati*e);)2szyny2)1plural4)1rails, railroad tracks45 )this)is)a)line)from)the)famous)Polish)children3s)*erse)2Cokomotywa2)12&he train* engine24)by)Iulian)Huwim5 )yes8)the)first)word)of)that)line)is)a)*erb):4)1inflected)in)the)&rd)pers.)past.) fem.4)6)the)word)order)of)this)sentence)is)rather)unusual)1but)fully)correct04) and)moti*ated)by)the)melodic)plan)of)the)*erse)1that3s)one)of)the)great)things) that)the)declension)affords45 )2rusza2)1when)intransiti*e4);)to mo e, to budge, to mo e ahead, to start, to set off4 Vzeka"3c na &yniki (d4), ucznio&ie ner&o&o chodzili !o korytarzu (d6).

/aiting ,or the results, the students nervously &alked (u! and do&n) the corridor. 1the)nominati*es);)2wyniki2)1plural4)1d,)looks)the)same)as)d-)for)this)noun4)() 2wynik2)1sing.8masc.8d,48)2korytarz2)1masc.44 )we)already)know)why)it3s)2wyniki2)in)the)accusati*e)after)2czekajc na28)rightN) 6)it3s)because)2czeka na2)is)a)*erbal)colligation)that)1as)a)single)le+ical) unit4)takes)its)object)in)the)accusati*e4 [ubi( chodzi8 !o miecie (d6).

 * like to &alk the city $ ... to &alk the streets. <?to &ander over the area o, the city?= 1the)nominati*e);)2miasto2)1neut.44 -ni u&ielbia"3 biega8 boso !o !la:y (d6). %hey love to run bare,oot on the beach. 1the)nominati*e);)2plaMa2)1fem.45 )2na pla?y2)would)be)fine)if)what)was)happening)on)the)beach)was)static)and) didn3t)in*ol*e)mo*ing)o*er)it)128ubimy czyta na pla,y.2)6)2We like to read on the beach#248)or)if)a)sentence)was)so)constructed)as)to)make)the)beach)only)the) uni*ol*ed)setting)of)an)acti*ity)12D!c na pla,y9 uwielbiamy biega boso.2) 6)2When on the beach, we lo e to run barefoot#2)6)2=#@c na pla?y...2)translates)more) literally)as)2=ein" on the $each...2):)2$ein"2)doesn3t)by)itself)connote) mo*ement45 )2uwielbia2)is)preferred)o*er)2koc"a2)when)referring)to)fa*oured)things)or) acti*ities5)2kochaG2)seems)somewhat)effusi*e)and)affected)in)such)conte+ts8) unless)you)speak)about)acti*ities)which)are)your)true)life?passions4 Po tym zamku (d6) &0;czy si( duch (d1). # ghost &anders over that castle. 1the)subject)of)the)sentence)1a "host4)is)the)last)word)12#uch245 )the)nominati*e);)21ten4)zamek2)1masc.44 Potr3ci0am niechc3cy szklank( (d4) i mleko rozla0o si( !o ca0ym stole (d6).

and the milk s!illed over the &hole table. 1the)nominati*es);)2szklanka2)1fem.48)21ca<y4)stB<2)1masc.44

/r;ci0am [$em v $orm] do domu (d2) !o d&;ch godzinach (d6).

* accidentally$unintentionally nudged the glass,

* came back home a,ter t&o hours. 1the)nominati*es);)2dom2)1masc.48)21dwie4)godziny2)1fem.45 )2!omu2)1in)geniti*e4)is)caused)by)the)rekcja of)the)preposition)2do2)1to4:)look) back)in)the)section)on)the)geniti*e)case5 )2wraca" < to come back, to return %v i &4

(?przy?) .iedz( !rzy stole (d6). *+m sitting at the table. 1the)nominati*e);)2stB<2)1masc.44 -n ci3gle siedzi !rzy kom!uterze (d6). Ee sits at the com!uter all the time. 1the)nominati*e);)2komputer2)1masc.45 )2cigle2)1ad*erb4);)constantly, continuously, all the time4 .to"( !rzy oknie (d6) i !atrz( & niebo (d4).

*+m standing by the &indo& and *+m looking in the sky. 1the)nominati*es);)2okno2)1neut.48)2niebo2)1neut.45 )2patrzy na (/w& co)2)1to look at (or in" something4)is)another)colligation)of)an) intransiti*e)*erb)with)a)preposition)through)which)the)*erb)affects)an)object5) we)ha*e)already)learned)that)such)colligations8)taken)as)a)unit8)ha*e)their)own) case)go*ernments)for)those)objects8)and)that)these)go*ernments)tend)to)be) accusati*e)go*ernments)when)the)preposition)in*ol*ed)is)one)of)those)ha*ing) 2#ual rekcja24

 Eis (a!artment) block stands at Pi0sudskiego .treet. 1the)nominati*e);)2ulica2)1fem.45)1AAA2Pi<sudski2)1surname)in)masc.form44 )2przy2)is)the)preposition)used)in)gi*ing)an)address5)the)word)2ulica2)6)which) because)of)the)rekcja)of)the)preposition)2przy2)comes)in)the)locati*e)6)is)often) skipped)when)the)conte+t)makes)it)clear)that)we3re)speaking)of)an)address5 )AAAtri*ia:)streets)in)Poland)are)named)with)words)1the)names)/the)descriptors/)are)
always)capitalized8)the)word)2ulica2)is)treated)just)like)e*ery)other)noun4: ))those)words)1descriptors4)can)be)either: )))?nouns)1usually)names)of)important)people)or)historical)e*ents4 )))?or)adjecti*es)1e+.:)(ulica) 3*u"a)6)long (street"8)Azeroka wide, Bwiatowa flowery, :arszawska <arso ian)Oin)a)town)ouside)Warsaw)this)one)will)usually)transform)into)an) e+it)road)going)in)the)direction)of)WarsawP45 ))if)the)name)of)the)street)is) )) )) a noun)1as)in)our)e+ample8)where)29i*su#ski2)is)the) surname)of)one)of)Poland3s)greatest)political)leaders48 )))then)it)always)comes)in)the)geniti*e)6)that3s)because)what)we)ha*e)there)is)a) structure)with)the)meaning)of)2the)street)of)Xsomebody)/somethingY2:)this)relation)of) 1grammatical4)2belonging2)is)permanent)and8)since)it)is)e+pressed)by)the)2possessor2) being)in)the)geniti*e8)the)inflection)of)the)word)2ulica2)ne*er)influences)the)geniti*e) form)of)the)descriptor)1thus8)you)will)always)see)the)street)referred)to)as) 29i*su#skie"o2)6)in):nglish?language)publications)that)will)be)29i*su#skie"o Atreet2)6) although)29i*su#skie"o2)is)just)a)functional)form)of)2Pi<sudski245 )if8)on)the)other)hand8)the)street)name)is)an)adjecti*e)1and)it)is)always)a)feminine) *ariant)of)the)adjecti*e8)because)2ulica2)is)feminine48 )))then)that)1adjecti*e4)descriptor)has)to)be)inflected8)just)as)all)adjecti*es)are5)the) thing)is8)though8)only)two)forms)are)re9uired)in)most)conte+ts:)the)nominati*e)128uga + ,zeroka + 3wiatowa + Warszawska248)and)the)locati*e)1for)the)more)or)less)interchangable) reference)prepositions)2na2)and)2przy2:)2na+przy 8ugiej + ,zerokiej + 3wiatowej + Warszawskiej44

)ego blok stoi !rzy (ulicy (d6)) Pi0sudskiego (d2).

>y grandma &as [$em v $orm] al&ays by my side &hen * needed [$em v $orm] her. 1the)nominati*e);)2ja2)1personal)pronoun44 ) general note on usage: in the e*amples a ove the only preposition to e used is 3przy3. "t's worth remem ering& however& that in situations where things or people are not standing really close together (almost touching) and when we're not speaking a out emotional pro*imity& the preposition 3obok3 is often a etter choice it is a it more universal. )ttention2: 3obok3 is always followed y words in genitive (d()2 3tu, obok3 means that the distance is really small. Cook at these e*amples: .zklanka stoi !rzy talerzu (d6). #$%he glass is standing right neTt to a$the !late. 1the)nominati*e);)2talerz2)1masc.44 .zklanka stoi (tu:) obok talerza (d2). 11nearly4)the)same)meaning4 Ka zd"(ciu (d6) sto"( !rzy moim koledze (d6).

>o"a babcia by0a za&sze !rzy mnie (d6), gdy "e" !otrzebo&a0am.

*n the !hoto, *+m standing right neTt to my (male) ,riend. 1the)nominati*es);)2zdj=cie2)1neut.48)21mBj4)kolega2)1masc.4))Ofemale)friend)is) 21moja4)koleManka2P5 )2zdj=cie2)in)the)locati*e)is)dictated)by)the)preposition)2na2)1ob*iously8)the) picture)is)not)a)goal)of)any)mo*ement8)so)the)preposition)2na2)operates)in)its) 2pri!ary rekcja2)here44 Ka zd"(ciu (d6) sto"( (tu:) obok mo"ego kolegi (d2). 11nearly4)the)same)meaning4

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: >>> d4. the vocative (woacz)

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The vocative is a very special case with an e*tremely limited use. "t's sole role is to mark the person(s) or thing(s) eing directly addressed y the speaker when the speaker wants to call them& call their attention& summon them for witness or for help (like in e*clamations: 3.od=3& 3.od, ###3& 3.ood hea ens=3& etc.)& or when the speaker needs to make it clear that the message of the sentence is directed to them& or that the actual o !ect of it is them. -*amples: >amo (d+), chod7 tu na ch&il(. >om, come here ,or a minute. [imperative, 6nd p sing] 1the)nominati*e);)2mama2)1fem.44 Kie, tatusiu (d+), dzi nie dam rady !rzy"echa8.

Ko, daddy, * &on+t be able to come over today. 1the)nominati*e);)2tatuL2)1masc.8)dimuniti*e)of)2tato2/2tata2)1two)alternati*e) nominati*e)forms45 )side?note:)2nie !a ra!y ((z&robi czego)&2)6)collo9uial:)to be not able to do+accomplish something, to ha e no possiblity+conditions to do+accomplish something4 Po&iedz mi (d$) !ra&d( (d4), #niu (d+). %ell me the truth, #nn. 1the)nominati*e);)2ja2)1pers.pron.48)2prawda2)1fem.48 2>nia2)1feminine)first)name44 #ch, ty niedobry kocie (d+)C #h, you bad catC 1the)nominati*e);)21niedobry4)kot2)1masc.4 )the)2ty2)is)facultati*e8)but)a)2ty2)12wy2)?))when)adressing)a)group4)placed) before)a)*ocati*e)adds)an)e+tra)emotional)9uality)to)an)e+clamation44 (>;") Bo:e (d+), to straszneC (>y) Pod, this 6is6 terribleC 1the)nominati*e);)21mBj4)'Bg2)1masc.45 )in)sentences)corresponding)to)those)in):nglish)which)start)2&his is ###28)the)2is2) 12jest24)would)usually)be)dropped8)especially)if)what)follows)is)a)bare) adjecti*e)1or)ad*erb45)if)the)complement)is)a)substanti*e8)it)comes)in)the) nominati*e8)so)we)ha*e8)e.g.8)27o (jest& m-j pok-j (!E&2)12This is !y roo!.248) no)matter)the)presence)or)absence)of)the)2jest2)there:)notice)that)this)is)only) so)for)sentences)1clauses4)starting)with)the)demonstrati*e)2to2)6)sentences)with) a)regular)subject)take)the)complement)of)2jest2)in)the)instrumental:)2Janek jest #o$ry! #zieckie! (d.).2)12Johnny is a "oo# chil#.248)or8)alternati*ely8)they)use) a)2to2)in)a)linking?*erb)function)and)then)we)neither)ha*e)the)2jest2)or)any) inflection)for)the)predictate:)2Janek "o #o$re #ziecko (d.).25)73*e)been)ranting) about)the)two)ways)of)saying)2'somebody+something( is 'somebody+something else(2)more) e+tensi*ely)at)two)different)occasions)earlier)on):44 >atko Boska (d+)C (-h,) >other o, PodC <literallyD 'ivine >other= 1the)nominati*e);)2Matka)'oska2)1fem.44 )acku (d+)C Vhod7 na obiadC )ackC Vome ,or dinnerC

<in 2nglish you &ould rather shoutD ?..., dinner+s readyC?= 1the)nominati*e);)2Iacek2)1personal)name44
5a!0acisz mi za to, draniu (d+)C 1ou &ill !ay me ,or that, you scoundrelC 1the)nominati*e);)2dra\2)1masc.44

...for other kind epithets that you may give to people that you're particularly fond of& and for their vocative forms& contact your local Polish teacher $)) ... oh& all right& may e !ust one more :) : ]otrze (d+), dlaczego to zrobi0eQC /hy did you do that, you rascalQC 1the)nominati*e);)2<otr2)1masc.45)it)deser*es)a)mention)that)in)the)Polish)of) today)2otr2)is)mostly)used)with)well?meaning)attitude)and)a)humouros)intent:) the)word)doesn3t)isn3t)really)offensi*e5)it3s)not)something)you)would)say)if)you) were)angry)with)somebody)in)earnest:)2dra\2)6)e*en)though)it3s)9uite)mild8)too)6) would)be)much)better)in)those)situations4

"t is worth noting that: a) although every noun has a vocative form& inanimate o !ects (shoes& doors& spoons& walls& etc.) are very rarely addressed directly this usually happens in fairy(tales or if the speaker is a child: children sometimes personalize o !ects when they are causing them trou le& making them angry& etc. ) for all practical purposes& the nominative is used instead of the vocative when addressing people y their surnames. ) thing for you to remem er that e*cept for special environments& like the army or the school& it is really uncommon to call people y their are surnames: under most other circumstances& doing that is considered very rude. The typical form of address etween adults who are not on first(name terms is to add one of the conventional titles of respect efore the uniflected surname$ these titles are 30an3 (3>r#3)& 30ani3 (3>s#3)& and 30aBstwo" (">r# and >s#3 referring collectively to a married couple) in vocative& they are: "0anie", "0ani"& and "0aBstwo"& respectively. -*amples: ?Panie /inie&ski, ...? ?Pani Ko&akC? ?Panie o&alskiC? (?>r. /inie&ski, ...?)

(?>rs. Ko&akC?)

?Pani o&alska, ...?

(?>r. o&alskiC?)

?PaSst&o Ko&ako&ie, ...? ?PaSst&o o&alscyC?

(?>s. o&alski, ...?)

(?>r. and >rs. o&alskiC?)

(?>r. and >rs. Ko&ak, ...?)

Cet me remind you once more: the surnames a ove are all in the nominative. The variation of forms reflects only the necessity to stay in agreement a out the gender and num er. )nd one more thing (as often: not 'uite pertinent to our main preoccupation with the vocative here $)) what "'ve !ust shown you are e*amples of the typical forms of address for the situations where you would ha e a need to call up people's surnames. "t is worth noting& however& that such need would& under normal circumstances& occur only a few times in the course of an e*changeEconversation (for e*ample& at the times of saying hello and good ye). 9uring the conversation itself& unless there might e a dou t as to who you are addressing& you would !ust start the sentences with one of these polite sentence(openings: ?Prosz( Pana, ...? ?Prosz( Pani, ...? (when addressing a man) (when addressing a woman)

?Prosz( PaSst&a, ...? (when addressing any mi*ed group of people& starting from a pair a married couple or two totally unrelated people of different se*es ending with crowds on pu lic meetings) ... yes& " guess that what "'ve said right a ove o liges me to complete the range with the forms used in addressing groups made up solely of men or solely of women. 4ere they are: ?Prosz( Pan;&, ...? or !ust ?Pano&ie, ...? ?Prosz( PaS, ...? (when addressing two or more men)

(when addressing two or more women)

These same five phrases would also e used when calling out or addressing adults whose name you don't know.

c) the use of the vocative with first names: it is growing increasingly more common for native Polish speakers to employ the nominative rather than the vocative form in situations of calling out to another person (across the street& from the window of a train& etc.)& calling them up (to make them come near)& or calling their name to get their attention i.e.& in those instances where you would normally make a pause after saying that first name. Thus& you would usually hear people call: ?BartekC (d1)? instead of ?BartkuC (d+)? ?>arekC (d1)? instead of ?>arkuC (d+)? ? rzysiek (d1)C? instead of ? rzykuC (d+)? 1ou would also hear people speak this way: ?>arek (d1), mam Vi co do !o&iedzenia.? (>ark, *+ve got something to tell you.) in utterances like those we can assume that there is a little pause made etween the name eing called and the rest of the sentence that follows (so& actually& a etter way to transcri e the last sentence would pro a ly e ?>arekC >am Vi (...)?). "n informal& everyday language& this usage is accepta le (and practiced y nearly every ody) for situations where we need to call some ody's attention& so that we can e sure they will listen to what we say. 4owever& when the personal address (made through the use of some ody's first name) is not so much aimed at calling a person's attention ( ecause they are already listening to you)& ut rather at showing them that what you say is directed to them in a personal way especially when it's accompanied y an emotional involvement of the speaker (all kinds of declarations& apologies& promises& re'uests& etc.) then you would always prefer the vocative: >arku (d+), musz( Vi si( do czego !rzyzna8. )acku (d+), !rze!raszam... )ack, *+m sorry...

