Polish Language Blog

Yesterday we talked about Nominative and Genitive. Today let’s move to Dative, Accusative and Instrumental case.

Dative Case (czemu? komu?)

The Dative case is used to express:

1. Senses of to and for a person, especially the indirect object (naming the recipient or beneficiary, or sometimes the person negatively affected by an action).

Kup mi coś. Buy me-Dat. something.

Zalałem twój laptop wodą. I’ve spilled water on your laptop-Dat.

2. After verbs of communication:

Powiedz mi coś. Tell me-Dat. something.

3. In construction with certain verbs like podobać się (be attractive to), pomagać (help), powodzić się (be successful for), smakować (taste), dziwić się (be surprised at), and others:

Twój kolega podoba mi się. Your colleague is attractive to me-Dat.

Dobrze jej się powodzi. She-Dat. is doing very well.

Muszę jej pomagać. I have to help her-Dat.

Dziwię się jemu. I’m surprised at him-Dat.

Zdaje nam się It seems that way to us.

4. As the subject of impersonal adverbs:

Jest mu zimno. He-Dat. is cold. (It’s cold to him-Dat.)

Nam jest łatwo. It’s easy for us-Dat.

5. After the prepositions dzięki (due to), ku (toward), przeciwko (against):

Wszystko, co wiem, to dzięki Ewie. Everything I know is thanks to Ewa-Dat.

Nie mam nic przeciwko temu. I don’t have anything against that-Dat.

Accusative Case (co? kogo?)

The Accusative case is used to express:

1. The complement after transitive verbs

Mam siostrę i brata. I have a sister (Acc.) and brother (Acc.)

Chcę kupić chleb, masło i mleko. I want to buy bread (Acc.), butter (Acc.), and milk (Acc.)

Chciałbym poznać twoje siostry. I’d like to meet your sisters (Acc.pl.)

This use of the Accusative is called the direct-object use. In general, one chooses the Accusative after a verb unless there is a specific reason to use another case.

2. Various verb+preposition phrasal combinations take the Accusative case, for example czekać na (wait for), patrzyć na (look at), pytać o (ask about), martwić się o (worry about), dbać o (look after, care about):

Czekam na mojego syna. I’m waiting for my son-Acc.

Dbam o siebie. I take care of myself -Acc.

O co pytasz? What-Acc. are you asking about?

3. After the prepositions przez (across, through, by); za in the meaning (in/after a period of time) or in exchange for; after na in the meaning (for or to); and after w in the meaning ‘into’, and in various other expressions.

Pan Jan został zaangażowany przez pana Kwiatkowskiego. Jan was hired by Mr. Kwiatkowski-Acc.

Będę gotowy za godzinę. I’ll be ready in an hour-Acc.

Dziękuję za prezent. Thanks for the gift-Acc.

Jedziemy do Lublina na obiad. We’re going to Lublin for a dinner-Acc.

Wchodzimy w las. We’re entering the forest-Acc. (On a day of the week is expressed with w + A: w poniedziałek [on Monday].)

4. After the usually Instrumental prepositions nad, pod, przed, za in the sense of

“motion-to”:

Jedziemy nad jezioro. We are going to the lake.

Autobus podjechał pod dom. The bus drove up to the house.

5. In expressing duration of time.

Pracowałem tam dwa dni. I worked there two days-Acc.

Instrumental Case (czym? kim?)

The Instrumental case is used to express:

1. Predicate nouns (nouns after linking verbs like być [be], zostać [become]):

Jestem lekarzem. I am a doctor-Inst.

Ona jest moim szefem. She is my boss-Inst.

On został prezydentem. He became president-Inst.

2. Expressing by means of:

Jedziemy tam naszym samochodem. We’re going there in our car-Inst.

Piszę nowym długopisem. I’m writing with a new pen-Inst.

Here also goes the “Instrumental of Path”:

Niech pani idzie tą ulicą do końca. Go along this street-Inst. to the end.

3. Accompaniment of an action by a body movement:

Ona machnęła ręką. She waved (with) her hand-Inst.

On zareagował uśmiechem. He reacted with a smile-Inst.

