Today I wanted to talk to you about nouns. I will try to explain this subject as good as I can. It could be a little confusing, so please ask questions in the comments.<\/p>\n
Polish does not have elements corresponding to English indefinite and definite articles a, an, the<\/em>. One interprets a noun as definite or indefinite on the basis of context. Hence dom<\/strong> <\/em>may be interpreted as \u201ca house\u201d or \u201cthe house.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Noun Gender<\/strong><\/p>\n Polish nouns have three genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. Grammatical gender has nothing to do with natural gender (sex). It is mainly of importance for purposes of grammatical agreement. For example, \u201cfeminine\u201d nouns require that a modifying adjective have \u201cfeminine\u201d endings, as in dobra lampa <\/strong>(a good lamp<\/em>); compare to masculine dobry st\u00f3\u0142 <\/strong>(good table<\/em>) or neuter dobre krzes\u0142o <\/strong>(good chair<\/em>). <\/em><\/p>\n While names for males will be masculine in gender, and names for females will be feminine, and barnyard animals are often sexed, as krowa <\/strong>(cow<\/em>), <\/em>byk <\/strong>(bull<\/em>), other objects in the world are divided up according to gender in an arbitrary way. For example, nos <\/strong>(nose<\/em>) is masculine in gender, and g\u0142owa <\/strong>(head<\/em>) is feminine; s\u0142o\u0144ce <\/strong>(sun<\/em>) is neuter, while ksi\u0119\u017cyc<\/strong> (moon<\/em>) is masculine.<\/p>\n Noun Stems<\/strong><\/p>\n Nouns may end in a consonant or in a vowel; if in a vowel, the stem of the noun, to which endings are added, is obtained by subtracting the vowel, giving a consonant stem.<\/p>\n For example, the stem of g\u0142owa <\/strong>(head<\/em>) is g\u0142ow-<\/strong>, while the stem of nos <\/strong>(nose<\/em>) is nos-<\/strong>. The stem of mieszkanie <\/strong>(apartment<\/em>) is mieszka\u0144- <\/strong>(retracing in reverse the spelling rule \u0144 <\/strong>+ e<\/strong> = nie<\/strong>).<\/p>\n Masculine Noun Stems<\/strong><\/p>\n Masculine nouns usually end in a consonant, for example: nos <\/strong>(nose<\/em>), st\u00f3\u0142 <\/strong>(table<\/em>), <\/em>hotel <\/strong>(hotel<\/em>), piec <\/strong>(stove<\/em>), m\u0105\u017c <\/strong>(husband<\/em>). Some masculine names of persons end in –a<\/strong>, for <\/strong>example, kolega <\/strong>(colleague<\/em>), dentysta <\/strong>(dentist<\/em>), and even m\u0119\u017cczyzna <\/strong>(man<\/em>). Often <\/strong>masculine nouns show different stems when there is no ending and when there is an <\/strong>ending, as st\u00f3\u0142 <\/strong>(table<\/em>), <\/em>sto\u0142y <\/strong>(tables<\/em>), or m\u0105\u017c <\/strong>(husband<\/em>), <\/em>m\u0119\u017cowie <\/strong>(husbands<\/em>).<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Plural of Masculine Nouns<\/strong><\/p>\n Masculine non-personal nouns ending in hard consonants) usually form the plural in –y<\/strong>, for example nos –> nosy <\/strong>(nose<\/em>), st\u00f3\u0142 –> sto\u0142y <\/strong>(table<\/em>). One writes i <\/strong>after k <\/strong>or g<\/strong>: czek –> czeki <\/strong>(check<\/em>). <\/em>Masculine nouns ending in soft consonants usually form the plural in –e<\/strong>, for example hotel –> hotele <\/strong>(hotel<\/em>), piec –> piece <\/strong>(stove<\/em>).