>ark, * must con,ess something to you $ admit to having done something &rong.

... and... at this point "'m sorry& too... ecause there's one more complication " want to ring in. " think you may find the thing interesting& though (... otherwise " wouldn't e writing a out it :))) "ntroduction (... a longer one :) Polish first names and their pet forms :
*n Polish, ,or many ,irst names there eTist t&o or more !o!ular !et ,orms, each carrying a di,,erent degree o, a,,ection and being most suitable to a s!eci,ic occasion$relationshi!. 2Tam!lesD %he name ?#nna? can take the ,ollo&ing !et ,ormsD creating an intimacy),

L. ?#nia? (the most !o!ular oneD both nice, and kind, and ,riendly, and &arm but not to the !oint o, N. ?#nka? (a ?brotherly? ,ormD a good one ,or everyday use among ,riends and &ith the ,amily ?lo& on sugar? and 9uite ,amiliar at the same time (s!oken by a !erson &ho is not a good old ,riend this one &ould sound a little rude)), M. ?#neczka? (rare, cute and a little old ,ashioned, this ,orm is something that !arents and, es!ecially, grand!arents might use), 4. ?#nusia? (9uite tender, ,or !eo!le that are really close) [et+s take ? rzyszto,? no&W it has "ust t&o !o!ular !et ,ormsD

L. ? rzysiek? (the ,orm ,or everybody &ho is in any degree o, ,amiliarity &ith the guy),

N. ? rzy? (that &ay you &ould call a little boy, so in a gro&nAu! men this ,orm o, address means s&eetness) #nother name ?)aros0a&?D

L. ?'arek? (the same thing as &ith ? rzysiek?), N. ?'aru? (same as &ith ? rzy?), M. ?'areczek? (something !retty much like ?#neczka?) #nd one more eTam!leD Eo& about... let+s see...?>a0gorzata?Q %his is a good one, because there+s 9uite a lot o, !et ,orm ,or itD L. ?Posia? (this is like ?#nia?D a rather cute ,orm and a ,airly s&eet one, but at the same time that+s the one &hich is most !o!ular and the one to use ,or everyone that is at any degree o, ,amiliarity &ith the nameA bearer), N. ?Poka? (like &ith ?#nka?, but !erha!s "ust ,or me it sounds even more brus9ueD not too kind at all &ith that !ersonW close ,riends might also be acce!ted in using that oneD eTactly as a ,orm o, sho&ing the closeness o, relationshi! allo&ing ,or a little bit o, (a,,ected) roughness), boy,riend (but a longAtime one, rather than a ,resh one W)), ?Posiunia? hates the assAkisser ty!e D)), M. ?PosieSka? (really s&eet, dimunitive and sort o, ?in ,amilyAmode?D to be used by ,amily and maybe a 4. ?Posiunia? (s&eet and ingratiatingD almost entirely reserved ,or ne& boy,riends (unless the !articular 4. ?Pocha? (... sounds heavy, doesn+t itQ D) &ell, so it isC this one is !ractically reserved ,or the oldAtime

and really ?lo& on sugar?D in !ractice, only to be used in situations &here you have reasons to be a bit mi,,ed

good ,emale ,riendsW it+s not really cute, but very &arm all the sameD in a rough, ?comradely? kind o, &ay), ^. ?>a0gosia? (this one is 9uite interestingW !ractically, it can be used like ?Posia?, but it seems more elegant (&ith less o, the ,amiliar cordiality)... and yet a bit cuter at the same time)

- enoughC D)) (...&hich readsD end o, the terribly long introduction D')

,hy am " telling you a out all thatA ... " don't know pro a ly& " !ust like to ram le $)) )nd now seriously: for one thing& " wanted to show you a few pet(name forms and get you ac'uainted with the fact that there are differences etween them$ and for the second& ... yes& " wanted to make a point a out the vocative for the pet names and first names in general$ ..the point is: some name*forms sound better in the true ocati e, and some ha e an affinity to the nominati e# " can imagine what you're thinking :) ,ell& yes... it's one of those things you've got to ac'uire an ear for the language... ut there are some practical clues: a) long names sound even more pretentious when they come in their vocative form (3#art7omie!u23 pfffff2 hahaha2 :)) : it's est to avoid using them in the unshortened form anyway (" mean: it's etter to use the pet forms)& e*cept in formal situations. ()s a general rule& eing on first(name terms with some ody& you would hardly ever use the 3official3& full form of their first name unless it's one of the few names that don't have pet forms applica le to simple friendship or companionship& in which case you would have to stay with that asic& main form: ?Uobert?, ? arol?, ?>arek?, ?)acek?& etc.$ with the ma!ority of names& however& it is possi le to find a proper pet variant& and then the 3official3 form would only come into play in some particularly serious conversations.) ) the 3rough3 and 3a little rough3 pet names (= ?#nka?, ?Poka?, ?Pocha?) always come with the vocative identical to the nominative 4)))) c) the very cute forms always have a special vocative (different from the nominative)& and the use of that vocative is usually strongly preferred to the use of the nominative... so& even when !ust calling out to some ody at a distance& or trying to make some ody look somewhere& you would always tend to say ?#neczkoC?, ?#nusiuC?, ? rzysiuC?, ?)arusiuC?, ?)areczkuC?, ?PosieSkoC?, ?PosiuniuC?, ?>a0gosiuC?& etc.

d) for the pet names that are in the 3middle area of sweetness3& oth the special vocative and the nominative usually sound /O: a ig degree of individual preference applies there& so " would personally call: ?#niuC? (d+), ? rzysiekC? (d1), ?)arekC? (d1), ?PosiaC? (d1) (while the correct vocatives would e: ?#niuC? (d+),
? rzykuC? (d+), ?)arkuC? (d+), ?PosiuC? (d+))

#ut C-T 0- 0)O- "T 5-61 XC-)6 ()): what "'m talking a out here is the collo'uial use. )t school they would teach you that you should )C,)1+ use the proper vocative form of the first names in all the situations of direct personal address no matter if you call people from a distance& or !ust using their names to make the message feel more personal$ no matter if you make a pause or not. +o& in theory& only my point 3 )3 a ove relates to formalized& regulated usage: ecause& indeed& those 3rough3 pet names have the vocative form identical to the nominative. YYY )nd since we're already almost e*haustive a out the vocative for names $) let me inform you a out a characteristic form of personal address in Polish& one that is used a lot here. That form is: ?Panie (d+)$Pani (d+) X the vocative (d4) o, ,irst name or o, a !et ,orm o, a ,irst name? (this form applies only to >nd person singular address$ let me remind you that the nominative of "0anie"(d4) is 30an3 (masc.'d1)& and the nominative of "0ani"(d4) is 30ani3 (,em.'d1)& and that those words correspond to -nglish 3)r#3 and 3)s#3& respectively) This manner of address is very popular among people of the older generations& in which going on first(name terms was reserved to relationships of close friendship (and even then& usually for the friendships made efore reaching @?(@U years of age). Poles who are under B? today tend to shorten the interpersonal distance and get on first name terms with most people of a out e'ual age as soon as they get 'uite familiar with them. 4owever& this 3courteous3 form of first(name address would still e used a lot even y them: it is the natural choice when talking to a person who is significantly older than you& or with people who you meet often and with whom you are friendly ut not close enough to !ustify the use of the first(name alone: some of your neigh ours& shop(assistants& etc. This is also a very fre'uently used form in workplace environments especially y osses speaking to their su ordinates. #oth the regular first(name form and the pet forms can e com ined with 3Pan (dG)EPani (dG)3 (which in vocative turns to 3Panie (dG)EPani (dG)3)& offering a wide palette of forms of address to suit different forms of relationship and different degrees of reverence due. Hor e*ample& you would pro a ly not go eyond the regular first name when addressing people your senior y >? years or more. )t the other end of the scale& some osses would have a ha it of calling their su ordinates y this formula and using one of the cuter pet forms with it: an element of conduct which can e taken as oth a way of fraternizing and a show of their superiority ( ecause those pet forms would naturally ring up connotations with parents(children relationship). )n important thing to remem er is that this formula of address re9uires that the first name or the pet name would always be in the ocati e ()). Cet's have a few e*amples:
(,or ?>arek (d1)?, a masculine ,irst name), ?Panie (d+) >areczku (d+), ...? (?>areczek (d1)? is a !etA,orm o, the name above, mostly used &ith little boys , so this utterance &ould !robably be the start o, a re9uest being made by >arek+s boss)
?Panie (d+) >arku (d+), ...?

(,or ?#nna (d1)?, ,eminine) ?Pani (d+) #niu(d+)C? (that one+s &armer, because ?#nia (d1)? is a !et ,orm o, ?#nna?W this &ay you could address a neighbour or a notably older ,riend) ?Pani (d+) #nusiu(d+)C? (that+s vocative o, the cute !et ,orm o, ?#nna?D ?#nusia (d1)?W &e can assume that it is #nna+s cree!y boss s!eaking W))
?Pani (d+) #nno(d+)C ? ?Pani (d+) >a0gorzato (d+), ...? (sounds very decorous, but this one &ould !robably be the most ,itting &hen

addressing an elderly lady by the name o, ?>a0gorzata (d1)?) ?Pani (d+) Posiu (d+)C? (,or all occasions &here the level o, reverence need not be 9uite as highW the

nominative = ?Posia (d1)?) ?Pani (d+) >a0gosiu (d+), ...? (,rom the !et ,orm ?>a0gosia (d1)? that one &ould !robably be ,avoured by the bosses... eTce!t ,or the most cheeky ones &ho could go ,urther than that and sayD ?Pani (d+) PosieSko (d+), ...?)

... " imagine that would do for now $)))... ut in case you'd like to have even more information (22A2 $)) a out the vocative& you can look in here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/^ocati*e@Polish (recommended if you want to see a few moderately offensive epithets that you can give to people ehaving stupidly :))

...
)nd on this very personal note we end the little ooklet on Polish declension :)) " hope you have found it at least a little it useful :) Cet me apologize once again for my propensity to overload the e*plaining te*t to the e*amples with information not pertinent to what those e*amples are meant to illustrate. " know it's something that pro a ly makes the ooklet less clear than it might (or should) e& and " realize that it may e making it a little confusing in places... " can only hope that it's not something too discouraging. "t has certainly not een my plan to overwhelm you. " !ust wanted you to e a le to fully understand the e*ample sentences and to follow their structures and wording. " guess " was also acting on the notion that " cant't e sure when (or even if) there are going to e any follow(ups to this ooklet& so " wanted to smuggle in a few e*tra topics of Polish grammar and usage (however superficially treated). Cast of all& "'m not a professional& " was improvising all the way& "'ve had no set methodology or terminology: if " sin additionally a out the composition& " can say " have een already culpa le anyway. " also would like to thank my friend 6ummenigge& who's waited long for the ooklet to finally take shape& continuously providing me with motivation to finish it& and 0anuela& who gave me the inspiration to set a out it at all. )s said earlier& "'m not sure a out how much time and effort " will e a le to afford to work of this type in the future& ut " surely would love to have my share in popularizing Polish language and culture. Therefore& if you have ideas for su !ects related to Polish language that you would like to see covered in a similar fashion& if there is something you couldn't yet find well(e*plained (and so& you would like to see an amateur tinkerer like me da le in e*plaining :))& you can always try your powers of inciting to action y writing at: so arsoZgazeta.pl %ntil ne*t time& it's arsorro signing off :)

2Ttended a!!endiTD ?declension 9uestions?

... +o... this is yet not 'uite the end of this ooklet... :) There's still one thing a out the declension that can prove important and useful. "'m talking a out something that "'m going to call 3declension 9uestions3. The thing is that for every sentence you can make 'uestion sentences in'uiring a out any su stantive in that sentence... Cet's have an e*ample in -nglish:

?>anuela eats dinner at home at eight o+clock, using a ,ork and a kni,e.? )nd here's a volley of 'uestions targeting each individual word in the sentence: ?/ho eats dinner at home at eight (...)Q? ?/hat does >anuela eat at eightQ? ?/here does >anuela eat dinnerQ?

?/hat time does >anuela eat dinnerQ? ?/hat does >anuela eat the dinner &ithQ? +o& /O... in -nglish it's all pretty straightforward$ even though at that last 'uestion we actually have a little complication: we need to ask 3/hat &ith...3 and -nglish synta* wants us to put that 3&ith3 at the end of the sentence. .ow let's take a Polish sentence: ?>anuela (d1) da0a ksi3:k( (d4) z cieka&ymi zadaniami (d5)

koledze (d$) s&o"ego kuzyna (d2) dobremu & matematyce (d6).?

)))1the)nominati*es:)2ksiRMka2)1fem.48 21ciekawe4)zadania2)1plural4)()21ciekawe4)zadanie2)1sing.8neut.8d,48) 2kolega2)1masc.48)21swBj/jej4)kuzyn2)1masc.48)2matematyka2)1fem.44

" eg you take heart2 :) This sentence is& indeed& a little intricate& ut it is so on purpose (... which means we have the things firmly under control :)): " wanted to have a single sentence that would feature su stantives appearing in as many declension cases as possi le. )nd " succeeded in making one that has a su stantive for every declension case (save for the vocative)2 :) ,hat do " need that forA ,ell& ecause what we have done with the -nglish sentence a ove we should e a le to do with the Polish one& rightA :) +o& we're going to that& and this will help us make an o servation. #ut first& let's translate that sentence to -nglish& so that we know e*actly what we're talking a out $) ?>anuela gave a book &ith interesting (mathematical) !roblems to a ,riend o, her cousin (&ho is) good at maths.?

))Owe)will)use)the)translation)abo*e8)although)it)must)be)noted)that: ))?)in):nglish)it)would)be)better)to)say ?...a book o, interesting...?8)because)73*e)

been)thinking)here)of)a)book)of)e+ercises)that)is)all)a)collection)of) mathematical)problems)to)sol*e:)a)sentence)using)2&ith2)seems)to)suggest)that)in) the)whole)book)there)may)be)just)a)few)mathematical)problems5 ))?)2... dobremu & ...)/)... good at ...2)[)the)Polish)preposition)2w2)in)most) situations)corresponds)to)the):nglish)2in25)howe*er8)you)know)it)well)that)the) prepositions)don3t)ha*e)direct)analogues)and)that)their)translation)always) depends)on)the)conte+tP

/O... and now& since the sentence are fairly similar in synta*& we will try making the 'uestions in a parallel manner S in -nglish and in Polish.

Cet's put the sentence in oth the languages here for easy reference:

?>anuela (d1) da0a ksi3:k( (d4) z cieka&ymi zadaniami (d5) koledze (d$) s&o"ego kuzyna (d2) dobremu & matematyce (d6).? ?>anuela gave a book &ith interesting (mathematical) !roblems to a ,riend o, her cousin (&ho is) good at maths.?

(@L@) a 9uestion about >anuela D)

( the interrogative !ronouns to ask about the nominative (d1)D ?kto2 / co2? <&hoQ $&hatQ= )

?/ho gave the bookQ? ?@to (d1) !a ksi,k (d4)2? /e are asking about the sub"ect o, the sentence (notice that in 2nglish 9uestions about sub"ects bookQ?)...

have a di,,erent syntaT to other 9uestions &e ask ?/ho gave the bookQ?, K-%D ?/ho did give the ... and our ,irst interrogative ,or the sub"ect &hich also meansD our ,irst 9uestion &ord in the 4or ob"ects, the interrogative &ord in the nominative is ?co? (?&hat?). ?7ruskawka (d1) jest so!ka.? (# stra&berry is s&eet.) ?3o (d1) jest so!kie2? (/hat is s&eetQ)

nominative. ?@to?. %his one is ,or !eo!le.

/hat * &ant you to notice no& that the 9uestion &ords have genders (&hich !ractically make di,,erence in 9uestions ,or the sub"ectW in interrogatives a!!lied to other cases, the interrogative gender hardly comes into !lay, as you &ill see ,or yourselves). %he interrogative a!!licable to these rulesC D)) that+s &hy &e have ?@to !a...2?, and K-% ?@to !aa...2? or "@to humans, ?@to (d1)?, is masculine (...yeah, it+s a macho &orld, but it &asn+t me &ho invented !ao...2? it is #[/#1. ?@to !a...?D the masculine verb ,ormW and it doesn+t matter i, the treat the &ord ?kto? like a masculine nounW another eTam!leD the 9uestion ?/ho is the best at

!erson asking the 9uestion can guess the gender o, that sub"ect or not the !erson asking must

maths hereQ? &ill al&ays translate to ?@to jest tutaj najlepszy z matematyki2? (... and K-%D ?... najlepsza ...? (,eminine ad"ective variant) or ?... najlepsze ...? (neuter ad"ective variant) ) _even i, asked to a grou! absolutely dominated by &omen, or to one consisting entirely o, girls or &omen.