4. Abstract causes:

Byłem zaskoczony jego szczerością. I was surprised by his sincerity-Inst.

5. With respect to:

On może jest starszy wiekiem ale nie usposobieniem. He maybe is older with

respect to age-Inst. but not deportment-Inst.

6. Certain time periods:

latem in the summer

nocą at night

po południu  in the afternoon

7. After the static-location prepositions między (between), nad (over), pod (under), przed (before), z (with), za (behind):

Idę na koncert z moimi dobrymi przyjaciółmi. I’m going to a concert with my good friends-Inst.

8. After certain verbs, e.g. interesować się (be interested in), kierować (direct),

zajmować się (be busy with, take care of), władać (have power over, master):

Interesuję się książkami historycznymi. I’m interested in historical books -Inst

Matka zajmuje się domem i dziećmi. Mother takes care of the house-Inst. and

children-Inst.

Trzeba władać tym przypadkiem gramatycznym. One must master this grammatical case-Inst.

Tomorrow we will finish with Locative and Vocative cases.

Do następnego razu! (Till next time…)

Last time we talked about Polish Nouns. Today I wanted to go over cases and case use in polish grammar.

Polish nouns have different forms for expressing GRAMMATICAL CASE, related to the function of the noun in a sentence. For each gender there are forms for the Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Accusative, Instrumental, Locative, and Vocative cases – seven cases in all, in both singular and plural. In general, the Nominative case is used to express the SUBJECT of a sentence, the Dative to express the INDIRECT OBJECT (to or for whom something is done), the Accusative the DIRECT OBJECT (the item perceived by or acted on by the subject). The Instrumental expresses the MEANS BY WHICH something is done (for example, ride by train, write with a pen). The Genitive expresses POSSESSION and, in general, most meanings of of, for example husband of my sister, top of the mountain, end of the film, and so on. The Locative is used with certain prepositions, especially prepositions expressing the simple location senses of of, in, at, on. The Vocative is used in direct address; it may usually be replaced by the Nominative.

Here is a summary of the main Polish case uses. The pronominal questions with the corresponding forms of co (what) and kto (who) are given next to the case’s name.

Nominative Case (co? kto?)

The Nominative case is used to express the:

1. Subject of finite verb

Jan kocha Marię. Jan-Nom. loves Maria.

Maria kocha Jana Maria-Nom. loves Jan.

2. Subject of existential be

Jan jest w domu Jan-Nom. is at home.

Czy jest szynka? Is there any ham-Nom?

3. Complement of the identifying phrase to jest/są (that is/those are)

To jest nowe muzeum. That is a new museum-Nom.

To są moje okulary Those are my eyeglasses.

4. Complement of a naming phrase:

Jestem Adam Wolak. I am Adam Wolak-Nom.

Genitive Case (czego? kogo?)

The Genitive case is used to express:

1. Almost all meanings of of, including possession

To jest dom mojego przyjaciela That’s the house of my friend-Gen.

To jest koniec pierwszej lekcji That’s the end of the first lesson-Gen.

2. After many prepositions, including do (to), bez (without), dla (for), z (from, out of), od (from), u (at a person’s place), and others.

Tu jest coś dla ciebie Here is something for you-Gen.

Idę do kina bez was I’m going to the movies without you-Gen

On jest starszy od siostry He is older than (his) sister-Gen.

Wracam z Warszawy I’m returning from Warsaw-Gen.

3. After negated transitive (Accusative-requiring) verbs. Compare:

Mam nowy telewizor I have a new television set-Acc.

Nie mam nowego telewizora I don’t have a new television set-Gen

Już skończyłem drugą lekcję I have already finished the second lesson-Acc

Jeszcze nie zacząłem drugiej lekcji I haven’t begun the second lesson-Gen. yet.

4. Complement of negative existential nie ma (there isn’t), nie było (there wasn’t), nie będzie (there won’t be)

Nie ma masła There is no butter-Gen.

Marii jeszcze nie ma Maria-Gen isn’t here yet.

5. After many verbs, for example the verb szukać:

Szukam ciekawego prezentu I’m looking for an interesting present-Gen.

