Having got acquainted with the basis of the Polish declension, we proceed to a detailed analysis of the cases. Each lesson will focus on a specific case. The first on our list will be instrumental. So, you will learn the questions, endings and functions of the instrumental case, as well as the most common prepositions and verbs that are used with this case.

You may have a feeling of doubt about the correctness of the title of this lesson in its Russian translation, namely, how its first part "who are you" is related to the second - "instrumental". Your doubt is justified - there is no way in Russian! In this case, this connection is explained by the Polish language. The question "kim jesteś" literally translates "who you are", and "who are you" is its Russian equivalent, since in Polish this question is associated with the instrumental case. Below we will consider this case with examples.

The instrumental case is the fifth Polish case. Answers the questions (z) kim?/ by whom? and (z) czym?/ how?

Instrumental nouns

Has the following singular noun endings:

rodzaj / genus końcówka / ending przykład / example
r.m./m.r. -em / -ą student em, Polak iem, brat em/ tat ą , mężczyzn ą
r.n./c.р. -em słońc em, okn em, dzieck iem
r.ż. / f.r. -ą matk ą , Polk ą , książk ą

There is one plural ending -ami (-mi). Example : koleg ami, Polak ami, dzieć mi, braćmi.

It should also be noted that if the stem of a word ends in -k or -g, then these sounds always need to be softened, you need to add -i before the end> ​​-ki and -gi ( Polak iem ).

Let us examine some of the features of the instrumental case.

As we have seen, the masculine gender has an ending -em in case the word ends in a consonant. But here it is worth paying attention to some pitfalls.

Fluent vowel -ie

If the word contains a combination -ie before the ending, it usually falls out in the instrumental case.

  • pies - psem
  • chlopiec - chlopcem
  • ojciec - ojcem
  • ogień - ogniem

Go to o

If there is a vowel before the ending ó , then in the instrumental case it goes into O.

  • Kraków - Krakowem
  • stół - stołem
  • samochód - samochodem
  • wybór - wyborem

Keeping soft consonants -ś, -ć, -ń, -ź

If a word ends in the nominative case with -ś, -ć, -ń, -ź, then the softness of these sounds is preserved by adding after the letter -i. We get:

  • ogień - ogniem
  • liść - liściem
  • koń - koniem
  • pień - pniem
  • niedźwiedź - niedźwiedziem

The same remark applies to feminine words that end in -ś, -ć, -ź. Consonants remain soft, add an ending -ą .

  • kość - kością
  • gęś - gęsią
  • radość - radością

Instrumental case of adjectives

Instrumental adjectives have the following endings:

rodzaj / genus końcówka / ending
liczba pojed./unit. liczba mn./mn.h
r.m./m.r. -ym (-im) -ymi (-imi)
r.n./with.r.p.
r.ż. / f.r. -ą

To reinforce this information, we will give several examples with a noun and an adjective.

  • Jacek jest dobrym studentem. - Jacek is a good student.
  • Wczoraj spotkałem się z piękną dziewczyną. - I met a beautiful girl yesterday.
  • Zawsze jadę nad morze zielonym samochodem. - I always go to the sea in a green car.

Instrumental functions

After the verb, the bundles być

Sentences that say "kto jest kim" / "who is who" or "co jest czym" / "which is what." Here we are talking about what we noticed at the beginning. As a rule, such a construction is translated into Russian in the nominative case, but it can also be translated using the verb "to appear" - it depends on the context.

  • Jestem aktorem. - I'm an actor.
  • Ból głowy jest chorobą. - Headache is a disease.

In these sentences, the case will change if you add the demonstrative pronoun "to" - "this". For example:

  • Żywiec jest polskim piwem.
  • Żywiec to jest polskie piwo.

Both of these sentences are translated into Russian in the same way: Zywiec is a Polish beer.

As a supplement (method or instrument of action)

Often the instrumental is used to denote a mode of action, time or place.

  • Bardzo lubię jechać pociągiem. - I really like to travel by train (train).
  • W książce możesz pisać tylko ołówkiem. “You can only write in a book with a pencil.