.imilarly &ith ?co? the di,,erence being that ?co? is #[/#1. neuterW that+s &hy &e have ?3o

jest so!kieQ? and K-%D ?... so!ki ...? (masc.ad".) or ?... so!ka ...? (,em.ad".)W to demonstrate ho& it &orks &ith a verb, let+s take a sentenceD ?3o stao na stole2? (?/hat stood on the

tableQ?) <only the !ast tense sho&s the di,,erence=D you can see that it+s not ?... staQ? or ?... staaQ? _such ,orms &ould al&ays be invalid.

(@@@L) ... those t&o 9uestion &ords areD ?kto? and ?co?

%o sum u!D there are t&o interrogatives that yield in ans&er a substantive in the nominative... and it+s &orth remembering that &hen using them that isD &hen asking 9uestions about the

sub"ect (?/ho$/hat does$did$&ill do sth...Q?, ?/ho$/hat is$&as$&ill be sth...Q?, etc.) &e have to treat the ?kto? as a masculine !ronoun, and the ?co? as a neuter !ronoun.

(@N@) a 9uestion about the book

( the interrogative !ronouns to ask about ob"ects in the accusative (d4)D ?kogo2 / co2? <&hoQ $&hatQ= )

?(anuela (d1) !aa ksi,k (d4) (...)? (?>anuela gave a book (...)?). .o, let+s askD ?/hat did >anuela give (to the ,riend o, ... bla bla bla)Q? ?3o (d4) (anuela (d1) !aa (kole!ze ... it!.&2? .o... *t looks sim!le enough, !ractically like in 2nglish. #nd it isC ... #lmost D)... Because.. &hy did * &rite the ?(d4)? neTt to this ?co?Q %o remind you that this ?co? here is asking about the direct ob"ect o, the sentence, about the direct ob"ect com!lement o, the verb ?!awa? (&hich !resents the standard government ,or the the accusative ?!awa kogo)/co) (d4)H?) ... /ait, &ait, &aitC D) Eave you noticed somethingQ D) ?@+1+) / 3+)? D (?somebody $ something? (d4))... in PolishD

- , let+s think o, another 9uestion... *n our sentence &e have

?kogo" (not ?kto?, &hich is reserved "ust ,or the nominative, "ust ,or the 9uestions about sub"ect). [et+s make an eTem!lary sentence &here the ob"ect &ould be a !ersonD

...yesC D) the 9uestion &ord ,or an accusative ob"ect is ?co? ,or things, but ,or !eo!le it+s

?Dorota (d1) cauje swoj mam (d4).? (?'orota is kissing her mom.?).

the one &ho has to submit hersel, to the kissing (&hether she &ants it or not W))W the verb ?caowa? has a standard rekc"a ,or the accusative=

<?'orota? is the sub"ect o, the action, she+s !laying the lead !art D), ?mama? is ?"ust? the ob"ect,

Ko&, the 9uestion about the ob"ectD ?/ho is 'orota kissingQ?, looks like thisD ?@ogo (d4) cauje Dorota (d1)2?

Van * be allo&ed a little digressionQ D)D use,ul. [et+s imagine a situation &here a !erson # is telling a !erson B the story o, a movie. But # isn+t very shouts eTitedlyD notice that having a s!ecial 9uestion &ord ,or ob"ect is not merely a stu!id com!lication it can be !retty

good at telling things, so the B soon gets very con,used about all the characters. #t some !oint in the story # ?5 wte!y on j pocaowa.? ?#nd at that moment he kissed herC?

Ko&, let+s imagine that the B &as able to ,ollo& the story told by the # to the eTtent that B kno&s &ho the man in that sentence above is. %he thing that remains a mystery to B is &ho the girl that &as kissed in the movie &as. *n 2nglish, B has to askD

?Ee kissed &hoQ? *n Polish "ustD "@ogo2" .imilarly, i, it &as the man+s (the ?activeAkisser+s? W)) identity that &as the riddle ,or B, in 2nglish the B &ould have to askD ?/ho kissed herQ? *n Polish usually it should su,,ice "ust to sayD "@to2" the digression ends here D)

.ummary D the interrogative !ronouns ,or accusative ob"ects are (@@@N) ?kogo?, ?co?

sideAnoteD Penders also eTist here, but they come into !lay only i,, ,or &hatever reason, you+d have to add an ad"ective to the interrogative !ronounW there is 9uite rarely need ,or this. "@ogo koc"anego cauje Dorota2" (the 2nglish translation cannot be 9uite literal, it &ould be

something likeD ?/hat beloved !erson is 'orota kissingQ?) ?koc"anego? = the accusative o, ?koc"any? (ad"ective in the masculine ,orm) .imilarlyD

much changed sentence construction to carry the meaning...D ?/hat &ill be the nice thing that #ndrze" &ill

"3o a!nego !ostanie Fn!rzej2" (again, the di,,erence and limitations o, 2nglish grammar en,orce a

getQ?) ?a!nego? = the accusative o, ?a!ny? (ad". in the neuter ,orm) ... you &ould have noticed, ho&ever, that in the accusative the masculine and the neuter ,orms o, an ad"ective look the same.)

(@M@) a 9uestion about the book+s contents W)

( the interrogative !ronouns to ask about a substantive in the instrumental (d.)D ?(z& kim2 / (z& czym2? <(&ith) &hoQ $ (&ith) &hatQ= )

>oving on in our sentence &e come to this !ointD ?(anuela (d1) !aa ksi,k (d4) z ciekawymi za!aniami (d5) (kole!ze (d$)...&?

?>anuela gave a book &ith interesting (mathematical) !roblems (to a ,riend...)?

/e have already dealt &ith the >anuela... W) ... and &ith the book... But, * claimed that a 9uestion can be made about every substantive in the sentence, rightQ D) [et+s then no& try to make a the sentence. 9uestion about the ?z (ciekawymi& za!aniami? ?&ith (interesting) !roblems? element o,

)ust to have it a little easier to make 9uestions let+s substantiate the ?,riend? &ith a !ronoun and make a little reordering. %his doesn+t in any &ay a,,ect the element that &e+re interested in right no&.

?(anuela (d1) !aa (G (d$) ksi,k (d4) z ciekawymi za!aniami (d5).? ?>anuela gave E*> a book &ith interesting (mathematical) !roblems.?

... #nd no& ,or a moment o, ,ranknessD sim!le grammatical trans,ormations &ill not lead us to !articularly natural, clear and !recise 9uestions here either in 2nglish or in Polish. But &e+ll try to arrive at something that &ill be correct and that &ill let us have something demonstrated... - D no mysteries this ?something? is going to be the interrogative !ronouns to use in asking about those substantives in a sentence that come in the instrumental D)

/hy do * say that the 9uestion sentences made by a sim!le trans,ormation are less than !er,ectQ Because, in 2nglish, i, &e make a sentence like thisD

?/hat did >anuela give him a book &ithQ? then &e get into a big con,usion, since the most obvious understanding o, it &ould !robably beD ?Rsing &hat did >anuela give him the bookQ?, and &e ,eel like shouting in res!onseD ?/ith her hands, o, courseC? D'
Eo&ever, i, &e change ?a book &ith mathematical !roblems? ,or ?a book o, mathematical

!roblems?, and then askD ?/hat did >anuela give him a book o,Q? then that is ,airly une9uivocal. (o, courseD ,or the maTimum clarity and ease o, communication, &e &ould rather say something likeD ?/hat &as in the book that >anuela gave himQ?, but this is a re!hrasing that takes too ,ar a&ay ,rom the the syntaT o, our eTam!lary sentence here).
But &e+re still going to have a little issue here... .ee, the elegant 2nglish syntaT is not very

straight,or&ard. Eere+s &hat * meanD according to the canons o, !ro!er 2nglish syntaT, the

interrogative ?&hat? must come in the beginning, &hile the second com!onent o, an ?interrogative !hrase? (*+m talking o, the interrogatives o, this kindD ?-, &hat...?, ?/ith &hat...?, ?#bout &hat...?,

?-n &hat...?, etc.) is su!!osed to land at the very end o, the sentenceW &hich results in 9uestion sentences looking like thisD ?/hat is it made o,Q?, ?/hat are you thinking aboutQ?, ?/hat &ill you do it &ithQ?, ?/hat did you insist onQ?, etc.

4ortunately, there is a &ay out &e can re!hrase our 9uestion in a &ay that &ould be less elegant (yet still correct), but closer to the Polish syntaT. Eere+s our modi,ied 9uestionD

?# book o, &hat did >anuela give himQ?, ... and no&, &e can even make itD ?# book &ith &hat did >anuela give himQ? ... and not run into the ,ormer tra! o, ambiguity.
[et me translate the last one into Polish no&D

?@si,k (d4) z czym (d5) !aa mu (anuela (d1)2? >ake no mistake this is still a sentence (a 9uestion sentence) in &hich the sub"ect is >anuelaD ?giver? _ here, that is clearly ?>anuela?. %hat+s &hy ?>anuela? stays in the nominative 1d,4)

the verb is ?!aa? (?she gave?) and the !er,ormer o, this action is the !erson$thing &ho gave A the (nominative ` sub"ect o, the sentence), and the ?book? that lies a, the beginning o, the sentence, being all the time the ob"ect o, it (the direct ob"ect o, the verb ?!awa 1r-4?), is in the accusative (?ksi,k?). *t doesn+t matter much &hat !osition in the &ord order the &ord ?ksi,k? &ill occu!yD because o, the declension, the role o, each substantive in the sentence is demonstrated the sentence doesn+t have all that much signi,icance (but, o, course, it is not com!letely ,ree this &ayD ?H czym (d5) ksi,k (d4) !aa mu (d$) (anuela (d1)2? /hy is it more naturalQ &ell, that+s !retty sim!leD the actual 9uestion !hrase (?H czym...?) looks best at the very beginning o, a sentence.

9uite clearly by its ,orm (the ,orm de!endant on the declension case it is in) _ thus, its location in either)... .!eaking o, &ord order, our 9uestion in Polish &ould actually look nicer and more natural

#nd no& &ell, &e have the 9uestion !hraseC #nd in itD our seeked interrogative !ronounC D) %his is &hat &e+ve been aiming ,or, rightQ D) ?H czym (d5)...? a ?/ith &hat...? &hich means that the interrogative !ronoun to ask about

substantives in the instrumental is ? czym ?D &hen &hat &e+re asking about is a thing.

the instrumental, &here that !art o, a sentence &ould be a !ersonQ ?H (%.) czym (d.) ksi,k (...)?.

Van there be a situation in &hich &e &ould have to make a 9uestion about a !art o, a sentence in -, course, there canC [ook at our eTam!le 9uestion about the bookD

/hy did * !ut the ?1r-4? a,ter the ?z?Q because i, ?z? means ?&ith?... b
$...reminderD ?z/ze? can also mean ?,rom? or ?out o,?, and then it comes &ith the genitiveD look into the section on the genitive in the ,irst !art o, the booklet ,or more details...$

?z? in the ,unction o, the 2nglish ?&ith? sho&s a constant case government ,or the instrumental 1r"4.

b ... then it is #[/#1. ,ollo&ed by a &ord in the instrumentalW in other &ordsD the !re!osition

#nd &e o,ten do things &ith other !eo!le, rightQ W)) 4or eTam!leD ?* o,ten &atch television together &ith 6my6 brother?. 1the)*erb)2ogl!a2)has)the)standard)rekcja)1for)the)accusati*e)1d-445 )the)nominati*es);)2telewizja2)1fem.48)2brat2)1masc.44 ?Vz(sto ogl3dam (r4) tele&iz"( (d4) razem z (rC) bratem (d5).?

1ou &ould o,ten say that as an ans&er to the 9uestionD

?/ho do you (usually) &atch television &ithQ?

stylish but more PolishAuserA,riendly W) D

- . 4irst, let+s change the syntaT o, this 9uestion sentence ,rom the elegant to something less

?/ith &hom do you (usually) &atch televisionQ?

#nd, hey !resto, _ &e+re "ust a ti!toe a&ay ,rom the translation in PolishC D ?H (r5) kim (d5) (zazwyczaj& ogl!asz (r4) telewizj (d4)2?

.o, here &e arrive at our second interrogative !ronoun in the instrumental this time, one that is used &hen dealing &ith !eo!leD ?kim?. Kotice that, although the rekc"a o, the !re!osition ?z/ze? is !robably the most ,re9uent reason

,or the use o, the instrumental ,orm in nouns and !ronouns re,erring to !eo!le, it is not the only one !ossible. .ee the ,ollo&ing eTam!les (you may &ish to consult the section about the instrumental in
the ,irst !art o, the booklet ,or the eT!lanation o, the role o, the instrumental case in those eTam!les)D

answerD "4a jestem tu sze#em (d5)." ?*+m the boss hereC? 1here)we)ha*e)the)use)of)the)instrumental)in)talking)about)a)role)in)life...) speaking)of)which8)we)can)further)e+ploit)this)function)of)the)instrumental)and) make)an)e+ample)that)would)coincidentally)be)a)serious)philosophical)in9uiry)as) well)D)): ?@im (d5) jestemQ? ?/ho am *Q? 1"@to (d1) ja jestem2" would)sound)a)little)clumsy5)it)could)also)be)read)as)a) 9uestion)about)more)elementary)facts)about)one3s)identity:)name8)nationality8) etc....44 ... and there is one very ty!ical 9uestion about a role in li,e that is not so terribly !hiloso!hic, and there,ore, &hich !robably everybody hears in their li,e at least once D) (...- , * can no& imagine some hairAs!litting !ersonalities argue that hardly any guy &ould ever hear !recisely the 9uestion belo&, but... *+ll leave it ,or your home&ork to make a variant ,or a masculine sub"ect W)))D *uestionD ?@im (d5) c"ciaa) by/zosta9 g!y bya) maa2? answerD ?(Wte!y& c"ciaam by/zosta aktork (d5).? ?/ho did you &ant to be$become as you &ere littleQ? ?(#t that time) * &anted to be$become an actress.?

*uestionD ?@im (d5) 0an jest2? ?/ho are you, (>ister)Q?

?kim?) can also be motivated by the use o, one o, the !re!ositions (other than "ust the ?z/ze? mentioned earlier) that a,,iliate &ith the instrumentalD *uestionD ?Ia! (r5) kim (d5) mieszkaszQ? ?#bove &hom do you liveQ?

%he need to em!loy the instrumental variant o, the !ersonal interrogative !ronoun (i.e. the

1in)other)words)6)2Who is your neighbour from abo e42...)actually8)this)paraphrase)not) only)looks)better)in):nglish8)but8)translated8)would)ha*e)also)looked)a)little) more)literate)in)Polish5)nonetheless8)the)e+ample)sentence)is)well) understandable)and)*ery)natural)Polish)as)well44 answerD ?((ieszkam& na! (r5) pani (alinowsk (d5).? ?* live above >rs. >alino&ska.? 1the)nominati*e);)2pani)Malinowska24 *uestionD ?(i!zy (r5) kim (d5) a kim (d5)

(73m)marking)the)use)of)the)locati*e)6)d.)6)only)for)your)full)information)1it3s) conditioned)by)the)rekcja)of)the)preposition)2na245)the)thing)we3re)really) interested)here)is)the)use)of)2kim2)and)its)moti*ation4 short answerD ?(i!zy (r5) Fni (d5) a @rzy)kiem (d5).? ?Bet&een #nia and rzysiek.?

?Bet&een &ho and &ho are you standing in this !hotoQ?

stoisz na (r6) tej #otogra#ii (d6)2?

#nd let+s take one more eTam!le. %his one &ill demonstrate a situation in &hich &e have to use the instrumental variant o, the !ersonal interrogative !ronoun because the ob"ect o, the 9uestion is a direct ob"ect com!lement o, one o, the very ,e& verbs that govern the instrumental. %he sentence may seem di,,icult at the ,irst glance, but you &ill see that it+s not that bad at all D) D ?@im (d5) ze (r2) swojej ro!ziny (d2)

[liberal translation:] ?/ho out o, your ,amily are you most !roud o,Q? 12chwaliG)si=2)6)to boast of, to brag about, to be proud of)1look)in)the)section)of)the) instrumental4)6)is)a)*erb)which)go*erns)the)instrumental5)you)already)know)that8) customarily8)2si2)is)not)left)as)the)last)word)in)longer)sentences8)hence)the) in*ersion)of)the)word)order)to:)2... si c"wali225 )the)2ze2)1*ariant)of)2z24)used)here)is:)2out of + from2)6)this)preposition)go*erns) the)geniti*e:)that3s)why)2swoja)rodzina2)is)put)in)the)geniti*e)in)the)sentence5) )a)more)literal)translation)of)the)entire)sentence)would)be: )))"Who of your family do you most like to boast about4"4 [et+s ans&er it no&D c"wali si (r5) moim kuzynem (irkiem (d5).? 1the)nominati*e);)21mBj4)kuzyn)Mirek2)1masc.44 ?He swojej ro!ziny najbar!ziej lubi

najbar!ziej (adv.) lubisz si c"wali (r5)Q?