Here is a list of common verbs that take the Genitive case: bać się (be afraid of), napić się (have a drink of), nienawidzić (hate), pilnować (look after, tend, mind), potrzebować (need), słuchać (listen to), spodziewać się (expect), szukać (look for), uczyć się (study), uczyć (teach), używać (use), wymagać (require, demand), zapomnieć (forget), życzyć (wish, desire).

6. After numbers 5 and above (Gen. pl.). Compare:

jedno świeże jajko one fresh egg

pięć świeżych jajek five fresh eggs-Gen.pl.

jedna szeroka ulica one wide street

sześć szerokich ulic six wide streets-Gen.pl.

jeden nowy hotel one new hotel

siedem nowych hoteli seven new hotels-Gen.pl.

7. After weights and measures and all kinds of quantifiers like dużo, mało, trochę:

trochę sera a little cheese-Gen.

kieliszek wina a glass of wine-Gen.

szklanka wody a glass of water-Gen.

dużo domów a lot of houses-Gen.pl.

mało mieszkań not many apartments-Gen.pl.

8. To express the sense some, a bit of:

Nalać ci herbaty? Should I pour you some tea-Gen?

9. Genitive of time:

tej nocy on that night

piątego stycznia on the 5th of January

I think this is enough for today. Tomorrow I will continue with Dative and Accusative.

Do następnego razu! (Till next time…)

Today I wanted to share some news from Europe with you.

I had this wonderful privilege to meet Pope John Paul II while I was on my vacation in Italy 13 years ago. He was a wonderful man, and although I only talked to him for few minutes, it was an amazing experience. I never thought meeting Him will be so touching.

Last week Vatican shared some news with the world.

Faithful attending the beatification of Pope John Paul in Rome will be able to pray before his coffin, which will be exhumed for the event.

The Vatican warned the faithful around the world not to fall prey to fraudsters, particularly on the Internet, who are selling tickets to the beatification ceremony on May 1^st. “For the beatification Mass of Pope John Paul II, as made clear from the outset, no tickets are required,” the Vatican said. It said people should also steer clear of tour operators promising to procure tickets as part of their packages.

Italian authorities and Church officials say perhaps more than a million people may attend the mass at which John Paul, who died in 2005, will be declared a blessed of the Church and move one step closer to sainthood.

The ceremony in St Peter’s Square, one of several over three days, will hark back to the funeral of the charismatic pope, which was one of the biggest media events of the new century.

John Paul’s wooden coffin will be exhumed from its current place in the crypts below St Peter’s Basilica.

After the beatification mass in the square it will be placed before the main altar inside the basilica. The closed coffin will remain there for viewing and veneration non-stop until everyone who wants to can see it, the Vatican said.

The night before the beatification ceremony, a prayer vigil will be held at Rome’s massive Circus Maximus, the oval shaped field which was a racing track in ancient times.

A mass of thanksgiving will be held in St Peter’s Square on May 2, the day after the beatification, and then his remains will be moved to their new resting place in a side chapel of St Peter’s Basilica.

To be beatified, a dead person must be declared by the Church to have prompted a miracle. The Church says a 49-year-old French nun was miraculously cured of Parkinson’s disease months after John Paul’s death after she and fellow nuns prayed to him.

For John Paul to become a saint, the Church must declare that a second miracle occurred after the beatification ceremony.

Crowds at John Paul’s funeral on April 8, 2005 chanted “Santo subito!” (“Make him a saint right now!”).

During his 27-year pontificate, communism collapsed across Eastern Europe, starting in his native Poland. Tens of thousands of Poles are expected to come to Rome for the beatification.

Although these news are not directly from Poland, I thought I will share it with you.

And to make it a little more Polish here are few words for you:

Pope – Papież

Faithful – wierzący, wierni

Amazing experience – wspaniałe przeżycie

Touching – wzruszające

Coffin – trumna

To pray – modlić się

Beatification – beatyfikacja

Saint– Święty

Funeral – pogrzeb

Miracle – cud

Miraculously cured – cudem wyleczony

Chapel – świątynia

Pontificate – pontyfikat

Do następnego razu! (Till next time…)