Lesson 21
So far we have learned a lot of basic Polish phrases. Now we will move on to a more technical issue – noun cases. This course is more than just memorizing vocabulary. You are being equipped to “work through” the language. Don’t worry, we will make every effort to keep it practical.
The Polish language has seven cases. This means that the Polish noun changes its ending depending on its function in a sentence. We will study these cases one by one and will make sure that you get plenty of practice with one before moving on to the next.
Below are the names of the seven cases:
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Instrumental
Locative
Vocative
This is the original order of cases but we will be teaching them by order that is most beneficial for the learner.
Believe it or not, you have already learned the first case! The nominative is considered the basic form. It is the nominative form that you will find when looking up words in an English-Polish dictionary.
Memorize New Vocabulary
Today we will concentrate on the instrumental case.
What does a noun ending in the instrumental case look like?
The noun endings are as follows*:
Noun Gender | Noun Ending |
masculine | -em |
feminine | -ą |
neuter | -em |
*Of course there are some variations to this rule but we will talk about them later.
Apply It To Sentence Structure
How can we know when to use the instrumental case?
You will want to look for certain verbs to clue you in on when to use the instrumental form (or any other form for that matter). So far, you have learned only one verb that uses this case być or “to be”. (For more about this verb you can revisit Lesson 19).
Here is how we create the Instrumental form:
For Masculine Nouns Step 1: student – student | | For Feminine Nouns Step 1: studentka – studentk_ – student |
Step 2: Add –em ending: studentem | | Step 2: Change –a ending into –ą ending: studentką |
Step 3: Ja jestem studentem. I am a student. | | Step 3: Ja jestem studentką. I am a student. |
|
For Neuter Nouns Step 1: okno – okn_ – window |
Step 2: Add –em ending: oknem |
Step 3: Ono jest oknem. It is a window. |
Other Examples:
On jest bratem.
He is a brother.
Ona jest siostrą.
She is a sister.
Practice it!
Adjust the endings for instrumental case for the following nouns:
Noun in Nominative Case | Noun in Instrumental Case |
Książka | |
Telefon | |
Dom | |
Długopis | |
Komputer | |
Córka | |
Okno | |
Mama | |
Koleżanka | |
Krzesło | |
*Click here for answer key*
Lesson 20 Lesson 22