#nd no&, to get a bit o, balance, let+s make a cou!le o, 9uestions about instrumentals, &here the instrumental is a thing. *+ll try to be s!aring &ith comments D) D cD ?3zym (d5) otworzysz (r4) t butelk (d4)2"

?/hat &ill you o!en this bottle &ithQ $ /hat &ill you use to o!en this bottleQ? 1the)nominati*e);)21ta4)butelka2)1fem.44 #D ?+tworz (r4) j (d4) zbami (d5)C? ?*+ll o!en it [lit : "her"] &ith 6my6 teethC? (VhildrenC 'on+t try this at homeC D') 1the)nominati*es:)2ona2)1pers.pron.48 2z=by2)1plural4)()2zRb2)1sing.8masc.8d,44

 ?/hat (trans!ort) do you go to school byQ? 1the)nominati*e);)2szko<a2)1fem.4)6)the)geniti*e)is)enforced)by)the)rekcja)of) the)preposition)2!o24 #D ?Futobusem (d5) $ (etrem (d5) $ 7aks-wk (d5) $ 7ramwajem (d5).? ?By bus $ By sub&ay $ By taTi $ By tram.? 1the)nominati*es);)2autobus2)1masc.48)2metro2)1neut.48 2taksBwka2)1fem.48)2tramwaj2)1masc.44 cD ?3zym (d5) ubru!zia) [$em v $orm] bluzk (d4)Q?

cD ?3zym (d5) je!ziesz !o (r2) szkoy (d2)2"

?/hat have you soiled 6your6 blouse &ithQ? 1the)nominati*e);)2bluzka2)1fem.45 )remember)that)in)the)past)tense)1and)only)in)it04)we)ha*e)different)*erb)forms) for)the)feminine)and)the)masculine)subjects)in)the)second)grammatical)person) 1the)2you2)person)6)there3s)no)neuter)gender)in)that)person4:)in)this)e+ample)we) can)see)that)it3s)a)female)who)is)being)asked)6)had)the)9uestion)been)posed)to)a) male8)2ubru!zie)2)would)ha*e)been)used...)of)course8)we)probably)wouldn3t)ha*e) been)speaking)of)a)2bluzka2)then8)but)rather)of)a)2koszula2)1a shirt:)also)a) feminine)noun)in)Polish4:)25zy! (d5) u$ru#zi*e+ koszul (d4).2):444 #D "(Gbru!ziam j (d4) sobie...& 6osem pomi!orowym (d5).? ?(*+ve soiled ?her? d,or mee...) /ith tomato sauce.? 1the)nominati*e);)2sos)(noun))pomidorowy)(a#j.)2)1masc.45 )for)the)e+planation)of)the)mysterious)2for)me28)look)into)the)point)2a42)of)the) section)on)the)instrumental)in)the)main)part)of)the)booklet:)there3s)a) practically)identical)e+ample)sentence)there4 cD ?3zym (d5) zarysowae) [masc v $orm] st- (d4)Q?

?/hat have you scratched the table &ithQ? 1the)nominati*e);)2stB<2)1masc.44 #D ?Harysowaem [masc v $orm] go (d4) spink !o mankiet-w (d5).?

?*+ve scratched it$?him? &ith a cu,,link.? 1the)nominati*es);)2on2)1pers.pron.48)2spinka)1do)mankietBw42)1fem.44 cD ?3zym (d5) zazwyczaj zajmujesz si (r5) po pou!niu2?

?/hat do you usually do in the a,ternoonQ? 1look)into)the)point)2c42)of)the)section)on)the)instrumental)for)an)e+planation) and)usage)e+amples)of)the)*erb)2zajmowa si)(%.)24 #D ?0o pou!niu zazwyczaj suc"am (r2) muzyki (d2).?

?*n the a,ternoon * usually listen to music.? 1when)23zym zajmujesz si...2)is)a)9uestion)about)common8)e*eryday)things8) rather)than)something)serious8)it)is)unnatural)to)use)the)*erb)2zajmowa si2)in) the)answer)6)you)just)go)straight)to)the)*erb)describing)what)you)do:)7)watch) tele*ision8)listen)to)music8)go)shopping8)etc.5 )the)*erb)2suc"a (%2)2)1to listen4)is)one)of)those)few)that)ha*e)a)nonstandard) rekcja)6)2suc"a2)takes)the)direct)object)in)the)geniti*e.4 #nd no&, "ust to have eTam!le &here the instrumental ,or a thing &ould be en,orced by the case government o, a !re!ositionD *uestion: ?0o! (d5) czym (d5) si sc"ronisz9 g!y zacznie pa!aQ? ?Rnder &hat &ill you take shelter &hen it starts rainingQ?

1in)Polish8)contingent)future)e*ents)are)often)e+pressed)in)future)perfecti*e) tense8)so)the)subordinate)clause)here)would)literally)translate)to:)2### when it will start raining#28)or)e*en)2### when it will ha e started raining#2)1both)of)which)are8)of) course8)totally)in*alid)by)the)rules)of):nglish)grammar45 )the)main)use)of)the)*erb)2pa!a2)is)to)communicate)an)occurence)of) precipitation)1usually)of)rain8)but)it)can)also)be)snow)or)hail45)in)that) function)the)*erb)2pa!a2)appears)without)a)*isible)subject)1like)the)2dummy) subject2)"it")in):nglish4)and)is)conjugated)in)&rd.pers.sing.)1so8)we)can)speak) of)an)"i!a"ina$le su$ject")"it")in)Polish)1that3s)not)official)nomenclature):445) )7)will)also)admit)that)a)simpler8)and)therefore)more)natural)for)casual) language8)way)of)making)this)sort)of)in9uiry)would)be)to)ask:)21!zie si sc"ronisz9 ... / 1!zie si sc"owasz9 ...2)1"Where will you take shelter + hide, ###"45) howe*er8)somebody)might)well)want)to)be)more)specific)and)put)in)a)more) elaborate)9uestion)like)the)one)in)the)e+ample5 )2(s&c"roni si2)[)to take shelter + refuge)12sc"roni2)is)the)perfecti*e)aspect) *ariant4 answer: ?1!y zacznie pa!a9 sc"roni si po! (r5) tamtym !rzewem (d5).? ?/hen it starts raining * &ill take shelter under that (,arther) tree.? 1the)nominati*e);)21tamto4)drzewo2)1neut.44

.ummary D the interrogative !ronouns ,or ob"ects in the instrumental are (@@@M) "kim"9 "czym" but usually they are !resented this &ayD "(z& kim"9 "(z& czym"

(and the reason ,or that &e+ll learn soon D))

(@4@) a 9uestion about the one &ho &as a,,ected W)

( the interrogative !ronouns to ask about the dativeD "komu2 / czemu2" <to$(,or) &homQ $ to$(,or) &hatQ= )

[et+s recall the sentences o, our main eTam!leD ?(anuela (d1) !aa ksi,k (d4) z ciekawymi za!aniami (d5)

kole!ze (d$) swojego kuzyna (d2) !obremu w matematyce (d6).?

?>anuela gave a book &ith interesting (mathematical) !roblems to a ,riend o, her cousin (&ho is) good at maths.?

/ell, &e+re !roceeding se9uentially, so as you can already guess &e+re going to take on the

?,riend? no& D) But ,irst, let+s make our sentences sim!ler &e+ll cut all the eTtra in,ormation that doesn+t a,,ect either the sense or the basic syntaT.

?(anuela (d1) !aa ksi,k (d4) kole!ze (d$) swojego kuzyna (d2).?

?>anuela gave a book to a ,riend o, her cousin.?

- , there+s no reason ,or delays. %he 9uestion &e &ant to ask is about the ,riend &ho is the !erson that gets the book. *n other &ords, he is the !erson($thing) a,,ected by the action o, giving. %he direct ob"ect o, that action in this eTam!le is the book. %he ,riend is the indirect in Polish all you need to mark that role is the right declension caseD the dative (d$). .o, in 2nglish &e need to ask about the !erson &ho &as given the book this &ayD

ob"ect. *n 2nglish &e have him designated in that role by the !re!ositional !hrase ?to a ,riend?

?/ho did >anuela give the book toQ? orD ?%o &hom did >anuela give the bookQ?
But in Polish &e don+t have anything like "!o kolegi (swojego kuzyna&" in this sentence &e &e &ould need a single s!ecial 9uestion &ord to get this dative ,orm o, the noun "kolega" in ans&er.

"ust have "kole!ze (swojego kuzyna&"D &ithout any !re!ositions, rightQ .o, it+s only logical that

%his 9uestion &ord ,or the situations like hereD &here &e+re asking about a !erson is ?komu
(d$)?.

cD ?@omu (d$) (anuela (d1) !aa ksi,k (d4)2? #D ?+na (d1) !aa ksi,k (d4) kole!ze (d$).? ?.he gave the book to a ,riend.? ?%o &hom did >anuela give the bookQ?

Kotice that this ?... swojego kuzyna (d2)? (?... o, her cousin?) is "ust an addition to the noun ?kolega? but o, her cousin) but it doesn+t a,,ect the ,orm o, the &ord ?kolega?. %his "swojego kuzyna" !art "ust ?hangs on to? the main &ord "kolega", and it is the "swojego kuzyna" !art that is de!endent on the

it+s an im!ortant addition in terms o, the meaning (because it tells us that it+s not actually a ,riend o, >anuela

"kolega", not the other &ay around. *n the course o, in,lecting a com!ound like "kolega swojego kuzyna", only the main substantive &ould undergo changesD "kolega swojego kuzyna" (d1), "kolegi swojego kuzyna" (d2), "kole!ze swojego kuzyna" (d$), "koleg swojego kuzyna" (d4) (...).

#nd no& &e have to leave our main eTam!le ,or a moment, because need to learn about the dative 9uestion &ord ,or material ob"ects, ,or things. %hat &ord is ?czemu?.

>aybe it is in order to avoid con,usion &ith 9uestions about things in the dative that some !eo!le

think it incorrect to use ?czemu? in the meaning o, ?&hy? (... and demand that ?&hy? = ?!laczego?). Eo&ever, in ,act... there is very rarely a ground ,or such con,usion, because material (inanimate)

things become indirect ob"ects only very rarely. 1ou don+t o,ten come to think in terms o, material things ?being a,,ected? by an action in the &ay o, being a bene,iciary or su,,ering the a verb). conse9uences o, an action involving another thing (that ?another thing? being the direct ob"ect o,

.o, actually, there are (!robably W)) only t&o s!eci,ic situations &here &e &ould use ?czemu? to ask about a dative ob"ectD in Polish, L) &hen talking about animals &hich &ouldn+t normally be re,erred to as ?kto)" (somebody) N) &ith some s!eci,ic verbs that take direct ob"ects in the dative there are really only a ,e& o,

themD the only one * can think o, right no& is ?przygl!a si komu)/czemu)% (!J&? to be looking intently, carefully, long and in an inspecti e way at somebody or something? to be staring at sbd+sth ### let me ,irst generally demonstrate the use o, that verb, a situation &here it &ould ,itD Dlaczego tak mi (d$) si przygl!asz (r$)2 0ryszcz mi wyskoczy9 czy co2 /hy are you staring at me soQ Eave * gro&n a !im!le on my ,ace or &hatQ [warning: the second sentence is $ar $rom a literal translation]

... and no& ,or a an eTam!le that &ill demonstrate the use o, ?czemu? as an interrogative dative !ronounDD @obieta (d1) !ugo przygl!aa si (r$) z!jciu (d$).

[in a liberal translation:] %he &oman took a long time ins!ecting the !hoto. 1the)nominati*e);)2zdj=cie2)1neut.44 #s you can already guess, &e &ill &ant to in9uire about the thing that the &oman &as ins!ecting so care,ully. %his means that &e &ill have to ask a 9uestion about the ob"ect o, the verb ?przygl!a si?, and since &e kno& that this strange verb takes the direct ob"ect in the thing, rather than the one used &hen asking about !eo!le). - since &e already kno& (very !recisely W)) &hat &e &ant to do, let+s do it D) D 3zemu (d$) przygl!aa si (r$) kobieta (d1)Q ?/hat &as the &oman ins!ectingQ? 4ine let+s come back ,or a minute to our ?czemu/!laczego? digression. 1ou might say that there is a !otential ,or con,usion right in this eTam!le, because somebody might inter!ret this sentence as sayingD ?/hy &as the &oman staringQ?... /ell... actually... not really. %he thing is that ?przygl!a si? is not normally used &ithout an ob"ect, so i, there is no other substantive (noun or a !ronoun) in the sentence, the (interrogative) !ronoun ?czemu? &ill al&ays be assumed as the ob"ect o, that verb. [ook at those eTam!les and the natural translationsD 3zemu si przygl!asz2 /hat are you looking (intently) atQ 3zemu przygl!asz si temu kotu (d$)2

dative &e &ill have to use a dative interrogative &ord (... in this caseD the one that re,ers to a

 /hy are you staring so ins!ectively at that catQ 1es, the ,irst sentence could be inter!reted as ?/hy are you staring so in9uisitivelyQ?, but this &ouldn+t be the ,irst inter!retation that &ould cross the mind o, a native s!eaker. %he verb ?przygl!a si? really &ants an ob"ect even i, it is not strictly obligatory.

Uight... [et+s no& come back to our ?L)? circumstance in &hich &e might need to use the interrogative !ronoun ,or a material thingD a situation &here an indirect ob"ect o, an action is an animal.

7eraz myj gow (d4) mojemu psu (d$). Ko& *+m &ashing my dog its head. 1the)nominati*es);)2g<owa2)1fem.48)21mBj4)pies2)1masc.44 %he direct ob"ect o, the verb ?my? (to wash) here is the head, but that action a,,ects the &hole dog sham!oo D) Ko& &e &ant to ask &ho$&hat &as that &hose head &as &ashed. Because &e kno& &e are obliged to s!eak about our dear doggie as about a thing W), &e kno& &e have to ask it this &ayD 3zemu (d$) myjesz teraz gow2 4or$to &hat are you &ashing the head no&Q ... this is a !retty bad 2nglish sentence, but there+s "ust no &ay to make a direct translation that &ould kee! the !ro!er &ord relationshi!sD the use o, indirect ob"ects is much more limited in 2nglish...

as an individual D) the doggie &ill be !leased (or not D)) ,or having its head clean and ,ragrant o,

... but, &ait a minuteC D)... "ust look &hat a coincidence &e have hereC #mazingC Because &hat [et+s make a little trans,ormation and &e getD ?/hat are you &ashing the head no& ,orQ?, rightQ #nd that can basically be read as ?/hy are you &ashing your head no&Q? correctQ

could the sentence ?4or &hat are you &ashing your head no&Q? be understood to mean in 2nglishQ

/ell amazingly, it+s the same in PolishC #nd, &hile &e !ractically didn+t have a con,usion &hen

&e &ere dealing &ith the verb ?przygl!a si? (because let me re!eat the eT!lanation that one
that direct ob"ect unless there &as another thing in the dative case in the sentence),.. here in the

&ants a direct ob"ect and that ob"ect has to be in the dative, so the ?czemu? &ould naturally be inter!reted as

?animal situation? &e are getting into a little con,usion. /hyQ Because &ith ?my? &e have the direct ob"ect in the (standard) accusative, and as ,or the indirect ob"ect &e o,ten cannot have a clue i, the situation involves one or not... %here,oreD

?Vzemu my"esz teraz g0o&(Q?, given no conteTt, can &ith e9ual "usti,ication be understood to meanD
3zemu (d$) myjesz teraz gow2 [liberal translation:] /hose head are you &ashing no&Q 1notice)that)the):nglish)9uestion)pronoun)2whose2)1;)belonging)to)whom/what4) applies)e9ually)to)humans8)animals8)and)things4

asD 3zemu (< Dlaczego& teraz myjesz gow2 /hy are you &ashing your head no&Q .o... in conclusion yes... in some situations it may be better to use ?!laczego? (rather than ?czemu?) to avoid ambiguity D)

#s &e already kno&, it is most ucommon that &e &ould need to !ose dative 9uestions about things. [et+s then ,inish o,, the section dealing &ith dative 9uestions by making a ,e& more eTam!les in &hich &e &ill ask about !eo!leD cD @omu (d$) najbar!ziej lubisz !awa prezenty (d4).

