Bits of Polish » genitive

Write the date the Polish way

Alicja — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:06:08 +0000

Maybe saying that there are as many date-writing conventions as countries in the world is a bold exaggeration, but it’s not that far from the truth. The Polish way of writing dates isn’t very different from how it’s done in the English-speaking world, but you might want to pay attention to some important details – that is, if you really want to be fully correct. Not that all native speakers are, of course…

First of all, looking at Polish dates, you might have noticed the lonely r. that often appears after the year: 13.12.1987 r. It’s an abbreviation of the word rok, meaning year. If you’re reading this aloud, though, you have to put this word in the Genitive case: roku. And yeah, there’s a full stop after the r. Don’t omit it.

Is this r. compulsory? No, but it’s very common, and many people put it there out of habit.

Secondly, brush up on your Roman numerals, as they are often used to write the month. For example, the previous example can be written as 13 XII 1987 r. Again, this is mostly a matter of habit – I got used to it in school, for example – not something you have to do. This convention is very useful, though, since it obviates any ambiguity that can emerge if both the day and the month are written with Arabic numerals.

Thirdly, remember the punctuation – this is where many people make mistakes. You probably noticed the difference in the examples above. If you write everything with Arabic numerals, you put full stops after the day and the month. You don’t put them there if you’re using a Roman numeral (apart from the full stop after the r. of course).

Finally, if you’re familiar with the Polish months and their declination, you can write out the month. Why do I mention declination? Because you have to put the month in the Genitive case. As for the punctuation, you don’t use full stops here either. For example:

10 stycznia 1999 r.
10 I 1999 r.
10.1.1999 r.

1 października 2004 r.
1 X 2004 r.
1.10.2004 r.

Cases in use: the joyful genitive

Alicja — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:10:31 +0000

When it comes to exploring the wonderful world of Polish cases, you have to find your way around two broad areas: how to decline the words – which boils down to memorizing the appropriate tables – and, more importantly, when to use which case. This is not always straightforward; for example, even if you know from other languages that the genitive expresses possesion, and that the accusative marks the direct object, you’ll still find Polish abounding with surprises. Certain verbs and prepositions take certain cases for no apparent reason (unless you have a PhD in the history of slavic languages, but then you’re not reading this – hopefully), so you’ll just have to suck it up.

That’s why I’ve decided to embark on this little quest to describe the use of cases. We’ll start today by looking at the genitive.

Units of measure

kawałek chleba
a piece of bread
butelka wody
a bottle of water
pół roku
half a year

Possession and belonging

zabawka chłopca
the boy’s toy
oczy kobiety
the woman’s eyes
ogon kota
the cat’s tail

Direct object in negative sentences

Nie czytam tej książki.
I’m not reading this book.
Nie mam przyjaciół.
I don’t have friends.
Nie lubimy kawy.
We don’t like coffee.
Nie otwieram drzwi.
I’m not opening the door.

With certain verbs

(Note that the genitive is used both in negative and positive sentences)

bać się – to be afraid of
Boimy się burzy.
We’re afraid of the storm.
Nie bój się psa.
Don’t be afraid of the dog.

potrzebować – to need
Potrzebuję pomocy.
I need help.
Nie potrzebujemy pieniędzy.
We don’t need money.

nienawidzić – to hate
Nienawidzę gramatyki.
I hate grammar.
Nienawidzimy długich lekcji.
We hate long lessons.

uczyć się – to learn, to study
Uczę się polskiego.
I’m learning Polish.
Nie uczymy się innych języków.
We don’t study other languages.

słuchać – to listen
Słuchamy muzyki.
We listen to music.
Słucham wykładu.
I’m listening to the lecture.

szukać – to search, to look for
Szukam nowej pracy.
I’m searching for a new job.
Szukamy przyjaciół.
We’re looking for friends.

After certain prepositions

bez – without
kawa bez mleka
coffee without milk
herbata bez cukru
tea without sugar
dziecko bez matki
a child without a mother
mężczyzna bez nogi
a man without a leg

z – from, out of
Jestem z Polski.
I’m from Poland.
Mój brat wrócił z Warszawy.
My brother came back from Warsaw.
Stół zrobiony jest z drewna.
The table is made out of wood.

With numbers 5 and above

pięć kobiet
five women
sześć ptaków
six birds
sto lat
a hundred years
dwieście książek
two hundred books

To have or not to have?

Alicja — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 07:37:47 +0000

The verb mieć – to have – is more tricky than it seems. You probably already know that you have to inflect the noun following it – your direct object – since it would be a shame if the richness of Polish cases went to waste. The case used, however, will differ depending on whether your statement is a positive or a negative one.

If you do have something, you put the noun in the Accusative case. Now, remember that Polish inflects pretty much everything, so if you adorn your noun with any modifiers – adjectives, possesive pronouns or numerals, for example – you put them in the Accusative as well. Together with the noun, these extras constitute a noun phrase, and should be treated equally – in the fancy linguistic jargon it’s called agreement. Easy, right?

To jest książka.

This is a book. Nominative case, so that you can see the basic form of the noun.

Mam książkę.

I have a book. Accusative case.

To jest twoja nowa, interesująca książka.

This is your new, interesting book. Nominative case.

Mam twoją nową, interesującą książkę.

I have your new, interesting book. Accusative case.

Note how the modifiers – even the prounoun twoja – have changed. It’s not every day you encounter a language which does that to pronouns.

What about not having something? The same general rule applies, but you’ll use another case – the Genitive. Don’t ask why. Just inflect your noun phrase accordingly.

Nie mam książki.

I don’t have a book. Genitive case.

Nie mam twojej nowej, interesującej książki.

I don’t have your new, interesting book. Genitive case.

Now, this distinction between the two cases, the Accusative and the Genitive, is something you’ll encounter very often. In short, if in a positive statement the object takes the Accusative, in a negative statement it takes the Genitive:

Piszę książkę.

I’m writing a book.

Nie piszę książki.

I’m not writing a book.

Lubię tę stronę.

I like this site.

Nie lubię tej strony.

I don’t like this site.

Czytam ten nowy, gruby, polski słownik.

I’m reading this new, thick Polish dictionary.

Nie czytam tego nowego, grubego, polskiego słownika.

I’m not reading this new, thick Polish dictionary.

Lubimy polską gramatykę i ortografię.

We like Polish grammar and orthography.

Nie lubimy polskiej gramatyki i ortografii.

We don’t like Polish grammar and orthography.

The correct answer to the question in the title is, obviously: it depends on which grammatical case you’re more comfortable using.