Instrumental prepositions

The instrumental case has the following prepositions:

  • z — Marek jedzie samochodem z tatą.
  • za - Spotkałam się z nim za rogiem.
  • nad - Nad moim mieszkaniem jest strych.
  • pod - Pod moim mieszkaniem jest sklep.
  • między — Między tymi ulicami jest mój dom.
  • przed - Przed egzaminem trzeba dobrze spać.

The key to success in mastering the cases, and the language in general, is regular exercise. And finally, for you a picture with instrumental case 🙂

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Case Masculine and neuter Feminine
Them. zdrowy "healthy" zdrowe drogi drogie zdrowa droga
Genus. zdrowego drogiego zdrowej drogiej
Dat. zdrowemu drogiemu zdrowej drogiej
Vin. zdrowy zdrowego zdrowe drogi drogiego drogie zdrową drogą
TV. zdrowym drogim zdrową drogą
NS. o zdrowym o drogim o zdrowej o drogiej

Plural

Them. zdrowi zdrowe drodzy drogie
Genus. zdrowych drogich
Dat. zdrowym drogim
Vin. zdrowych zdrowe drogich drogie
TV. zdrowymi drogimi
NS. o zdrowych o drogich

Singular endings

Masculine and neuter

Nominative

Endings -y, -i, -e .

The ending -y acquire masculine adjectives based on a solid, hardened consonant and ch (dobr y "Good, kind", obc y "stranger", głuch y "deaf").

The ending -i have masculine adjectives with a soft consonant stem and g, k (ostatn i "last", miękk i "soft"); in the future, all forms of masculine and neuter gender will be formed from the base to soft g, k , which in writing is indicated by a vowel -i- .

All neuter adjectives end -e .

Genitive

The ending -ego (now ego , mięki ego ).

Dative

The ending -emu (obc emu , drogi emu ).

Accusative

For animate adjectives, the masculine gender coincides with the genitive case, for inanimate adjectives - with the nominative case. In adjectives, the neuter gender always coincides with the nominative case.

Instrumental and prepositional

Endings -im (ostatn im ) in the case of a soft base and -ym (dobr ym ) in the case of a solid base.

Feminine

Nominative

The ending -a (now a ).

Genitive, dative, prepositional

The ending -ej (obc ej ). Adjectives in g, k these forms form from a soft base ( ostatni ej ).

Accusative and instrumental

The declension of feminine nouns has the most monotonous endings. Accusative and instrumental also have the same ending -ą (drog ą ). Adjectives in g, k form these forms from a solid base.

Plural endings

Nominative

In this case, personal-masculine and impersonal-masculine forms are distinguished. Adjectives can have endings -i, -y, -e .

The ending -i occurs in personal masculine forms with a solid consonant stem, with the following alternations occurring:

b / b " słaby"weak" - słabi
m / m " znajomy"familiar" - znajomi
n / n " skromny"modest" - skromni
t / s bogaty"rich" - bogaci
s / ś bosy"Barefoot" - bosi
sz / ś młodszy"younger" - młodsi
st / ść prosty"simple" - prości
sł / śl dorosły"adult" - dorośli
p / p " ślepy"blind" - ślepi
w / w " łatwy"light" - łatwi
ł / l mały"small" - mali
d / dź chudy"thin" - chudzi
ch / ś głuchy"deaf" - głusi
ż/ź duży"big" - duzi
sn / śń radosny"Joyful" - radośni
zł / źl niezły"Not bad" - nieźli

The ending -i they also acquire personal-masculine forms with a base on a soft consonant, while there are no alternations ( ostatni gość - ostatn i goście).

The ending -y have personal-male forms based on g, k, r , while the following alternations occur:

The ending -y also acquire personal-masculine forms with a base on a hardened consonant (except ż, sz, rz ), while there are no alternations ( obcy człowiek"stranger" - obc y ludzie).

The ending -e occurs in impersonal-masculine forms, while alternation does not occur, g, k - soft. Formally, these forms coincide with the nominative singular form of the neuter gender ( wolne miejsca"free places", wolne miejsce"free place").

Genitive and prepositional

-ych (now ych , stanowcz ych "Positive" g, k - -ich (głup ich "Stupid" wysok ich "High").

Dative

For adjectives based on a solid and hardened consonant, the ending -ym (now ym , stanowcz ym ), with a base on the soft and back-tongue g, k - -im (głup im , wysok im ).

