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Polish grammar A1: beginner

The plural

Contents · A1
  1. The verb być
  2. Nouns and adjectives
  3. The plural
    1. The plural of nouns outside the virile forms: koty, książki, ulice, okna
    2. Adjectives and determiners in the plural: nowe, te, moje
    3. Irregular plurals: dzieci, lata, dni, oczy, ręce, pieniądze
  4. The instrumental
  5. The accusative
  6. The genitive
  7. The locative
  8. Prepositions of place
  9. Adjectives and adverbs
  10. Numbers
  11. Numbers and time
  12. The present tense
  13. Modal verbs
  14. Verbs of motion
  15. The past
  16. Aspect
  17. The future
  18. Questions, negation and conjunctions

At A1 the plural is learnt outside the virile forms: for things, animals, women and children. Its nominative ends in -y, -i, -e or -a, by the gender and the last consonant of the noun, and its accusative is the same as the nominative.

The plural of nouns outside the virile forms: koty, książki, ulice, okna#

Formation

Masculine nouns for things and animals and feminine nouns in -a take -y after a hard consonant (kot, koty; lampa, lampy; szkoła, szkoły) and -i after k and g (książka, książki; noga, nogi). After a soft consonant and after c, cz, sz, ż, rz, the ending is -e (klucz, klucze; pokój, pokoje; ulica, ulice; lekcja, lekcje; kuchnia, kuchnie), and many feminine nouns ending in a consonant take -e too (noc, noce), while those in -ść take -i (wiadomość, wiadomości). Neuter nouns in -o and -e take -a: okno, okna; mieszkanie, mieszkania. An ó in the last syllable becomes o when an ending is added: pokój, pokoje; stół, stoły; nóż, noże.

Ending of the nounPluralExamples
a hard consonant, -a after a hard consonant-ykoty, lampy, szkoły
-k, -g, -ka, -ga-iksiążki, nogi
a soft consonant, c, cz, sz, ż, rz-eklucze, ulice, lekcje, noce
neuter -o, -e-aokna, mieszkania

Use

These forms are used for things, animals, women and children. Groups of men, and groups with at least one man, take the virile forms (studenci, oni), which A1 meets only in the pronoun oni and in the past (byli, robili). The accusative plural of these nouns is the same as the nominative: Te torby są nowe. Mam nowe torby. The other cases of the plural are explained with their case: The genitive plural: -ów, no ending, -i or -y, The instrumental plural: z kolegami, dobrymi studentami and The locative plural: w górach, na wakacjach.

Casekotksiążkaokno
nominative, accusativekotyksiążkiokna
genitivekotówksiążekokien
instrumentalkotamiksiążkamioknami
locativekotachksiążkachoknach
  • Na stole są talerze i noże.There are plates and knives on the table.
  • Te kwiaty są bardzo piękne.These flowers are very beautiful.
  • W pokoju są dwa łóżka i trzy krzesła.There are two beds and three chairs in the room.
  • Lekcje są rano i po południu.The lessons are in the morning and in the afternoon.

Difference from English

In English, -s is added to almost every noun; Polish has four endings, chosen by the gender and by the last consonant of the noun. Ky and gy are not written in native Polish words, so the plural of a noun in -ka or -ga always ends in -ki, -gi.

Common mistakes

  • Mam dwie książky. → Mam dwie książki.After k, the ending is -i.
  • To są nowe ulicy. → To są nowe ulice.After c, the nominative plural ends in -e.
  • W domu są trzy pokóje. → W domu są trzy pokoje.The ó of pokój becomes o before an ending.

Practise

“The plural: nouns and adjectives outside the virile forms”, The plural in -y and -i: koty, książki “The plural: nouns and adjectives outside the virile forms”, The plural in -e: pokoje, ulice “The plural: nouns and adjectives outside the virile forms”, Neuter nouns in the plural: okna, mieszkania

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Adjectives and determiners in the plural: nowe, te, moje#

Formation

Outside the virile forms, a plural adjective ends in -e, or -ie after k, g and a soft consonant, whatever the gender of the noun: nowe, duże, zimne; drogie, wysokie, tanie. The determiners take the same ending: ten, ta, to → te; mój → moje, twój → twoje, nasz → nasze, wasz → wasze. The question words are jakie? and czyje?

SingularPlural
nowy, nowa, nowenowe
wysoki, wysoka, wysokiewysokie
ten, ta, tote
mój, moja, mojemoje

Use

The accusative plural is the same as the nominative, for the adjective too: Kupuję nowe buty. Jego, jej and ich do not change in the plural either: jej dzieci, ich klucze.

  • Te buty są nowe, ale tanie.These shoes are new but cheap.
  • Czyje są te klucze? — Moje.Whose keys are these? — Mine.
  • Lubię twoje zdjęcia.I like your photos.
  • Jakie owoce jesz rano?What fruit do you eat in the morning?

Difference from English

An English adjective has one form in the singular and the plural; a Polish adjective agrees with its noun in the plural too: “red dresses” is czerwone sukienki, never czerwony sukienki.

Common mistakes

  • Ten okulary są drogie. → Te okulary są drogie.Okulary is plural, so the demonstrative is te.
  • Moja dzieci są w szkole. → Moje dzieci są w szkole.Dzieci is plural.

Practise

“The plural: nouns and adjectives outside the virile forms”, Adjectives and determiners in the plural: nowe, te, moje

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Irregular plurals: dzieci, lata, dni, oczy, ręce, pieniądze#

Formation

A few common nouns have a plural that is learnt with the word:

SingularPluralGenitive plural
dziecko (child)dziecidzieci
oko (eye)oczyoczu
ręka (hand, arm)ręcerąk
rok (year)latalat
dzień (day)dnidni
tydzień (week)tygodnietygodni
—pieniądze (money)pieniędzy
—ludzie (people)ludzi

Use

Pieniądze, drzwi, okulary, spodnie and usta are used in the plural only, so the verb is plural: Gdzie są pieniądze? The form dnie also exists, mostly in writing; dni is the usual plural. Lata is the plural of rok: dwa lata, pięć lat, explained in Age and prices: rok, lata, lat; złoty, złote, złotych. The instrumental plural of dzieci and ludzie has the short ending -mi: z dziećmi, z ludźmi.

  • Nasze dzieci są teraz w szkole.Our children are at school now.
  • To dziecko ma duże, ciemne oczy.This child has big dark eyes.
  • Mam zimne ręce.My hands are cold.
  • Te pieniądze są dla ciebie.This money is for you.

Difference from English

English “money” is singular and takes “is”; pieniądze is plural and takes są. English “door” is counted (“a door”, “two doors”); drzwi is a plural noun even for one door, as okulary is for one pair of glasses.

Common mistakes

  • Moje dziecka są w domu. → Moje dzieci są w domu.The plural of dziecko is dzieci, not a form in -a like okna.
  • Gdzie jest moje pieniądze? → Gdzie są moje pieniądze?Pieniądze is plural.

In short

PointFormExample
after a hard consonant-ykoty, lampy
after k, g-iksiążki, nogi
after a soft consonant, c, cz, sz, ż, rz-eklucze, ulice
neuter-aokna, mieszkania
accusative pluralthe same as the nominativeMam nowe torby.
adjectives, determiners-e / -ie; te, mojete nowe lampy
irregulardzieci, oczy, ręce, lata, dni, pieniądzeGdzie są pieniądze?

Practise

“The plural: nouns and adjectives outside the virile forms”, Irregular plurals: dzieci, oczy, ręce, lata

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