The locative · Polish grammar A1

The locative singular in -e and the changed consonant: w sklepie, w szkole#

Formation

Masculine and neuter nouns whose stem ends in a hard consonant, and feminine nouns in -a after a hard consonant, take -e in the locative singular; the -o of a neuter noun and the -a of a feminine noun are dropped first. After p, b, f, w, m, n, s, z the ending is written -ie: sklep, w sklepie; Kraków, w Krakowie; kino, w kinie; Warszawa, w Warszawie. Other consonants change before the ending.

Change	Nominative	Locative
ł → l	szkoła, stół	w szkole, na stole
r → rz	teatr, siostra	w teatrze, o siostrze
t → ci	poczta, uniwersytet	na poczcie, na uniwersytecie
d → dzi	ogród, samochód	w ogrodzie, w samochodzie
st → ści	miasto	w mieście
k → c (feminine)	Polska, łazienka	w Polsce, w łazience
g → dz (feminine)	noga	na nodze

Use

A vowel of the stem may change too: ó becomes o (samochód, w samochodzie; stół, na stole), and a becomes e in miasto, w mieście and obiad, po obiedzie. Nouns in -k, -g and -ch that are masculine or neuter take -u, not -e, as explained in The locative singular in -u, -i and -y: w domu, w pracy.

Ewa jest w teatrze z mamą.Ewa is at the theatre with her mum.
Książka leży na stole.The book is on the table.
Pracuję w Warszawie.I work in Warsaw.
Kot śpi w ogrodzie.The cat is sleeping in the garden.

Difference from English

In English, a name after “in” is unchanged (“in Warsaw”); in Polish the noun after w and na changes its ending, often with its last consonant: Warszawa, w Warszawie; Polska, w Polsce.

Common mistakes

~~Jestem w szkołe.~~ → Jestem w szkole.Before -e, ł becomes l.
~~Mieszkam w Polske.~~ → Mieszkam w Polsce.In a feminine noun, k becomes c before -e.
~~Pracuję w Warszawa.~~ → Pracuję w Warszawie.After w, the noun is in the locative.

Practise

“The locative: w sklepie, o pracy, po parku”, Being in a place: w sklepie, w Krakowie, w klubie “The locative: w sklepie, o pracy, po parku”, The locative with a changed consonant: w szkole, w mieście, w Polsce

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The locative singular in -u, -i and -y: w domu, w pracy#

Formation

Masculine and neuter nouns take -u when the stem ends in k, g, ch or in a soft consonant or c, cz, sz, rz, ż, l, j: park, w parku; Gdańsk, w Gdańsku; hotel, w hotelu; pokój, w pokoju; Toruń, w Toruniu; dworzec, na dworcu. Neuter nouns in -e take -u too: mieszkanie, w mieszkaniu; morze, w morzu. Dom takes -u as well: w domu. Feminine nouns whose stem ends in a soft consonant take -i: kawiarnia, w kawiarni; kuchnia, w kuchni; lekcja, na lekcji; Anglia, w Anglii. After c, cz, sz, rz, ż, the feminine ending is -y: praca, w pracy; ulica, na ulicy; plaża, na plaży; noc, w nocy.

Noun	Locative	Examples
masculine, neuter in k, g, ch	-u	w parku, w banku
masculine, neuter soft or in c, cz, sz, rz, ż, l, j; dom	-u	w hotelu, w mieszkaniu, w domu
feminine, soft	-i	w kawiarni, na lekcji
feminine in c, cz, sz, rz, ż	-y	w pracy, na ulicy

Use

Muzeum does not change in the singular: w muzeum. In wieś, the e is dropped: na wsi. The adjective agrees with the noun, as explained in Adjectives and determiners in the locative singular: w dużym mieście, w tej szkole.

Jesteśmy w parku obok rzeki.We’re in the park by the river.
Moja mama jest teraz w kuchni.My mum is in the kitchen now.
Na tej ulicy są dwa sklepy i kawiarnia.There are two shops and a café in this street.
W nocy pada śnieg. Rano jesteśmy w domu.It snows at night. In the morning we’re at home.

Difference from English

English “at work”, “in the street” and “at home” have no article; the Polish nouns take a case ending instead: w pracy, na ulicy, w domu.

Common mistakes

~~Jestem w parkie.~~ → Jestem w parku.After k, the locative ending is -u.
~~Siedzimy w kawiarnie.~~ → Siedzimy w kawiarni.A feminine noun in -nia takes -i.
~~Dzieci są na ulice.~~ → Dzieci są na ulicy.After c, the feminine locative ends in -y.

Practise

“The locative: w sklepie, o pracy, po parku”, The locative in -u: w domu, w hotelu, w parku “The locative: w sklepie, o pracy, po parku”, Feminine nouns in -i and -y: w kawiarni, w pracy, na ulicy

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Adjectives and determiners in the locative singular: w dużym mieście, w tej szkole#

Formation

With a masculine or a neuter noun, an adjective in the locative ends in -ym (-im after k and g); with a feminine noun, in -ej (-iej after k and g). Determiners take the same endings: tym, tej; moim, mojej; twoim, twojej; naszym, naszej.

	Masculine and neuter	Feminine
adjectives	w dużym domu, w wysokim domu	w małej szkole, w wysokiej szkole
ten, ta, to	w tym hotelu	w tej kawiarni
mój, twój, nasz	w moim pokoju	w naszej kuchni

Use

The masculine and neuter forms are the same as in the instrumental (dobrym), the feminine form the same as in the genitive (dobrej). An adjective declines even when its noun does not: w starym muzeum.