%o &hom do you most like giving !resentsQ 1the)nominati*e:))2prezenty2)1plural4)()sing.);)2prezent2)1masc.44 #D (Iajbar!ziej lubi !awa prezenty& mojej mamie (d$). 1the)short)answer)would)be)the)thing)outside)the)parentheses:)"(ojej mamie."8)or) e*en)just:)"(amie."5)the)nominati*e);)2mama2)1fem.44

a policeman asking a group of passengers on a train! @omu (d$) (z 0aBstwa& ukra!ziono zegarek2 +4or &hom+ (o, you, [adies and Pentlemen) a &atch has been stolenQ 1this)is)a)ridiculous)translation:)73m)adopting)the)"for who!")structure)here) only)to)reflect)the)use)of)the)dati*e)in)Polish5)a)correct):nglish)sentence)to) ask)that)9uestion)would)be:)"Who of you has had their watch stolen4"4 #D (nie (d$)C (4or) meC 1the)nominati*e);)2ja2)1pers.pron.44

cD @omu (d$) z Was kie!ykolwiek to (d4) si przy!arzyo (r4'r$)2 %o &hom o, you has this ever ha!!enedQ

( "przy!arza si"> " co) (!;&% przy!arza si komu) (!J&%" / " somet"ing% "appens to somebo!y%" &

Kot to me, but to my ,riend yes. 1the)nominati*e);)2ja2)1pers.pron.48)21mBj4)kolega2)1masc.44

#D (nie (d$) nie9 ale mojemu kole!ze (d$) / tak.

on a school trip ; teacher speaking! cD (am (r4) je!en !o!atkowy sweter (d4). @omu (d$) jest zimno2 * have one s!are$eTtra s&eater. /ho is coldQ 1the)nominati*e);)21jeden)dodatkowy4)sweter2)1masc.44

#D 3"yba (anueli (d$) / a, si trzsie. (the nominative = ?>anuela? D))

*t seems that >anuela is she+s even shiveringC

@omu (d$) jest atwo w !zisiejszyc" czasac"2 4or &hom things are easy no&adaysQ @omu (d$) po!oba si taka piosenka (d1)2 /ho likes this kind o, a song (...$ a song like this one)Q 1consult)the)point)2b42)of)the)section)on)the)dati*e)in)the)first)part)of)the) booklet)for)an)e+planation)of)the)meaning)and)use)of)the)*erb)2po!oba si24 @omu (d$) )nio si co) a!nego)(d1) tej nocy2 /ho dreamt o, something nice this nightQ 1same)as)abo*e:)2Lni si2)is)used)differently)than)the):nglish)"to #rea!"8)so) you)might)want)to)re?read)the)e+planation)gi*en)in)the)first)part)of)the) booklet4 a person waking up in a hospital after being sa ed from a serious accident! @omu (d$) mam !zikowa (r$) za uratowanie ,ycia2 /ho should * thank ,or saving my li,eQ @omu (d$) z 7wojej klasy najcz)ciej pomagasz (r$)2 /ho o, your class do you hel! most o,tenQ @omu (d$) mog o tym powie!zie (r$)2 /ho can * tell about thisQ

*, you have doubts about the reasons &hy the ob"ects (mostlyD indirect ob"ects) that the 9uestions above are about have to be dative ob"ects, look into the section on the dative... or ask your Polish teacher D)) Ko& it+s high time &e moved on, so let us "ust have a summary on the dative 9uestion &ordsD

.ummary D the interrogative !ronouns ,or dative ob"ects are (@@@4) ?komu?, ?czemu?

(@^@) the 9uestion o, &hose ,riend in the end that &as W)

( the interrogative !ronouns to ask about the genitiveD "kogo2 / czego2" <o, &homQ $ o, &hatQ= )

[et me start &ith a little clari,ication D) * have used the &ord ?&hose? in the title o, this !oint

but that &as to make the sentence shorter and, actually, it can be a little misleading... But *+m not

sorry ,or having done that, because that might even hel! us to sort out one thing in the beginningD %he 2nglish interrogative !ossessive !ronoun ?&hose? stands ,or ?o, &hom?$?o, &hat? and that re,ers to any kind o, belonging or !ossession. Kotice, ho&ever, that this !ronoun does not cover the situations involving the use o, the nonA!ossessive ?o,?. 4or eTam!le, i, &e have a sentenceD

?%his statue is made o, stone.?

then there is no !lace ,or the !ronoun ?&hose? in the 9uestion about the material that statue is made o,D

?-, &hat is that statue madeQ?,

or, more correctlyD

?/hat is the statue made o,Q?

[et+s take another eTam!leD

?%he girl is a,raid o, s!iders.?

_ and the 9uestion about the ob"ect o, the girls ,ears comes asD

?/hat is the girl a,raid o,Q?

%hese, then, &ould be the eTam!les o, 9uestions about ob"ects in &hat remains o, the ,unctional genitive in 2nglish.

Ko& &e let+s move on to Polish, &here things look 9uite similar. %here is also a se!arate !ossessive interrogative, and t&o other, nonA!ossessive genitive interrogative !ronouns. %he interrogative !ossessive !ronoun is ?czyj?. Eo&ever, since the !ronoun stands ,or a

?!ossessor? o, something$(somebody) (something$somebody s!eci,ic), and the &ord designating that something must al&ays a!!ear in a sentence &ith that !ronoun, in e,,ect the !ronoun acts much like an ad"ectiveD it ado!ts a gender ,orm a!!ro!riate to the gender o, the ob"ect o, !ossession (the thing or !erson that belongs to the ?!ossessor?). %hus, relating to the ob"ect o, !ossession being masculine, ,eminine, and neuter, res!ectivelyD &e have three variants o, the interrogative !ossessive !ronounD ?czyj?, ?czyja?, ?czyje?. *t should also be noted that the Polish !ossessive !ronoun ?czyj? is, !ractically, a!!licable only to human !ossessors (i.e., it &ould not be used in the instances o, a thing belonging, being !art o,, or being related to another thing)W

2nglish) _ but that+s not something &e+d be getting interested in right no&. [et+s have a ,e& eTam!les instead, shall &eQ D) D cD 3zyj (in"erro . possessive pron.))to jest parasol (d1)2

also, it+s use as an introduction to subordinated clauses is very limited (com!ared to

#LD (-j (possessive pronoun). >ine. 1this)is)an)e+ample)of)a)9uestion)about)the)possessor)being)answered)with)a) possessi*e)pronoun5 )notice)the)gender)agreement)of)the)two)possessi*e)pronouns)with)the)gender)of) the)object)of)possession)[)2parasol2)1masc.45)by)the)way8)2parasol2)is)the) subject)of)the)9uestion)sentence4 #ND 7o jest parasol (d1) mojej siostry (d2). %his is an umbrella o, my sister.

/hose umbrella is thisQ

<in !ro!er 2nglishD ?%his is my sister+s umbrella.?= 1the)nominati*e);)21moja4)siostra2)1fem.45) )here)we)ha*e)the)9uestion)about)the)possessor)answered)with)a)noun)[)and)that) means)a)use)of)the)geniti*e5 )the)noun)in)the)geniti*e)has)its)own)gender)and8)unlike)a)possessi*e)pronoun8) it)doesn3t)show)any)dependence)of)form)related)to)the)gender)of)the)object)of) possession)[)in)other)words:)there)would)always)be)one)geniti*e)form)"mojej siostry"8)regardless)if)the)2thing2)that)belongs)to)"!y sister")were)to)be) 2parasol28)2sukienka28)or)2dziecko244

cD 3zyje obrazy (plural,d1) byy naj!ro,sze na aukcji2 #D Iaj!ro,sze byy obrazy (d1)

/hose !aintings &ere the most eT!ensive at the auctionQ

sawnego malarza (d2)9 4acka (alczewskiego (d2). %he most eT!ensive &ere the !aintings o, the ,amous !ainter, )acek >alcze&ski. 1the)nominati*es);)2obrazy2)1plural4)()2obraz2)1sing.8masc.8d,48 21s<awny4)malarz2)1masc.48)2Iacek)Malczewski2)1proper)name44

<more literallyD ?(that) o, my brother?= 1the)nominati*e);)21mBj4)brat2)1masc.44

3zyja pomoc (!em,d1) bya bar!ziej przy!atna K moja (possesive pron. in !em. varian") czy mojego brata (d2)2 _ /hose hel! &as more use,ul _ mine or my brother+sQ

- , &e+ve already seen 9uestions that use the interrogatives about a !ossessor &hen that !ossessor is a !erson. *n case o, animals, the &ord ?czyj? can be used, too...

"3zyje #utro jest najmiksze2" ? +/hose+ ,ur is the so,testQ ?

... but it is strongly recommendable to use more !recise and, un,ortunately, a bit more com!leT constructions insteadD

cD Lutro (d1) jakiego zwierzcia (d2) jest najmiksze2 #D Iajmiksze jest #utro (d1) kota (d2). %he so,test is the ,ur o, a cat. #s you can &ell see by that eTam!le, the ?more com!leT? 9uestion is not only more clear in Polish, but it+s a better alternative in 2nglish as &ellD ?&hose? could suggest that &e+re talking about someone+s coat made ,rom an animal+s ,ur. %he ,ur o, &hat kind o, an animal is the so,testQ

/hen dealing &ith material things the use o, ?czyj?, or ?&hose?, is com!letely out o, the 9uestion. )ust look at this statement sentenceD

"Drzwi tego !omu (d2) s zamknite." ?%he door o, this house is closed.? 1remember)that)the)Polish)noun)for)2door2)only)comes)in)plural8)the)same)way)as) the)2scissors2)do)in):nglish4 %here+s no doubt that neither in 2nglish nor in Polish &ill the ,ollo&ing 9uestion be acce!table as a &ay to ask about the building that the door is !art o,D

"3zyje !rzwi s zamknite2" ?/hose door is closedQ? %he above is understandable in a ,igurative sense (both in Polish and in 2nglish it could be read asD ?%he door to &hose room is closedQ?), but &e+re not dealing &ith these kinds o, nuances here. *n the stricter sense that &e+re a,ter here, one needs to askD

?%he door o,$to &hat is closedQ?

#nd that, in Polish, &ill makeD "3zego !rzwi s zamknite2"

*n a similar &ay, i, &e had a sentenceD "Wyniki (d1) ba!aB (!'& s bar!zo zaskakujce." ?%he results o, the research are very sur!rising.? 1the)nominati*es);)2wyniki2)1plural4)()2wynik2)1sing.8masc.8d,4)6)note)that) 2wynik2)in)singular)is)used)mostly)when)referring)to)a)game)score8 2badania2)1plural4)()2badanie2)1sing.8fem.8d,4)6)this)world8) too8)used)in)plural)most)of)the)time4 then &e could ask a 9uestion likeD

?%he results o, &hat &ere (very) sur!risingQ? ( "3zego wyniki byy (bar!zo& zaskakujce2"

#s you can see there is a !ossessive a!!lication ,or one o, the genitive interrogative !ronouns

trom the head o, this sectionD i.e., ,or the ?czego?, &hich relates to material things. *+m not giving you many more eTam!les o, that a!!lication, though, because as * guess you can see yoursel, those 9uestions don+t strike one as !articularly natural. *t looks as though, historically, mankind must have been more interested in these instances o, belonging &here the !ossessor &as a human being than in those &here one thing &ould be subordinately related to ,or the human !ossessors, and in both o, the languages 9uestions about the ?!ossessorAthing? o,ten seem someho& clumsy and &anting a more elaborate asking ,ormula to be !recise and meaning,ul. another D) D both in Polish and in 2nglish &e get a s!ecial interrogative !ronoun (?czyj?, ?&hose?)

- , that &as a stretched argument D) 1es, one does use the ?czego? to in9uire about !ossessor &hen that !ossessor is a material thing. #nd * think that those t&o eTam!les above have demonstrated it 9uite &ell.

%he reason ,or &hich * &ant to ski! more eTam!les o, the use o, ?czego? in asking about !ossession is that * &ould like to ,inally move on to such instances o, the usage o, genitive that those &ill be the kinds o, settings &here ?czego? &ill be in !lay as &ell).
Be,ore &e get to that, though, one little ,ormality regarding our main eTam!le sentence. #s &e remember, the sentence ranD

&ill allo& us to see the second o, the genitive interrogative !ronouns in action the ?kogo? (and

?(anuela (d1) !aa ksi,k (d4) z ciekawymi za!aniami (d5) kole!ze (d$) swojego kuzyna (d$)..."

?>anuela gave a book &ith interesting (mathematical) !roblems to a ,riend o, her cousin...?

#nd you can !robably guess as &ell that the 9uestion that &e &ill &ant to make no&, &ill beD

?/hose ,riend did >anuela give the book toQ?

#nd you already kno&, too, that &e &ill use ?czyj?... Rn,ortunately, * have one more com!lication ,or you... stage, - Q D) [ook closely at the 9uestion sentence, and you &ill see that the com!ound ?&hose ,riend? is a dative action o, giving the book (?the book? is the direct ob"ect o, the action).

so, !lease, treat the ,ollo&ing remarks more as trivia than something ,or you to learn and to remember at this

com!lement o, the verb ?to give? the ,riend together &ith his ?!ossessor? are the indirect ob"ect o, the

%his &ill be be seen more clearly i, &e shu,,le the &ordAorder o, the 9uestionD

?%o &hose ,riend did >anuela give the bookQ?

Ko&, remember &hat * said about the !ronoun ?czyj? having those three gender ,orms and ad"usting itsel, to the noun s!eci,ying the ob"ect o, !ossessionQ * said that the !ronoun behaved like an ad"ective. #nd so it they ,ollo& declension. Vonse9uently, the !ronoun ?czy"? &ill do so, too. does. #nd, although ad"ectives as such have not been a !oint o, !articular ,ocus ,or us here, you kno& that

/hat, in e,,ect, means that our in9uiry about &hose ,riend &as given the book &ill look as ,ollo&sD

"3zyjemu

kole!ze (d$) (anuela (d1) !aa ksi,k (d4)Q?

&here ?czyjemu? is the dative ,orm o, ?czyj? the masculine variant o, the !ronoun (it has to agree in gender &ith ?kolega? &hich is masculine)

.o much ,or the ,ormality. /e can no& !roceed on &ith discovering the use o, the genitive interrogative !ronouns ?kogo? $ ?czego?.

/hat are then the situations, &here those t&o &ould a!!lyQ /ell, that+s 9uite sim!le the section on the genitive in the ,irst !art o, the booklet could give you !lenty o, clues D) %he short ans&er isD the genitive interrogative (both the ?czego? and the ?kogo?) is used &ith all o, the nonA !ossessive ,unctions o, the genitive. [et+s start &ith my !ersonal ,avourite W) the situation in &hich a &ord is !ut in the genitive

because it is the direct ob"ect in a negative sentence (... &hich, as &e kno&, means that instead o, the normal accusative, &e have to use the genitive). [et+s start &ith the s!ecial caseD the ?there is no $ there is not? (... and ?there are no $ there are not?) ty!e o, sentence. ?W mie)cie nie ma )wie,ego powietrza (d2).?

?*n a city there is no ,resh air.? 1the)nominati*e);)21LwieMe4)powietrze2)1neut.44 %his sentence can be an ans&er to the 9uestionD

?3zego (d2) nie ma w mie)cie2? ?/hat isn+t there in a cityQ?

?3zego (d2) nie ma na niebie w nocy2? ?/hat isn+t there in the sky at nightQ? 1notice)that)perhaps)a)more)natural)9uestion)sentence)in):nglish)would)be) something)like)2What)can)you)not)find)in)the)night)skyN28)but)the)one)abo*e)also) is)correct)and)fairly)normal4 ... no&, the shortest (and ,ully correct) ans&er to that could be "ustD ?6oBca (d2).? ?%he sun.?

?6oBce? is !ut in the genitive because the 9uestion demanded that being a 9uestion in the negative. -ne look at a longer version o, this ans&er &ill make things absolutely clearD ?W nocy na niebie nie ma soBca (d2).?

&eacher asking in the beginning of a lesson! ?@ogo (d2) !zisiaj nie ma2? ?/ho isn+t there (in the class) todayQ? ?Dzi) nie ma Fni (d2).? ?#nia isn+t there today.? 1of)course8)the)answer)could)be)just)2Fni.24

?@ogo (d2) nie ma !zisiaj na imprezie2? ?/ho isn+t there at the !arty todayQ?

?Dzisiaj na imprezie nie ma ?>y t&o ,riends aren+t there at the !arty today, )acek and rzysiek.? 1the)names)of)the)friends)stand)in)the)same)relation)to)the)*erb)phrase)"nie !a" as)the)piece)of)the)sentence)that)describes)who)they)are)1"#waj !oi przyjaciele (d1)"48)so)both)those)elements)of)the)sentence)come)in)the)geniti*e4) !w-c" moic" koleg-w (d2)9 4acka (d2) i @rzy)ka (d2).?

[et+s no& use a cou!le o, transitive verbs &hich &ould normally take their direct ob"ects in the accusative, but &hich &ill have to take them in the genitive, because the sentences * am going to set them in are going to be negative sentencesW &e+re going to ask 9uestions about those direct ob"ects.

?3zego (d2) nig!y nie pijesz wieczorem2? ?Wieczorem nig!y nie pij kawy (d2).?

?/hat do you never drink in the eveningQ?

?* never drink co,,ee in the evening.? 1the)nominati*e);)2kawa2)1fem.44 )ust ,or a reminderD a ty!ical transitive verb, like ?pi? (to drink", takes its com!lement in the accusative in all the !ositive sentencesD ?3o (d4) zazwyczaj pijesz wieczorem2?

?Wieczorem pij "erbat (d4).? ?* drink tea in the evening.? 1the)nominati*e);)2herbata2)1fem.44

?/hat do you usually drink in the eveningQ?