Accusative

The masculine form of the adjective coincides with the genitive case, the impersonal masculine form of the nominative case.

Instrumental case

For adjectives based on a solid and hardened consonant, the ending -ymi (now ymi , stanowcz ymi ), with a base on the soft and back-tongue g, k - -imi (głup imi , wysok imi ).

By the pattern of declension of adjectives, declines:

1) forms of degrees of comparison of adjectives;

2) pronouns changing by gender;

3) ordinals;

4) some nouns. These include:

  • male and female surnames with suffixes -sk- and -ck- (Kowalski - Kowalskiego; Kowalska - Kowalskiej, Konwicki - Konwickiego; Konwicka - Konwickiej);
  • female surnames and common nouns with a suffix -ow- (Orzeszkowa - Orzeszkowej; bratowa - bratowej);
  • surnames of foreign language origin and first names -e, -i, -y (Linde - Lindego, Antoni - Antoniego, Batory - Batorego);
  • adjectives that have passed into the category of nouns ( myśliwy"Hunter" - myśliwego, służący"Servant" - służącego);
  • geographical names that are adjectives in origin ( Sucha - Suchej, Biała - Białej, Zakopane - Zakopanego).

The instrumental case is often studied first, because without knowing the correct endings, we cannot tell about ourselves in Polish. If in Russian it is enough for us to use a construction with a nominative case (for example, I am a student), then in Polish you can't do without the instrumental case. We have to say : jestem studentem/ studentką .

Instrumental nouns (Narzędnik rzeczowników)

Nouns in the instrumental case answer the questions: By whom? How?

All words in plural have the same as in Russian, ending - ami:kolegami(colleagues) , có rkami(daughters) , jabł kami(apples). The difference lies only in the stress: in Russian it falls on the root of the word, and in Polish - on the ending (on the letter a).

However, some words have a special form in the instrumental plural. They need to be remembered:

Brat-braćmi(brother-brothers);

Dziecko-dziećmi(child-children);

Ludzie-ludźmi(people-people);

Koń-końmi(horse-horses);

Przyjaciel-przyjaciółmi(friend-friends);

Liść-liśćmi(leaf-leaves);

Kość- kość mi(bone-to-bone);

Ksią dz-księż mi(priest-priest);

Pieniędzy-pieniędzmi(money-money).

Singular there are some differences in the endings of nouns that should be noted.

The ending -em we write in neuter nouns, as well as in masculine words, except for those that end in - a... For example:

Student-studentem(student-student);

Matematyk-matematyki em(mathematician-mathematician);

Pole-polem(field-field);

Filolog-filologi em(philologist-philologist);

Dziecko-dziecki em(child-child).

Remember! Neuter words in - um (muzeum) in the singular do not change.

If the stem of a word ends in k or g, then before the end you need to add the letter i to soften these consonants.

The ending - ą we write in all words of the feminine gender, as well as in masculine nouns that end in a vowel in the nominative case - a:

Matka-matką (mom-mom);

Pani-panią (woman to woman);

Mapa-mapą (by card-card);

Kierowca-kierowcą (driver-driver);

Mysz-myszą (mouse-mouse).

Alternations and fluent vowels

When the forms of the instrumental case are formed, some changes can occur at the root of the word. So, if in masculine words ending in a consonant, there is a combination in the nominative case - ie, then in the instrumental case it often falls out: pie s-psem, ogień- ogniem.

If the last closed syllable contains a vowel ó , then in the instrumental case it changes to O since this syllable becomes open: stó ł- stoł em, wybó r-wybo rem.

If a word of any of the three genders in the nominative case ends in soft - ś, -ć, -ń, -ź , then the softness of these sounds must be preserved by adding the letter - i before ending: koń- koni em, gwóź dź- gwoź dzi em, radość- radoś cią .

Neuter words that end in - ę when forming the instrumental case before the ending - em the so-called extension is added (- ci- or - ni-). At the same time, in some words, the final nasal is preserved, and in others, a vowel appears in its place e... For example:

Cielę- cielę ciem(calf-calf);

Plemię- plemie niem(tribe-tribe).

Instrumental case of adjectives (Narzędnik przymiotników)

Adjectives (as well as numerals and pronouns) in the instrumental case answer the following questions: How? Which? Whose? Whose?