Mieszkamy w małym mieszkaniu.We live in a small flat.
Spotykamy się w tej kawiarni o piątej.We’re meeting in this café at five.
Moja siostra pracuje w dużym banku.My sister works in a big bank.
Książki są w moim pokoju.The books are in my room.

Difference from English

An English adjective has one form after in; a Polish adjective agrees with the gender of the noun: w dużym sklepie, w dużej kuchni.

Common mistakes

~~Jestem w dużej sklepie.~~ → Jestem w dużym sklepie.Sklep is masculine, so the adjective ends in -ym.
~~Mieszkam w ten hotel.~~ → Mieszkam w tym hotelu.After w, the determiner and the noun are both in the locative.

Practise

“The locative: w sklepie, o pracy, po parku”, Adjectives and determiners in the locative: w dużym mieście, w tej szkole

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The prepositions o and po with the locative: rozmawiać o pracy, po parku#

Formation

O, meaning “about”, is followed by the locative after rozmawiać, myśleć, mówić, opowiadać and after a noun such as książka or film: o pracy, o domu, o pogodzie. The question words are o kim? and o czym? Po is followed by the locative in two meanings: “around, all over” a place (po parku, po mieście) and “after” a meal, a lesson or an activity (po obiedzie, po lekcji, po pracy).

Use

O + locative is “about”; pytać o and prosić o are followed by the accusative, as explained in Verbs followed by na or o and the accusative: czekać na, pytać o: myślę o Ewie, but pytam o Ewę. The hour after o (o piątej) is a locative too, explained in Time expressions and their cases: o pierwszej, w sobotę, w maju. Po polsku is an adverb of language, not a locative: mówię po polsku.

O czym myślisz? — O nowej pracy.What are you thinking about? — About my new job.
Rozmawiamy o filmie.We’re talking about the film.
Po obiedzie spacerujemy po parku.After lunch we walk around the park.
Po lekcji Kasia gra w tenisa.After the lesson Kasia plays tennis.

Difference from English

English “about” and “after” are followed by the plain noun; Polish o and po change its ending: “about the weather” is o pogodzie, “after dinner” po kolacji.

Common mistakes

~~Rozmawiamy o pogoda.~~ → Rozmawiamy o pogodzie.After o meaning “about”, the noun is in the locative.
~~Po obiad idę do pracy.~~ → Po obiedzie idę do pracy.After po meaning “after”, the noun is in the locative.

Practise

“The locative: w sklepie, o pracy, po parku”, Talking about something: o pracy, o czym, o kim “The locative: w sklepie, o pracy, po parku”, Around and after: po parku, po obiedzie

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The locative plural: w górach, na wakacjach#

Formation

In the locative plural, nouns of every gender take -ach: dom, w domach; sklep, w sklepach; ulica, na ulicach; miasto, w miastach. Adjectives and determiners take -ych, or -ich after k and g and in moich, twoich: w dużych miastach, w tych sklepach, o moich dzieciach.

Use

Nouns used in the plural only take -ach in every locative: góry, w górach; wakacje, na wakacjach; drzwi, w drzwiach. The ending is the same after w, na, o and po: po sklepach, o wakacjach.

Latem jesteśmy w górach.In the summer we’re in the mountains.
Opowiadam o wakacjach we Włoszech.I’m talking about my holiday in Italy.
W tych sklepach jest drogo.It’s expensive in these shops.
W sobotę chodzimy po sklepach.On Saturday we go round the shops.

Difference from English

In English, “in the mountains” has the plain plural; in Polish -ach is added to the noun and -ych to its adjective: w wysokich górach.

Common mistakes

~~Jesteśmy na wakacjami.~~ → Jesteśmy na wakacjach.-ami is the instrumental plural; after na the ending is -ach.
~~Mieszkam w góry.~~ → Mieszkam w górach.For a place where someone is, w is followed by the locative.

Practise

“The locative: w sklepie, o pracy, po parku”, The locative plural: w górach, na wakacjach

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Personal pronouns in the locative: o mnie, o nim#

Formation

The personal pronouns have their own locative forms, always after a preposition; the third person begins with n-:

Nominative	ja	ty	on, ono	ona	my	wy	oni, one	pan	pani
Locative	o mnie	o tobie	o nim	o niej	o nas	o was	o nich	o panu	o pani

Use

These forms are used after every preposition followed by the locative: o nim, po nim, w nim. O tobie is said to one person, o was to several.

Często myślę o tobie.I often think about you.
Wiesz coś o niej?Do you know anything about her?
Babcia często opowiada o was.Grandma often talks about you.

Difference from English

In English, “about him” has the object form him; Polish has a separate locative form, o nim, different from the accusative go.

Common mistakes

~~Mówimy o jego.~~ → Mówimy o nim.After o, on becomes nim.
~~Myślę o ty.~~ → Myślę o tobie.After o, ty becomes tobie.

In short

Point	Form	Example
hard stems	-e with a changed consonant	w sklepie, w szkole, w Polsce
k, g, ch, soft stems; dom	-u	w parku, w hotelu, w domu
feminine soft	-i	w kawiarni
feminine in c, cz, sz, rz, ż	-y	w pracy
adjectives	-ym / -im, -ej	w dużym mieście, w tej szkole
plural	-ach; -ych / -ich	w górach, w tych sklepach
about	o + locative	o pracy, o nim
around, after	po + locative	po parku, po obiedzie

Practise

“The locative: w sklepie, o pracy, po parku”, About people: o mnie, o tobie, o nim

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