?3zego (d2) najbar!ziej nie lubisz w pieczonym kurczaku2? ... ... here &e have to &atch out about the translationD this is a negative sentence &hich a!!les

the negation ?nie? to the transitive verb ?lubi kogo)/co) (d4)%?, but... the most natural translation &ould beD

intensi,ier to use in this sentence in Polish is ?najbar!ziej? (the most", so !robably the right

... ?/hat do you dislike the most in a roasted chickenQ? &ithout the ?not? ty!ical ,or negative sentences. Eo&ever, let me stress it again (C) D &e cannot

,orget that in the Polish originial this is a ty!ical negative sentence (a negative 9uestion) and that ,or this reason &e have the ?czego (d2)? (instead o, ?co (d4)?) as our interrogative !ronoun ,or

the direct ob"ect here. [et+s take another, similar eTam!leD

?@ogo (d2) najbar!ziej nie lubisz w swojej szkole2? ?/ho do you dislike the most at your schoolQ?

?Iauczycielki (d2) c"emii.? ?%he (,emale) chemistry teacher.?

1literally)this)is)?%he (,emale) teacher o, chemistry.?8)so)the)"c"emii")is8)in)fact8) another)noun)in)geniti*e)here)1d,);)2chemia248)but)that3s)not)so)important)at) this)point5 )the)nominati*e);)2nauczycielka2)1fem.44 * ho!e that it+s not 9uite necessary by no& to say that a sentence likeD

?* like the (,emale) 2nglish teacher.? uses the accusative ,or the ob"ect, and there,ore looks like thisD ?8ubi nauczycielk (d4) angielskiego (d2).? (?... the teacher o, 2nglish.?)
But and this is 9uite im!ortant notice that the 9uestion &ord ,or the ob"ect o, the last sentence &ould have to be the interrogative !ersonal !ronoun ,or the accusative... and that this interrogative !ersonal !ronoun in accusative ?kogo (d4)? looks the same as the interrogative !ersonal !ronoun in genitiveD ?kogo (d2)?.

1es, the &ord looks the same, but it+s 9uite im!ortant to !ay attention to &hether a 9uestion sentence &e+re dealing &ith is negative or !ositive, because on that de!ends &hether that !articular ?kogo? &ants us to ans&er &ith a genitive (in case o, a negative 9uestion sentence) or &ith an accusative (&hen the 9uestion sentence is a !ositive one) in other &ordsD &hether the ?kogo? in the 9uestion sentence is the ?kogo (d2)? or the ?kogo (d2)?. [et+s bring those eTam!les &ith the verb ?lubi clearlyD ?@ogo (d2) najbar!ziej nie lubisz w swojej szkole2? ?Iauczycielki (d2) c"emii.? ?F kogo (d4) najbar!ziej lubisz2? ?Iauczycielk (d4) angielskiego.?

kogo)%? closer together, to see the di,,erence

-ne or t&o more eTam!les o, these negativeAsentenceArelated genitivesD ?3zego (d2) nie pamitae) [masc v $orm] na (r6) te)cie (d6)2? ?Daty (d2) o!krycia (d2) Drazylii (d2).? ?/hat did you not remember on the testQ?

?%he date o, the discovery o, Brazil.? 1the)nominati*es);)2test2)1masc.48)2data2)1fem.48 2odkrycie2)1masc.48)2'razylia2)1fem.44 [et+s have the !ositives ,or com!arison no&D

 ?/hat do you remember ,rom the last history lessonQ? <?... lesson o, history?= 1the)nominati*e);)21ostatnia4)lekcja2)1fem.48)2historia2)1fem.44 ?3"yba tylko !at (d4) o!krycia Drazylii.?

?3o (d4) pamitasz (r4) z (r2) ostatniej lekcji (d2) "istorii (d2)Q?

?Probably only the date o, the discovery o, Brazil.?

?3zego (d2) nig!y nie ogl!asz w telewizji2? ?Morror-w (d2).? ?%he horror movies.? 1the)nominati*e:)2horrory2)1pl.4)()2horror2)1masc.44 ... and the com!arison &ith !ositivesD ?3o (d4) on ogl!a (r4) czsto w telewizji2? ?Morrory (d4)C? ?%he horror moviesC? ?/hat does he &atch on the television o,tenQ? ?/hat do you never &atch on televisionQ?

# !oliceman intervie&ing a &itness and sho&ing him some !ortrait !hotosDD ?@ogo (d2) z nic" nig!y 0an nie wi!zia2? ?(,czyzny (d2) w ciemnyc" okularac".? ?%he man in the dark glasses.? ... &hereas, on the !ositive sideD ?/ho o, them have you never seenQ?

?F kogo (d4) wi!zia (r4) 0an wte!y na ulicy2? ?3"yba tego m,czyzn (d4) z wsami.?

?#nd &ho have you seen in the street at that timeQ?

?Probably that man &ith the moustache.? 1the)nominati*e);)21ten4)m=Mczyzna2)1masc.4))6)well...)ridiculously)enough)this) word)12a)man24)ends)with)an)2?a2)and)has)a)declension)pattern)typical)of)a) feminine)noun)1048)like)for)e+ample)2kobieta2)1"a wo!an"44

[et+s no& see t&o eTam!les o, a situation &here the direct ob"ect o, a sentence &ould al&ays

come in the genitive, because that is demanded by the rekc"a o, the !articular verb (look back into the !oint ?c)? o, the section on the uses o, the genitive ,or more details). %o ask about the ob"ects o, the sentences &ith one o, those !articular verbs &e &ill al&ays use a genitive interrogative !ronoun (&hether a sentence is !ositive or negative &ill not !lay a role here).

[et+s start &ith the very !o!ular verb ?u,ywa? (to use", &hich even many Poles try to em!loy &rongly &ith com!lements in the accusativeW "ust like they &ould (correctly) do &ith most other verbs. Eere is the only correct &ay o, asking about its ob"ectD al&ays through the genitive interrogative ?czego? A both in !ositive and negative 9uestion sentences. (%here+s hardly ever a

situation that re9uires ?kogo? to be used... but i, there &ere, then that &ould be the ?kogo (d2)?,

and not the ?kogo (d4)? ... and this is im!ortant and &orth remembering, no matter that the sha!e o, the &ord is the same W)) D

?3zego (d2) u,ywasz (r2) !o oc"rony prze! soBcem2 Iapraw! u,ywasz (r2) tego bezna!ziejnego kremu (d2)2 Iie u,ywaj (r2) go (d2).?

'o you really use that &orthless creme $ skin lotionQ 'on+t use itC? 1the)nominati*e);)21ten)beznadziejny4)krem2)1masc.44
%o have a com!arison, let+s change ?u,ywa (%2)? ,or a ,airly synonymic verb &ith a ?normal? case government ?stosowa (%4)? (to apply, to use"D

?/hat do you use ,or !rotection against the sunQ

?3o (d4) stosujesz (r4) !la oc"rony prze! soBcem2 Iapraw! stosujesz (r4) ten bezna!ziejny krem (d4)2 Iie stosuj go (d2).? ?/hat do you a!!ly ,or !rotection against the sunQ

'o you really a!!ly that &orthless lotionQ 'on+t a!!ly itC?

Kotice that in this second eTam!le the last sentence ("Iie stosuj go.") also uses the genitive ob"ects to change into genitive ones). Rn,ortunately, the !ronoun ?him? (standing ,or the masculine ?krem?) has sameAlooking declension ,orms ,or d$ and d-.

ob"ect that is so because the last sentence is a negative sentence (... &hich re9uires accusative

%he neTt eTam!le duo &ill better illustrate the di,,erence, because &e shall have a ,eminine ob"ect in it, and in the ,eminine gender the declension o, !ronouns is more varied. /e+re going to use another o, those ?al&aysAtheAgenitive? verbsD ?broni (%2)? (to defend" D ?Io i kogo (d2) 7y bronisz (%2)2
(Bronisz (r2))

7ej kamczuc"y (d2)2 Iie broB jej (d2).?

(Bronisz (r2))

4ej (d2)2.

?Peez, &ho are you de,endingQ %hat (,emale) liarQ EerQC 'on+t de,end herC? 1the)nominati*e);)21ta4)k<amczucha2)1fem.44 ... let+s no& use a transitive verb &ith the standard case government, so as to see the di,,erenceD ?Io i kogo (d4) 7y zapraszasz (%4)2 7 kamczuc" (d4)2 ?Peez, &ho are you invitingQ %hat (,emale) liarQ EerQC 'on+t invite herC? 4 (d4)2. Iie zapraszaj jej (d2)C?

#nd no& let+s take a look at a cou!le o, eTam!les, &here the ob"ect o, the 9uestion comes in connection &ith one o, the !re!ositions that govern the genitive. /e+re going to make sentences &ith "ust a ,e& ,rom a good number o, those !re!ositions see the !oint ?e)? o, the section on the uses o, the genitive ,or a more com!lete list o, such !re!ositions.

#D ?Dla (%2) mojej przyjaci-ki (d2)9 Fni (d2).? ?(*t+s) ,or my ,riend #nia.? 1the)nominati*e);)21moja4)przyjaciB<ka2)1fem.48)2>nia2)1fem.44 cD ?+! (%2) kogo (d2) jest ten list (d1)2" ?4rom &hom is this letterQ?

cD ?Dla (%2) kogo (d2) jest ta paczka (d1)2? ?4or &hom is that !arcelQ?

#D ?+! (%2) jej cioci (d2).? ?4rom her aunt.? 1the)nominati*e);)21jej4)ciocia2)1fem.44

?H (%2) czego (d2) jest ten !ugopis (d1) / z (r2) plastiku (d2)

?/hat is this ball!oint 6made6 o, (is it) 6made6 o, !lastic or o, metalQ? 1the)nominati*es);)2plastik2)1masc.48)2metal2)1masc.44

czy z (r2) metalu (d2)2?

@
[et me once again remind you at this !oint that the sameAlooking !re!osition "z/ze" has the meaning o, "with", and that it is eTactly by the declension case o, the &ord that comes a,ter the the meaning o, ?&ith? &e have already covered, because that one governs the instrumental (and but * can think o, a good illustrative eTam!le, sho&ing &ell the di,,erence bet&een the t&o di,,erent ?z+s? and their res!ective interrogative !ronounsD cD ?H czego (d2) jest ten c"leb (d1)Q?

"z/ze" that &e "udge &hich o, the !re!ositions it is (the "with" or the "from+of"). %he "z/ze" &ith the interrogatives ,or the instrumental came in the booklet t&o sections be,ore the !resent one),

?/hat is this this bread 6made6 ,romQ? 1the)use)of)2czego2)6)d2)6)tells)us)that)we3re)dealing)with)the)"made of + made from")meaning)of)2z25 )this)9uestion8)although)not)terrifically)precise)in)its)wording8)would)be)a) *ery)normal8)and)9uite)une9ui*ocal8)way)of)asking)about)the)flour)that)the)bread) was)made)from4 #D ?7en c"leb (d1) jest z (%2) mki pszennej (d2).?

?%his bread is 6made6 ,rom &heat ,lour.? 1the)nominati*e);)2mRka)pszenna2)1fem.4)6)of)course8)there3s)no)reason)you) should)try)to)remember)this)kind)of)*ocabulary:)7)just)wanted)to)make)things) complete)by)showing)a)possible)answer5 )if)we)used)the)instrumental)instead)1which)wouldn%t)be)fair)to)the)9uestion8) which)clearly)asks)"H czego 1d$4..."8)and)not)"H czym 1d"4..."48)we)would)get:) 3To !est chle z m[k[ pszenn[ 1d"4.3)(&his is bread with wheat flour#""8)which)wouldn3t)make)any) real)sense4 and no& ,or the contrasting eTam!leD cD ?H czym (d.) jest ten c"leb (d1)Q? ?/hat is this bread &ithQ?

1...)which)in)Polish)is)understood)to)mean:)?/hat is this sand&ich &ithQ?8)"What components does this sandwich contain4"4 #D ?7o jest c"leb z (%.) serem (%.).? ?%his is bread &ith cheese.? 1the)nominati*e);)2ser2)1masc.45 )playing)at)making)the)switch)of)cases)again8)this)time)from)the)instrumental)to) the)geniti*e8)1which)is8)like)before8)an)action)against)the)clear)intention)of) the)9uestion)which)uses)2czym)1d"42)and)not)2czego)1d$4248)we)would)arri*e)at:)

<?%his is a cheese sand&ich.?=

3To !est chle z sera 1d$4.3)1"&his is bread (made" of cheese#""8)which)makes)sense)only)as)long) as)you)decide)that)something)made)of)cheese)can)justly)be)called)2bread2):44

@
/ell, this is de,initely enough on the sub"ect o, the 9uestion &ords ,or ob"ects in the genitiveC .o, it+s time ,orD

.ummary D the genitive interrogative !ronouns are (@@@^) ?kogo?, ?czego?

(@f@) a 9uestion about the ?ins? (... but not about the ?outs? D))... ... &hich makes it a 9uestion about the ?abouts? D)))
"(o& kim2 / (o& czym2" <(about) &hoQ $ (about) &hatQ= ) ( the locativeArelated interrogative !ronounsD

#nd so &e ,inally arrive at the last sto! the last substantive element in our main eTam!lary sentence that &e &ant to make a 9uestion about. By making a 9uestion about that last haven+t covered yet here the locative. [et+s recall the eTam!lary sentenceD ?>anuela (d1) da0a ksi3:k( (d4) z cieka&ymi zadaniami (d5) koledze (d$) s&o"ego kuzyna (d2) dobremu & matematyce (d6).? substantive, &e+re going to learn about the interrogative !ronouns ,or the last remaining case &e

?>anuela gave a book &ith interesting (mathematical) !roblems to a ,riend o, her cousin (&ho is) good at maths.?

%he last element o, this sentence &e+re going to ask about is that ?at math?. [et+s make a sensible 9uestion to our eTam!lary sentence that &ould get us the ?at maths? !re!ositional !hrase in book theme, and "ust askD ans&er. * suggest &e ski! over the &hole com!lication o, &ho is &hose ,riend D), as &ell as the

?/hat is the ,riend good atQ? b !olonization in !rogress... D) b ?#t &hat is the ,riend goodQ?
/ell, the last one must look really ugly to an 2nglish nativeAs!eaker (because it looks ugly enough

to me D)), but * choose to call that correct... and, more im!ortantly, it lets us "um! straight to the Polish counter!artD

"W czym (d6) (ten& kolega jest !obry2" 1DU8)the)"ten")("that + the"")is)optional8)but)since)we)assume)that)the)person)that) is)being)asked)this)9uestion)must)be)certain)of)the)person)that)we3re)asking) about8)putting)the)2suggesti*e2)2ten2)makes)the)9uestion)more)natural...)Well8) there)is)another)reason)for)the)presence)of)the)2ten2)there...)but)that)one)is) e*en)more)obscure)and)e+plaining)it)would)ha*e)brought)about)another)lengthy) digression)5444

/hat do &e see in the Polish 9uestionQ /e see our ,irst interrogative !ronoun (the 9uestion &ord) ,or the locative ?czym (d6)?.

Ko&, let+s think &hy &e use a 9uestion &ord ,or the locative there. /ell, &e can look back into the section describing the usage o, the locative and that &ould tell us that the use locative case is only re9uired by the rekc"a (case government) o, certain !re!ositions. [et+s look at the 9uestion and the ans&er no&D

?W (%)) czym (d)) ten kolega (d1) jest !obry2" ?/hat is the ,riend good atQ? ?+n (d1) jest !obry w (%)) matematyce (d)).? ?Ee is good at maths.? 1the)nominati*e);)2matematyka2)1fem.44 /ell, as you might have noticed earlier, Polish uses here the !re!osition ?w? (&hich usually translates into "in"), &hile 2nglish has the ?at? in that !lace. %hat+s "ust a 9uestion o, the !re!ositions not matching each other in di,,erent languages. /e &on+t &orry about that. %he thing that &e+re interested in is that the Polish !re!osition ?w/we? governs the locative, &hich means that i, &e have a 9uestion likeD "W

w"at% somebo!y% $erb N= !irect objectO%2"9 in the locative variant = ?czym 1d.4?.
666

then that ?what? &ould usually come

* say ?usually? because ?w? is one o, those ?dual rekc"a? !re!ositions that are ,ollo&ed by &ords either in the dynamic situations, es!ecially those &here the notion o, ?motion to&ards? comes into !lay.

instrumental 1d"4 or the locative 1d.4 in static situations, and by &ords in the accusative case 1d-4 in some #s has "ust been said, ?w/we? is one o, those !re!ositions in the ?static? situations it comes &ith the locative, in the ?dynamic? ones (?!oking? something &ith something, aiming into something, sticking$driving one thing into another, etc.) it comes &ith the accusative. %here,ore, given sentences likeD "Powerzysta (#D) nie wy"amowa i u!erzy w !rzwi (d4) samoc"o!u (#E)." ?%he cyclist &as unable to slo& do&n and he hit the side o, the car.? 1the)nominati*es);)2drzwi2)1always)plural48)2samochBd2)1masc.45 )notice)that)in)Polish)the)*erb)2u!erza2)(to hit, to strike")usually)operates)on)its)object) through)a)preposition)1mostly)through)the)2w245)2u!erza2)doesn3t)use)a)preposition)when) the)object)of)the)hitting)is)an)animate)substanti*e8)e.g.:

)))27en c"opiec u!erzy mojego psa)1d-4.2)6)2&his boy hit my dog#2 1not:)2... u#erzy* w !oje"o psa.245 )just)so)that)you)would)ha*e)the)complete)information:)the)locati*e)of)2drzwi2)is) 2drzwiach)1d.42)6)of)course8)this)form)is)of)no)use)in)this)sentence4 ... orD "6yszc te sowa9 !ziewczyna (#D) u!erzya go (#F) w twarz (d4)." ?-n hearing these &ords, the girl hit him in the ,ace.? 1the)nominati*es);)2on2)1pers.pron.48)2twarz2)1fem.4.45 )the)object)in)this)sentence)is)the)2on28)but)the)ad*erbial)2w)twarz2)is)strictly) associated)with)the)*erb8)and)so)the)nature)of)the)action)influences)the)case)go*ernment) of)the)preposition)2w2)in)it)1and)dictates)the)use)of)the)accusati*e)instead)of)the) locati*e45 )the)locati*e)of)2twarz2)is)2twarzy)1d.42)6)once)again:)the)use)of)that)form)would)ha*e) been)a)language)error)there4 ... &e &ould have to ask about the ob"ect o, the !re!osition ?w" by using an accusative interrogative, and so, res!ectively, the 9uestions &ould look as ,ollo&sD ?W co (d4) u!erzy rowerzysta (#D)2? ?/hat did the cyclist crash intoQ? ?W co (d4) u!erzya go !ziewczyna (#D)2? ?/hat did the girl hit him inQ?