The plural endings are exactly the same as in Russian: - ymi- if the stem of the word ends in a solid and hardened sound and - imi- if the base ends in soft (+ k, g). For example:

Dobry-dobrymi(good-good);

Gorzki-gorzkimi(bitter-bitter).

There are two variants of the endings in the singular: - ą or - ym (-im).

The ending - ą have feminine adjectives:

Gorzka-gorzką (bitter-bitter);

Biał a-białą (white-white).

The ending -ym we write in masculine and neuter adjectives, the stem of which ends in a solid or hardened consonant (in the masculine nominative case they have the ending - y), a - im - if it ends in soft, k or g(in I.p.m., these words end with - i):

Zielony-zielonym(green-green);

Niski-niskim(low-low);

Dł ugie-dł ugim(long-long);

Prawdziwe-prawdziwym(present-present).

The peculiarity of the use of the instrumental case in Polish

Pay attention to the following suggestions:

  1. Piotr Adamczyk jest przystojnym męż czyzną - Peter Adamchik is a handsome man. In the Polish version, the adjective and noun stand in instrumental case.
  1. Piotr Adamczyk jest przystojny- Peter Adamchik is handsome. Adjective used in nominative.
  1. Piotr Adamczyk to jest przystojny mężczyzna- Peter Adamchik is a handsome man. Adjective and noun stand in nominative.

How to figure it out: when to use the instrumental and when to use the nominative? It's pretty simple.

If after the verb to be(in our example, this is the form jest) is a noun along with an adjective, then both of these words must be in the instrumental case. If after the verb to be there is only an adjective, then it should be used in the nominative case (as in the second sentence). And if after the verb to be there is both an adjective and a noun, but before the form jest worth the word to(this), then the adjective and noun are used in the nominative case.

The instrumental case is often studied first, because without knowing the correct endings, we cannot tell about ourselves in Polish. If in Russian it is enough for us to use a construction with a nominative case (for example, I am a student), then in Polish you can't do without the instrumental case. We have to say : jestem studentem/ studentką .

Instrumental nouns (Narzędnik rzeczowników)

Nouns in the instrumental case answer the questions: By whom? How?

All words in plural have the same as in Russian, ending - ami:kolegami(colleagues) , có rkami(daughters) , jabł kami(apples). The difference lies only in the stress: in Russian it falls on the root of the word, and in Polish - on the ending (on the letter a).

However, some words have a special form in the instrumental plural. They need to be remembered:

Brat-braćmi(brother-brothers);

Dziecko-dziećmi(child-children);

Ludzie-ludźmi(people-people);

Koń-końmi(horse-horses);

Przyjaciel-przyjaciółmi(friend-friends);

Liść-liśćmi(leaf-leaves);

Kość- kość mi(bone-to-bone);

Ksią dz-księż mi(priest-priest);

Pieniędzy-pieniędzmi(money-money).

Singular there are some differences in the endings of nouns that should be noted.

The ending -em we write in neuter nouns, as well as in masculine words, except for those that end in - a... For example:

Student-studentem(student-student);

Matematyk-matematyki em(mathematician-mathematician);

Pole-polem(field-field);

Filolog-filologi em(philologist-philologist);

Dziecko-dziecki em(child-child).

Remember! Neuter words in - um (muzeum) in the singular do not change.

If the stem of a word ends in k or g, then before the end you need to add the letter i to soften these consonants.

The ending - ą we write in all words of the feminine gender, as well as in masculine nouns that end in a vowel in the nominative case - a:

Matka-matką (mom-mom);

Pani-panią (woman to woman);

Mapa-mapą (by card-card);

Kierowca-kierowcą (driver-driver);

Mysz-myszą (mouse-mouse).

Alternations and fluent vowels

When the forms of the instrumental case are formed, some changes can occur at the root of the word. So, if in masculine words ending in a consonant, there is a combination in the nominative case - ie, then in the instrumental case it often falls out: pie s-psem, ogień- ogniem.

If the last closed syllable contains a vowel ó , then in the instrumental case it changes to O since this syllable becomes open: stó ł- stoł em, wybó r-wybo rem.

