The Nominative Case (Mianownik) in Polish

Benjamin Paddags Published: 2024-10-28
Updated: 2024-11-26

The nominative case in Polish, known as "mianownik," is the dictionary form of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives. This case is fundamental in Polish and acts as the basis for many grammatical structures. In this chapter, we'll cover when the nominative case is used, how it is formed for different parts of speech, and some helpful memory aids.

1. When to Use the Nominative Case

The nominative case has specific functions in Polish grammar:

• Subject of a Sentence: The nominative is used for the subject, which is the person, thing, or concept that performs the action. For example:

  • Kasia śpi ("Kasia is sleeping").
  • Książka jest na stole ("The book is on the table").

• Naming and Identifying: The nominative is also used to identify or name something, especially in sentence structures with "to jest" (this is) or "są" (these are):

  • To jest kot ("This is a cat").
  • Oni są nauczycielami ("They are teachers").

• Dictionary Form: The nominative form is what you’ll find in dictionaries, so knowing it is crucial for looking up Polish words.

2. Nouns in the Nominative Case

Nouns in Polish are divided into three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. The nominative forms of nouns depend on their gender.

Masculine Nouns

• Often end in a consonant.
  • pies (dog), stół (table), dom (house), lekarz (doctor).
• Plurals often end in -y, -i, or -(i)e, depending on the previous letter. You will feel the pattern with time ;)
  • psy, stoły, domy, lekarze

Feminine Nouns

• Usually end in -a or sometimes -i or -ść.
  • kobieta (woman), książka (book), miłość (love).
• Plurals end in -y or -i.
  • kobiety, książki, miłości.

Neuter Nouns

• Often end in -o, -e, or -ę.
  • okno (window), dziecko (child), imię (name).
• Plurals usually end in -a.
  • okna, imiona (exception:dzieci).

3. Adjectives in the Nominative Case

In Polish, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the nouns they describe. Here’s a breakdown:

Masculine Adjectives

• Often end in -y or -i.
  • dobry (good), wysoki (tall).

Feminine Adjectives

• Typically end in -a.
  • dobra (good), wysoka (tall).

Neuter Adjectives

• Usually end in -e.
  • dobre (good), wysokie (tall).

Plural

• If the noun is personal masculine (a word for a male human), use -y/-i ending.
  • źli chłopcy ("bad boys")
• Else, use -e ending.
  • złe dziewczyny ("bad girls"), złe koty ("bad cats"), złe dzieci ("bad kids")

4. Memory Aids for the Nominative Case

• Masculine nouns usually end in a consonant (think “strong”), feminine nouns end in -a (like “Anna”), and neuter nouns in -o or -e (think “object” or “entity”).

Now give yourself some time to spot the patterns in real texts (e.g. using LanGam, where nominative words are highlighted in the first chapter) and you will master the nominative endings in no time!
Got the gist of it? Let’s continue with the Genitive!

The Genitive Case (Dopełniacz) in Polish

Learn how to form negated sentences and say who things belong to in Polish in the second chapter of my grammar guide for Polish.