* ho!e that you ,ound ,airly clear this little reminder o, the ,act that some !re!ositions in Polish !resent t&o di,,erent case governments (the ?w/we? being one o, them) and that, conse9uently, &here the accusative

rekc"a a!!lies, it also a!!lies to the interrogative !ronoun ,or the ob"ect o, such !re!osition. But the accusative is not our !articular business at this time, so let+s leave the slight digression and come back to our locative...

666

/e+re going to try making a ,e& eTam!le 9uestions asking about substantives !receded by the ?locative !re!ositions?D the ?w?, ?na?, etc. *+m not listing here all those !re!ositions, and *+m doing it ,or a !ur!ose or even a ,e& !ur!oses. -ne is that &e "ust &ant to see the mechanism, so &e don+t really need to try out every

combination. #nother is that ?na? is yet one more ?dual rekc"a? !re!osition, and * really &ant to avoid making any more o, the digressions like the one above... ("ust kiddingC D)). %he third, and the most im!ortant reason, is that in most o, the instances o, s!eaking about

something being in something else, or something lying on something else, etc., the only natural &ay to ask about that ?something else? is to sim!ly ask ?/here...Q?. *, the &ord that comes a,ter the ?w? or the ?na? is "ust a name ,or a !lace &here something is situated, then it+s only in some agreeQ Rsually, you &ould "ust ask ?/here did $ do $ &ill you ... Q?

s!ecial situations that you &ould ask ?*n &hat did you... Q? or ?-n &hat &ill you... Q? don+t you

.o, &ith a sentence likeD ?(anuela jest w (r6) !omu (d6).? ?>anuela is at home.?

orD ?6amoc"-! stoi na (r6) ulicy (d6).? ?#$%he car is standing in the street.? 1the)nominati*es);)2dom2)1masc.48)2ulica2)1fem.45 )not)a)hint)of)a)2motion)towards28)so)the)prepositions)come)in)their)more)usual8) primary)rekcja)1for)them8)that3s)the)locati*e)one44 it &ould be rather da,t to make u! 9uestions likeD ?W (r6) czym (d6) jest (anuela2? ?/hat is >anuela inQ? or ?Ia (r6) czym stoi (d6) samoc"-!2? ?/hat is a$the car standing onQ? *+m sure you &ill agree that in any language the only reasonable &ay o, asking a 9uestion that &ould get us an ans&er like "(+na jest& W !omu." (?.he+s at home.?) or "(6toi& Ia ulicy." (?*t+s (out) in the street.?) must beD "1!zie jest (anuela2" ?/here is >anuelaQ? or "1!zie stoi samoc"-!2" ?/here is the car (standing)Q?

-, course, grammatically s!eaking those 9uestions a little higher above the ones starting &ith &eird also because they make it seem as i, the !erson &ho is asking them already kne& the

the !re!ositional !hrases "W czym..." and "Ia czym..." are correct. %hey are "ust !retty ans&erD that !erson a!!ears to kno& that >anuela is *K something (&hile she could be out o, any closed s!aces) and that the car is standing *K$-K something (&hile the !erson ans&ering might "ust &ant to sayD ?*t+s over thereC?). *n ,act, the obvious naturality o, using the 9uestion !ronoun meaningsD "W czym jest (anuela2" b "W co ubrana jest (anuela2"

?g!zie? to ask about a location has led to some !re!ositional 9uestions ado!ting s!ecial, im!licit

?/hat is >anuela dressed inQ? "(anuela jest w czerwonej bluzie." ?>anuela is in $ is &earing a$the red blouse.? /ell, "Ia czym stoi samoc"-!2".. .. "ust looks very &eird... D) # native Polish s!eaker &ould be rather !er!leTed ,acing that 9uestionD 9uite certainly it &ould be one o, his or her last guesses the ans&er that ,irst s!rings to my mindD 3.a ko7ach23 "0n @its@ wheels=" D))) that this 9uestion might &ant an ans&er like ?Ka ulicy.? D) (* su!!ose a lot o, !eo!le &ould give

-n the &hole, there aren+t all that many locativeAgoverning !re!ositions (look yoursel, into the

section on the locative in the main !art o, the booklet). -, the three that go only &ith the locative, t&o ?po? and ?przy? again re,er to location in s!ace, &hich means that 9uestions about their ob"ects &ould usually be constructed &ith the interrogative ?g!zie?.

/ell, there is one eTce!tion here... %he !re!osition ?po? can mean "all o er", "o er the surface of", but it can also mean "after" &hen talking about events in time, &hen describing some the locative. [et+s see then &hat &e shall get i, &e try asking in PolishD ?#,ter &hom do you come inQ?. %his eTam!le 9uestion might seem strange at ,irst, but given a !ro!er conteTt it becomes chronology o, things that ha!!en. #nd, no matter &hat the meaning, that !re!osition al&ays takes

!er,ectly naturalD &hat *+m thinking about here is a scene in a hos!ital &aiting room !eo!le are sitting on every ,ree chair and a ne& !erson &ants to kno& &ho is the last in the 9ueue and &ho comes right be,ore that last !erson.

/e already kno& that the 9uestion sentence &ill start &ith ?0o 1d.4...? and that it &ill re9uire the interrogative !ronoun ,or the locative (d6) case. /e already have one ,or material things (and animals W)) ?czym (d))?. Eere &e need one ,or !eo!le (humans). %his is our 9uestionD ?0o (%)) kim (d)) 0an/0ani (d1) wc"o!zi2? .o, here &e have our !ersonal interrogative !ronoun ,or the locativeD ?kim (d))?. )ust ,or the sake o, symmetry...

... #ctually, it+s not easy to make a natural 9uestion that &ould start &ith "0o czym...",

es!ecially one that &ould allo& making a grammatically similar sentence in 2nglish. ... 1es, it+s ?eTtra? in its translation to 2nglishD ?0o (%)) czym (d)) jest 3i nie!obrze2"

9uite di,,icult... #ll right, *+ll be content &ith making one that is natural in Polish and needs a little

?#,ter (eating) &hat are you ,eeling sickQ? 1side?note:)the)way)of)speaking)about)feeling)sick)19ueasy8)nauseated4)in)Polish) is)similar)to)how)we)e+press)the)liking)of)something)by)means)of)the)refle+i*e) *erb)2podobaG)si=2)1we)talked)about)it)in)the)section)on)the)dati*e)in)the)main) part)of)the)booklet45)a)few)e+amples)to)illustrate)the)use)of)the)ad*erb) 2nie!obrze2)in)that)role: "Jest !i (d$) nie#o$rze." "- feel sick." "5zy jest 5i (d$) nie#o$rze." "4re you feelin" sick." ")a! (d$) $y*o nie#o$rze." ":e were feelin" sick."4 <* don+t think that ?%fter what are you feeling sick4", or even ?What are you feeling sick after4", is a

sentence sounding clear in 2nglish, so the &ord ?eating? needs to be added in the translation. *n

Polish, 3Po czym Xi !est niedo rzeA3 has "ust one very a!!arent meaning one associated &ith eating something bad.=

- , so &e ,ound ?po? as one ?locativeAcaseAonly? !re!osition... /e have also seen that it isn+t !robably too o,ten that &e &ould see or make 9uestions &hose ob"ects &ould come !receded by it.

#nd so &e reach the !oint that has been one o, my goals here. Kamely the !re!osition ?o? ("about"". /hy are should &e be interested in itQ Because it is a !re!osition that has a single ty!e o, rekc"a (case government)D ,or the locative "ust like ?po?W ho&ever, unlike ?po?, this !re!osition is used a lot both &ith human and material ob"ects. /hich means that both 9uestion that &e may eT!ect as the ans&er. %aking any !ossible noun at all &e can al&ays make a success,ul attem!t at asking about it one o, these t&o 9uestionsD

ty!es "+ kim...2" and "+ czym...2" &ill be very natural and easy to make ,or &hatever noun

?/ho am * thinking aboutQ?

or ?/hat am * thinking aboutQ? &hich in Polish translates, res!ectively, asD "+ 1r.4 kim 1d.4 my)l2" and "+ 1r.4 czym 1d.4 my)l2" 1...)and)the)*erb)2my)le2)(to think")can)e*en)be)9uite)safely)replaced)with)a) couple)of)others8)like)2m-wi2)(to talk")or)2pisa2)(to write"4 %here+s no doubt about it, is thereQ D) #ll right, let+s have a little !ause here, because that+s a good !lace ,or our standard summaryD

.ummary D the interrogative !ronouns ,or the ob"ects (@@@f) o, the !re!ositions that govern the locative are "(o& kim"9 "(o& czym"

Ko& *+d like you to notice that the interrogative !ronouns, the !air o, them, used ,or asking about

substantives in the instrumental and those a!!licable to substantives in the locative look

absolutely identical it is ?kim / czym? in both cases. %here,ore, in order to make a distinction bet&een them, &e tend to !ut the !re!osition ?z? (?&ith?) be,ore the ?kim / czym? to sho& that it+s the interrogatives ,or the instrumental case that &e have on our mind, and to !ut the !re!osition ?o? be,ore those same 9uestion &ords &hen &e &ant to make it clear that &e+re a,ter the interrogatives ,or a locative ob"ect.
%he choice o, these !articular !ronouns is dictated by the ,act that their case governments are constant there are no alternatives ,or the declension case o, the ob"ects o, these !re!ositions and by another ,actD that !ractically any noun or !ronoun can make a sensible combination &ith the !re!ositions ?&ith? or ?about?. (/hen * say ?sensible? * mean natural, easily ,ound in real language usage.)

-ne clari,ication, in case you might have doubts i, the !re!osition ?z? indeed serves to makes things clear and unambiguous. /ell, yes, * agree ?z? (or ?z/ze?, to be !recise) in Polish is also the language sign ,or a totally di,,erent !re!osition ("from, out of"", and that one goes together &ith the genitive. But notice that there+s no mistaking bet&een the interrogative !ronouns ,or the &e can have is &hether the !air ("kim2 / czym2") is, in a given conteTt, a !air designating the it+s the instrumental &e+re a,ter.

genitive ("kogo2 / czego2") and those ,or the instrumental ("kim2 / czym2"). %he only inclarity instrumental, or the locative. %he use o, ?z kim...2? or ?z czym...2? removes any doubts that

@@@@@

)nd now& since we're not going to look for interrogative pronouns referring to the vocative case... :))) ...
/hyQC D %here is sim!ly no &ay to ask any 9uestions about a &ord !laced in the vocative caseC D) (# !erson being called by their name is neither the sub"ect or an ob"ect (direct or indirect) o, any action the &ritten call to their name doesn+t describe any action. *t doesn+t even im!licit any action.)

... then we can ask a different& last 'uestion $)) : why that whole lecture about the interrogati e pronouns for all the cases of the declension4 /f course& one answer could e that it's simply one of the things that a person wanting to speak Polish needs to know a out the language anyway& and that it happens to e in connection with the declension system that "'m descri ing in this ooklet. ,ell& that's a passa le reason& ut not the true one: if it were the situation& " would have a ig temptation now to move on to other case( related interrogatives& like the ad!ectivial:
"jaki (d1)Q, jakiego (d2)Q, jakiemu (d$)Q, ..." neut#! "jakie (d1)Q, jakiego (d2)Q, ...? ), ( fem#! "jaka (d1)Q, jakiej (d2)Q, jakiej (d$)Q, ..."

or the determinative:

"kt-ry (d1)Q, kt-rego (d2)Q, kt-remu (d$)Q, kt-rego (d4)Q, ..."

( fem#! "kt-ra (d1)Q, kt-rej (d2)Q, kt-rej (d$)Q, kt-r (d4), ...2", neut#! "kt-re (d1)Q, kt-rego (d2)Q, ...?)...

... well& " do have that temptation and " will pro a ly yield to it in a se'uel to this ooklet (if there's going to e one& of course :))... ut for now " have a goal& and that goal is different. The goal is to present to you these 'uestion words as declension case designators& in which role they are much used y Polish speakers& and especially y children who are still uilding their voca ulary& including the inflected forms. The names of the cases ("mianownik9 !openiacz9 ...") can e pretty intimidating and they don't help much in associating a given inflected form with its function and usage. -veryday users of a language need something more practical. )nd so& while some of them might not remem er the names of all the cases& or know their canonical order& or even e aware the e*act num er of them& most will know that:

( there is a case (a word(form) that answers the 'uestions "kto / co 2"

something, or &ill do something... o, course, &e kno& the !recise name ,or the substantive !laying this role in a sentenceD it+s the sub"ect (...in PolishD ?podmiot? W))

and that this is the case &here this ?kto() $ co()? is doing something, or has done

(### and the case is, as we know, the nominati*e ("mianownik"""

( there is a case used to answer the 'uestions "kogo / czego 2"

... as in, ,or eTam!le,

(?/ho $ /hat isn+t there (some&here)Q?). .o, ,or eTam!le, i, a child needs to be taught that one needs to use the genitive ob"ect &ith the verb ?!otyka? ("to touch", this verb has a constant case government ,or the genitive), then you &ill tell the child that it+s 3dotykaK ( kogo4, czego4& a nie: kogo4, co43, and make it recall the correct &ay to you say, ,or eTam!le, ?%here is no ,ire in the chimney.? 3, kominku nie ma kogo, czego4

"@ogo / 3zego

nie ma (g!zie)&2"

g :zego nie ma w kominkuA

... &hich means that ?to touch ,ire? is com!osed as ,ollo&sD

g , kominku nie ma ognia (d2).3

?!otyka (%2) / kogo9czego2 g czego2 / ognia (d2) g !otyka ognia (d2)?

?ognia (d2)? in the combination ?dotyka8 ognia? earlier than in ?nie ma ognia? D and the &ord yet totally di,,erent. %here,ore, &hen trying to recall the correct in,lected ,orm o, a given

-, course, it is 9uite !robable that somebody might meet the noun ?ogieB (d1)? in,lected into

conteTt in &hich you &ill have seen and remembered that in,lected ,orm may &ell be something substantive, sometimes you may need to run through your mind a ,e& verbs, !re!ositions, or verb colligations &ith the rekc"a ,or the genitive, thus trying to ,ind a combination in &hich you have already seen the substantive in,lected. 4or eTam!le, you might remember the !roverb 3.ie ma dymu (d2) ez (r2) ognia (d2).? ("&here is no smoke without fire#"", and then, kno&ing that the

!re!osition ? ez? has the rekc"a ,or the genitive, you &ould arrive at the correct genitive ,orm ,or ?,ire? _ ?ognia (d2)?.

test$re,erence !hrase to check genitive substantives against, because o, its universality (it ,its &ell &ith !ractically any substantive).

But the !hrase "@ogo / 3zego nie ma ... 2" is !robably the one most commonly used as a

(### so this is what an a erage $ole needs to know about the geniti*e ("dopeniacz"" ?""

( there is a case to answer the 'uestions "komu / czemu 2"

... and the convenient &ay to continue is to go &ithD

(?/ho $ /hat am * looking in9uisitively atQ?). #gain ?przygl!a si? is one the ,e& verbs &ith a (constant) dative case government, and, additionally, it is a verb can be used to make sensible 9uestions about most substantives. %here+s also a big likelihood that, i, you+ve ever seen the dative ,orm o, a given substantive, you &ould have seen it in a conteTt o, this verb. [et+s have a hy!othetical situation that &e &ant to say ?%his cat is cold.? (... in the sense that it is su,,ering ,rom lo& ambient tem!erature, not that it+s dead... D))W &e &ill also assume that &e remember the ,ormat o, the dative !hrase that &e should use in such situationDD ?@omu()& / 3zemu()& (d$) jest zimno.?. /e should no& try to remember the ,orm o, ?(ten& kot (d1)? that ,its the sentenceD "0rzygl!am si (komu2/czemu2& ..." ...