If a word of any of the three genders in the nominative case ends in soft - ś, -ć, -ń, -ź , then the softness of these sounds must be preserved by adding the letter - i before ending: koń- koni em, gwóź dź- gwoź dzi em, radość- radoś cią .

Neuter words that end in - ę when forming the instrumental case before the ending - em the so-called extension is added (- ci- or - ni-). At the same time, in some words, the final nasal is preserved, and in others, a vowel appears in its place e... For example:

Cielę- cielę ciem(calf-calf);

Plemię- plemie niem(tribe-tribe).

Instrumental case of adjectives (Narzędnik przymiotników)

Adjectives (as well as numerals and pronouns) in the instrumental case answer the following questions: How? Which? Whose? Whose?

The plural endings are exactly the same as in Russian: - ymi- if the stem of the word ends in a solid and hardened sound and - imi- if the base ends in soft (+ k, g). For example:

Dobry-dobrymi(good-good);

Gorzki-gorzkimi(bitter-bitter).

There are two variants of the endings in the singular: - ą or - ym (-im).

The ending - ą have feminine adjectives:

Gorzka-gorzką (bitter-bitter);

Biał a-białą (white-white).

The ending -ym we write in masculine and neuter adjectives, the stem of which ends in a solid or hardened consonant (in the masculine nominative case they have the ending - y), a - im - if it ends in soft, k or g(in I.p.m., these words end with - i):

Zielony-zielonym(green-green);

Niski-niskim(low-low);

Dł ugie-dł ugim(long-long);

Prawdziwe-prawdziwym(present-present).

The peculiarity of the use of the instrumental case in Polish

Pay attention to the following suggestions:

  1. Piotr Adamczyk jest przystojnym męż czyzną - Peter Adamchik is a handsome man. In the Polish version, the adjective and noun stand in instrumental case.
  1. Piotr Adamczyk jest przystojny- Peter Adamchik is handsome. Adjective used in nominative.
  1. Piotr Adamczyk to jest przystojny mężczyzna- Peter Adamchik is a handsome man. Adjective and noun stand in nominative.

How to figure it out: when to use the instrumental and when to use the nominative? It's pretty simple.

If after the verb to be(in our example, this is the form jest) is a noun along with an adjective, then both of these words must be in the instrumental case. If after the verb to be there is only an adjective, then it should be used in the nominative case (as in the second sentence). And if after the verb to be there is both an adjective and a noun, but before the form jest worth the word to(this), then the adjective and noun are used in the nominative case.

Narzę dnik.

First, let's remember that Narzę dnik (in Russian - Instrumental) answers the question by whom? how? - kym? czym? and is very similar to a prepositional one, which, however, is worth talking about separately.

Feminine

Let's start with singular... Everything is quite simple here. All we need to do:

a) change the ending -a, on –ą if the feminine noun ends in -a.

pewna piękna kobieta - Dziś wieczorem idziemy do kina z pewną piękną kobietą.

nowa książka - Jestem bardzo zachwycony nową książką tego polskiego piszarza.

b) if the source word has an ending –і (not so often found), then our task is simply to add - ą.

gospodyni domowa - Spotkałem w centrum handlowym z gospodynią domową, ktorą poznałem w zeszłym tygodniu.

c) in the event that our feminine word ends with a consonant, eg. noc - just add –ą.

ciemna noc - Ciemną nocą źle widać czarnego kota.

nasza młodzież - Z naszą młodzieżą czasem jest bardzo ciężko.

Practical advice: In practice, you need to remember one thing - the instrumental case of the singular feminine is formed by adding the ending to the word – ą. In fact, you may not even be very familiar with points a), b) and c). Practice shows that it is wrong to do it - you have practically no chances. The relationship between Russian (Ukrainian, Belarusian) and Polish practically excludes mistakes, if you remember that the ending should be - ą .

2. Regarding plural, then it’s a trifling matter, because it absolutely repeats the Russian language. Compare:

młoda studentka - young student młod ymi Studetk ami- young yim student ami

However, there is still a difference, and it is in stress (let me remind you that in Polish the stress almost always falls on the penultimate syllable). That is why the often identical Polish and Russian feminine words in the instrumental plural can sound so unusual that it is difficult to recognize them:

młod ymi Studetk ami- young yim stud e ntk ami biał ymi noc ami - b e l yim nights ami