<\/p>\n Plural of Masculine Personal Nouns<\/strong><\/p>\n Masculine personal nouns often take special endings in the plural. Usually the ending is –i<\/strong>\/y<\/strong>, preceded by the softening of the preceding consonant: student –> studenci <\/strong>(student<\/em>), Polak –> Polacy <\/strong>(Pole<\/em>), and so on. With titles and relations, the ending \u2013owie <\/strong>often occurs: pan –> panowie <\/strong>(sir<\/em>), profesor –> profesorowie <\/strong>(professor<\/em>), <\/em>m\u0105\u017c –> m\u0119\u017cowie <\/strong>(husband husbands; <\/em>brat –> bracia <\/strong>(brother<\/em>[s<\/em>]) is quite exceptional. A few masculine personal nouns have a plural in \u2013\u2018e<\/strong>, as Amerykanin –> Amerykanie<\/strong>(American<\/em>).<\/p>\n Feminine Nouns<\/strong><\/p>\n Feminine nouns most often end in –a<\/strong>, for example, lampa <\/strong>(lamp<\/em>), <\/em>kobieta <\/strong>(woman<\/em>), krowa <\/strong>(cow<\/em>), siostra <\/strong>(sister<\/em>), mama <\/strong>momma<\/em>), torba <\/strong>(bag<\/em>), <\/em>ulica <\/strong>(street<\/em>). <\/em>Some feminine nouns end in a soft consonant, for example, twarz <\/strong>(face<\/em>), ko\u015b\u0107 <\/strong>(bone<\/em>), <\/em>noc<\/strong> (night<\/em>), rzecz <\/strong>(thing<\/em>). A few feminine personal nouns end in -i<\/strong>, as gospodyni <\/strong>(landlady<\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n The noun osoba <\/strong>(person<\/em>) is feminine in gender, whether it refers to a man or a woman.<\/p>\n Plural of Feminine Nouns<\/strong><\/p>\n Feminine nouns follow approximately the same rules as masculine nouns when forming the plural. Nouns ending in a hard consonant take -y<\/strong>, for example kobiety <\/strong>(women<\/em>), krowy <\/strong>(cows<\/em>), siostry <\/strong>(sisters<\/em>), torby <\/strong>(bags<\/em>). One writes i <\/strong>after k <\/strong>or g<\/strong>: noga –> nogi<\/strong> (legs<\/em>). <\/em>Feminine nouns whose stem ends in a soft consonant usually take -e<\/strong>, for example koleje <\/strong>(rails<\/em>), ulice <\/strong>(streets<\/em>), twarze <\/strong>(faces<\/em>). Some feminine nouns ending in a soft consonant take -y\/i<\/strong>, for example rzeczy <\/strong>(things<\/em>), <\/em>ko\u015bci <\/strong>(bones<\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n Neuter Nouns<\/strong><\/p>\n Neuter nouns end in –o <\/strong>or (after soft consonants) –e<\/strong>, for example myd\u0142o <\/strong>(soap<\/em>), ko\u0142o <\/strong>(wheel<\/em>), piwo <\/strong>(beer<\/em>), morze <\/strong>(sea<\/em>), pole <\/strong>(field<\/em>), zdanie <\/strong>(opinion<\/em>). Exceptional are nouns <\/strong>like imi\u0119 <\/strong>(name<\/em>) and zwierz\u0119 <\/strong>(animal<\/em>), which end in \u0119<\/strong>. Some neuter nouns, borrowed <\/strong>from Latin, end in -um<\/strong>, for example muzeum <\/strong>(museum<\/em>).<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Plural of Neuter Nouns<\/strong><\/p>\n Neuter nouns form the plural in -a<\/strong>, for example: ko\u0142a <\/strong>(wheels<\/em>), piwa <\/strong>(beers<\/em>), morza <\/strong>(seas)<\/em>, pola <\/strong>(fields<\/em>), <\/em>zdania <\/strong>(opinions<\/em>). <\/em>Nouns like imi\u0119 <\/strong>and zwierz\u0119 <\/strong>have plurals imiona <\/strong>(names)<\/em>, zwierz\u0119ta <\/strong>(animals<\/em>). The plural of muzeum <\/strong>is muzea <\/strong>(museums)<\/em>. The noun dziecko <\/strong>(child<\/em>) is of neuter gender. Its plural is dzieci <\/strong>(children<\/em>). <\/em>The nouns oko <\/strong>(eye<\/em>) <\/strong>and ucho <\/strong>(