"@omu / 3zemu

si przygl!am2"

g *, &e+re lucky &e may recall that this sentence, &ith cat in it D), &ill readD ?Przygl[dam siN (temu) kotu (d$).?

&ant to constructD

... #nd &e kno& that the stencil "komu2/czemu2 / temu kotu" &ill also ,it the sentence &e "@omu()& / 3zemu()& jest zimno." g ?Temu kotu (d$) !est zimno.?

have seen ?kot? in,lected into ?kotu? in ?Temu kotu !est zimno.? earlier than in ?Przygl[dam siN temu kotu.?. cuite !robably, you may remember that in,lected ,orm in a conteTt di,,erent ,rom those t&o mentioned ,or eTam!le, in a sentence likeD 3Xodziennie z rana da!N mo!emu kotu (d$) miseczkN mleka.3

#gain, there+s no guarantee that the situation &ill not be the o!!osite, in other &ordsD that you+d

("A eryday in the morning, I gi e my cat a little bowl of milk#""

kotu" being called the dative ,orm you &ould also try getting into the habit o, looking at and memorizing sentences &ith these ?deconstructive? interrogatives !asted inD ?Xodziennie z rana da!N ((!a&ul"a"ive r$), r4) (/komu2 / czemu2/& mo!emu kotu (d$) /kogo2 / co2/ miseczkN (d4) /kogo2 / czego2/ mleka (d2).? 1Cegarding)the)last)2kogoN/czegoN2:)always)when)ha*ing)two)nouns)back?to?back8) the)second)one)will)be)in)this)possessi*e/categorizing)function)that)is) described)by)the)use)of)the)2of2)in):nglish.)7t)is)especially)true)where)the) first)of)the)nouns)is)a)name)of)a)container:)a)bowl8)bo+8)packet8)etc.4
%he im!ortant thing is that ( &hile it+s very good that you+d be counscious o, this "mojemu

>emorizing the ?deconstructive ,orm? o, a sentence is hel!,ul in being then able to get 9uick

mental access to a desired in,lection ,orm o, a substantive. Based on the sentence ,rom the !revious eTam!le, &e can 9uickly build a sentence likeD ?>y cat doesn+t like the ne& toy.?D ?/3omu(/" + :zemu(/"; nie podo a siN nowa za awka (d1).?

g komu2 / czemu2 / mojemu kotu

g ?(komu2 / czemu2& 0o!emu kotu nie podo a siN nowa za awka.?

(###and, just for a reminder, the case we' e been talking about here is the dati*e ("celownik"""

( there is a case to answer the 'uestions "kogo / co 2"

... and there is an a&,ully long list o, handy continuations, because as &e kno& these

are the interrogative !ronouns ,or the accusative, &hich is the standard case ,or a direct ob"ect.

%his means that you+re 9uite ,ree to take your !ick yet, one o, the most !o!ular ?testing? verbs used is ?wi!zie? (to see". %hen, trying to ,ind the accusative in,lection ,orm o, a given substantive turns into trying to come u! &ith such ,orm as to ans&er correctly the 9uestionD "@ogo / 3o wi!z2" 4or eTam!leD ?truskawka (d1)? g "@ogo / 3o

wi!z2"

g "Wi!z /kogo2/co2/ truskawk (d4)."

e9ual im!ortance and there+s no &ay to s!eak a really correct Polish &ithout the ability to !ut most substantives into any o, the h declension cases, yet the accusative and the genitive are the t&o that you de,initely should !ay a s!ecial attention to, because most things &ill become direct ob"ects o, some action sooner or later in the sentences you &ill &ant to make. * don+t have an idea o, &hat to say more here... a!art ,rom one thing &hile all cases are o,

(### and that's all in the way of commentary for the accusati*e ("biernik"" !""

( there is a case to answer the 'uestions "z kim / z czym 2"

a good ,ull 9uestion sentence in this case seems to beD "H kim / H czym nie mam problem-w2 (?/ho $ /hat do * not have !roblems &ithQ?)

... even though there are some !articular substantives that this 9uestion might not !erha!s be the most ,ortunate ,or D) 4or eTam!le, ?truska&ka?D ?\ kim E \ czym nie mam pro lem]wA

-kay, a sentenceD "I don't ha e problems with a strawberry#" does look stu!id D), and maybe it isn+t a noun like that. Keither may you &ant to check a noun like ?truska&ka? against the backdro! o, a di,,iculty in a!!earing right D))...

.ie mam pro lem]w z truskawk[ (d5).?

something that you &ould &ant to memorize as a conteTtual sentence ,or the instrumental ,orm o, this sentence to see i, it looks and sounds - (because something that looks and sounds silly has /ell, * cannot deny that.. But, overall, that ?test sentence? is good and !retty universalW besides, it+s not so that it is ,iTed and ,inite, and that &e cannot modi,y it to better ,it !articular circumstances... )ust imagine a situation somebody re,uses to eat a stra&berry, because it

doesn+t seem ,resh enough to that !erson. #nother !erson says, ho&everD ?* don+t have a !roblem

&ith this stra&berry. * can eat it.?. Ko&, there+s nothing !articularly unnatural about those sentences, rightQ Eere &e go thenD

"this strawberry" b 3ta truskawka3 "a problem" b 3pro lem3 b 3.ie mam ;kogo4 + czego4; pro lemu (#E)3
sentence) D)) (*+m sure that you already kno& &hy it+s ?pro lemu (#E)? (or ?pro lem]w (#E)?, in the earlier

us remember the instrumental ,or ?truskawka?DD

#nd, the beginning o, our test$re,erence sentence slightly re&orked, &e can no& a!!ly it to hel! ?<a nie mam pro lemu ;z kim4 + z czym4; z t[ truskawk[ (d5).

(<a mogN ![ z!eLK.)?W

thoughD

/ith many substantives there &ill be no need to em!loy much imagination or inventiveness,

>"kot" 3\ kim E \ czym nie mam pro lem]wA3 3.ie mam pro lem]w ;z kim4+z czym4; z kotem (d5).3
>"!ziecko"

3\ kim E \ czym nie mam pro lem]wA3 3.ie mam pro lem]w ;z kim4+z czym4; z dzieckiem (d5).3

/ell... * no& thought o, the noun ?pro lem? itsel, D) "I ha e no problems with a problem#" looks

,antastically !hiloso!hical D)) - , there &ill naturally be 9uite a number o, eTce!tions ,or &hich

this !hrase &ill be a useless conteTt. Rniversal solutions are hardly ever bulletA!roo, D) *t+s even better i, you don+t cling to "ust one conteTt at absolutely all times but it+s also good i, there is one that you can try &ith most substantives. (*n general, the more conteTts you see a &ord in, a!!arently better to use a conteTt as ,ollo&sD the better a chance it nests in your memory). 4or the noun ?pro lem? (or ?pro lemy (plural)?) it+s

3\ kim E \ czym trze a siN zmierzyKA3

("Who + What is there a need to face + to confront4"" 3Trze a zmierzyK siN ;z kim4+z czym4; z pro lemem (d5).3 ("0ne has to face a problem#"" 3Trze a zmierzyK siN ;z kim4+z czym4; z pro lemami (pl.,d5).3 ("0ne has to face problems#""

(###those were notes on conte)tual 9uestions for the instrumental ("narz5dnik"""

( there is a case to answer the 'uestions "o kim / o czym 2"

,ollo&ed by the !re!osition ?about? ?my)le? (to think", ?m-wi? (to speak", ?rozmawia? (to talk, to con erse"W ,or eTam!leD ("Who + What am I now thinking about4"" ... Emm... #nd * suggest that &e acce!t one can think about anything... even about a stra&berry D)) ... -h, * ,orgot about the verb ?marzy (o czym)&? (to dream (about sth", to cra e (after sth"" C D) [et+s try that one...D to com!lete a conteTtual 9uestion you can go ,or any o, the !o!ular verbs that come

3/ kim E / czym teraz myLlNA3

3(du^a& czerwona) truskawka3 ((a big red" strawberry" 3/ kim E / czym czNsto marzNA3 (Who + What do I often dream about4" ?0arzN czNsto ;o kim4+o czym4; o du^e!& czerwone! truskawce (d6).?
("I often dream about a (big red" strawberry#"" [et+s make the ?locative re,erenceA9uestions? ,or our t&o other nouns ?onAcall? D) >"(jej& kot" ((her" cat" ("Who + What do I not like to talk about4"" ?.ie lu iN rozmawiaK ;o kim4+o czym4; o (!e!) kocie (d6).? ("I don't like to talk about (her" cat#"" >"(jego& !ziecko" ((his" child"

3/ kim E / czym nie lu iN rozmawiaKA3

3/ kim E / czym lu iN m]wiKA3

("Who + What do I like to speak about4"" ?Cu iN m]wiK ;o kim4+o czym4; o (!ego) dziecku (d6).?

("I like to speak about (his" child#""

(###those were notes on conte)tual 9uestions for the locati*e ("narz5dnik"""

A and, &hile everybody kno&s that there is no &ay to ask a 9uestion that &ould get a vocative in return, and &e can+t s!eak o, an actual conteTtual sentence ,or a &ord in that declension case, it is customary to add an eT!letive like ?och? or ?he!? to denote a standA alone vocative (&hen there+s no teTt coteTt to make the declension case sel,Aevident)D 34e!& kocie (d+)23 ("-ey, (you" cat="" 3/ch& truskawko (d+)23 ("0h, (you" strawberry="" 3/ch& dziecko (d+)...3 ("0h, you child###"" (### and that's the *ocati*e ("woacz"""

(YYY)
"'m going to give you a summary listing of the cases and the 'uestions they answer. #efore " do it& though& let me clarify one thing. ,hile introducing to you the 3conte*tual 'uestions3 " kept saying that they help memorize the inflection forms (or help make the 3test of the ear3 for a form you're trying to ring up from your memory). That is definitely so2 " only don't want you to get an impression that the inflection forms are so unpredicta le that the only route to knowing them is learning them y heart (in conte*ts). "t is not so the declension patterns are mostly regular. ,ith time you're going to see the patterns$ may e you will even want to analize and remem er some of them. Personally& " would rather count on a su conscious recognition and application of the patterns. /f course& " may e in the wrong with my approach$ the truth is& though& that hardly any native speaker of Polish (even a well(educated one) knows those patterns in an analitical way. ,e !ust have a 3feel3 for them. )nd the way we get that feel is y remem ering the shapes of some inflected forms as we see them properly used in conte*ts that re'uire them this lets our minds grasp the patterns and then carry them over to other similar words (similar in their shape& having the same gender& eing animate or inanimate& etc.). +hould you& however& adly crave to know the mechanisms that you can apply to find the right inflected forms... well& " gave you the link in the preface& ut " can repeat it here (... together with an advice not to do it& unless you have a ad itching for it :)) : http://free.of.pl/g/grzegorj/gram/en/odmiana,.html

(YYY)

+o& let's move on 'uickly to the promised summary:

dL declension case one !ier&szy !rzy!adek deklinac"i the)nominati*e)6)mianownik

characterizing interrogativesD this is the basic ,orm o, a substantive, so there+s hardly a need to make conteTtual 9uestion and ans&er sentences ,or it, but &e can make them here as &ellD ans&ersD

ktoN)/)coN

Uto)/)!o))to)jestN

7o jest 1ktoN)/)coN4 kot (d1).

7o jest 1ktoN)/)coN4 truskawka (d1). 7o jest 1ktoN)/)coN4 !ziecko (d1). ...

characterizing interrogativesD

dN declension case t&o drugi !rzy!adek deklinac"i the)geniti*e)6)dope<niacz kogoN)/)czegoN

a standard conteTtual 9uestionD ans&ersD

Uogo)/)!zego))tu)nie)maN

7u nie ma 1kogoN)/)czegoN4 kota (d2).

7u nie ma 1kogoN)/)czegoN4 truskawki (d2). 7u nie ma 1kogoN)/)czegoN4 !ziecka (d2). ...

characterizing interrogativesD

dM declension case three trzeci !rzy!adek deklinac"i the)dati*e)6)celownik komuN)/)czemuN

a standard conteTtual 9uestionD ans&ersD

Uomu)/)!zemu))si=)przyglRdamN

0rzygl!am si 1komuN)/)czemuN4 kotu (d$).

0rzygl!am si 1komuN)/)czemuN4 truskawce (d$). 0rzygl!am si 1komuN)/)czemuN4 !ziecku (d$). ...

characterizing interrogativesD

d4 declension case ,our cz&arty !rzy!adek deklinac"i the)accusati*e)6)biernik kogoN)/)coN

a standard conteTtual 9uestionD ans&ersD

Uogo)/)!o))widz=N

Wi!z 1kogoN)/)coN4 kota (d4).

Wi!z 1kogoN)/)coN4 truskawk (d4). Wi!z 1kogoN)/)coN4 !ziecko (d4). ...

d^ declension case ,ive !i3ty !rzy!adek deklinac"i

the)instrumental)6)narz=dnik
characterizing interrogativesD a ?standard? conteTtual 9uestion (o, my !ersonal invention W))D

z)kimN)/)z)czymN

_)Uim)/)_)czym))nie)mam)problemBwN
(note that from the grammatical point of view it wouldn't have made a difference if this 'uestion was 3_)kimN)/)_)czym))mam)problemyN3: the instrumental is the case wanted for the o !ect of this sentence anyway$ the choice is only dictated y my preferrence for the positive message :))
ans&ersD Iie mam problem-w 1z)kimN)/)z)czymN4 z kotem (d5). Iie mam problem-w 1z)kimN)/)z)czymN4 z (t& truskawk (d5). Iie mam problem-w 1z)kimN)/)z)czymN4 z !zieckiem (d5). ...

df declension case siT sz;sty !rzy!adek deklinac"i the)locati*e)6)miejscownik

characterizing interrogativesD a standard conteTtual 9uestion (one o, a choice)D

o)kimN)/)o)czymN

D)Uim)/)D)czym))1teraz4)myLl=N
ans&ersD (7eraz& (y)l 1o)kimN)/)o)czymN4 o kocie (d6). (7eraz& (y)l 1o)kimN)/)o)czymN4 o truskawce (d6). (7eraz& (y)l 1o)kimN)/)o)czymN4 o !ziecku (d6). ...

dh declension case seven si;dmy !rzy!adek deklinac"i

the case is used as a ,orm o, !ersonal address and in eTclamations, there,ore, the only conteTtual hel! can come in the ,orm o, inter"ections and calling &ords, likeD the noun denoting a !erson or (rarely) a thing thus addressed, !laced a,ter one o, these inter"ections, comes in the vocativeD Witaj9 kocie. (d+) +c"9 truskawko. (d+) Mej9 !ziecko. (d+) ...

the vocative &o0acz

Dch8)>ch8)Kej8)!zeLG8)Witaj8)...

/kay... ,hat's there to sayA ,e're done2 :)) This ooklet most certainly does not e*haust what " can say a out the Polish declension :)) /ne important thing that has een left out are the three more interrogatives E su ordinate clause introducing pronouns that follow the declension they are:

A ?kt-ry 1masc.4 $ kt-ra 1fem.4 $ kt-re 1neut.4..

..kt-re 1pl.non?personmasc.4 $ kt-rzy 1pl.person?masc.4? (A&hich is !retty much e9uivalent to the 2nglish ?&hich?),

A ?jaki $ jaka $ jakie .. jakie $ jacy?

2nglish, but &hich is used to ask 9uestions about &hat something is like, and to introduce subordinate clauses starting in 2nglishD ?... like these$those that...?), A ?czyj $ czyja $ czyje .. czyje $ czyi?

(A&hich is more tricky to describe shortly, as it doesn+t have a sim!le counter!art in

characterize the genitive caseD ?czyj? corres!onds to the 2nglish "whose", but a!!lies only to human !ossessors).

(A&hich, actually, &e have talked a bit about &hen discovering the interrogatives that

Hull declension patterns for those three would also let us define the declension suffi*es for the ad!ectives (they are 'uite regular and the patterns are not too comple* there) and for the personal possessives. "t would e very useful& too& if we got to talk a out the inflection patterns for the personal pronouns. 4owever& all of those matters would re'uire us to e*plain a few additional intricacies of Polish grammar in a little more detail& (for e*ample: the difference etween the personal*masculine and the non*personal*masculine plural gender)& and that would further pump the ooklet's size. The idea for this guide was to familiarize you with the declension and show you how is it used to give you the 3where& when& and why3 to the system. )nd even that on a modest scale and in a limited scope& ecause: a) "'m not a professional philologist$ ) " was hoping to make the guide simple and inviting. " feel " have failed on that second goal with the volume of this document as it is all the more reason not to cram more stuff into it :) .o ody is saying that this must e my one and only production& though :))) Hor the time eing " hope you en!oy (to a degree& at least :)) learning from what you have here. " wish it can enefit your Polish2

barsorro
Heel welcome to write me with your dou ts& 'uestions& and suggestions: sobarso`gazeta.pl