Mini Breakthrough

Cześć!

I am starting to realise a mini-breakthrough in my understanding of cases. I've been testing out basic sentences with my interlocutor in the past few days . . . testing getting the cases right in simple examples. It's just a different way of thinking of sentence construction. I'm far from having them all figured out.

Successful examples from the morning (feel free to comment whether they are successful or not!):

• Mam lekcje z Piotrem. (Piotr + Instrumental/Narzędnik)
• I have a lesson with Piotr.
• Lubię barszcz. (barszcz + Accusative/Biernik - in this example there is no change in the suffix)
• I like barszcz.
• Zjadłem ciasto z lodem lodami. (lody + Instrumantal/Narzędnik)
• I ate cake with ice cream.
• My interlocutor tells me that ice cream is always plural, unless it comes on a stick. If I ate cake and ice cream on a stick, I am apparently correct in saying 'zjadłem ciasto z lodem.'
• To jest porftel Kolina. (Kolin + Genitive/Dopełniacz)
• It is Kolin's wallet.

Have I got it right? I know there are a thousand variations in the rules, but I need to start with a few examples that work. I feel like I'm starting to get someplace with this and now I understand why my teacher is making me learn them. Soon, I should write a chart of the various case endings, because I can't remember them all at once just yet.

To make it more complicated, each case requires a different suffix (or sometimes none at all) depending on the noun's gender (male, female, or neuter), status (virile, non-virile), whether it is singular or plural, and on the spelling/sound of the nominative form. There are, of course, exceptions and irregularities. For example, masculine singular nouns almost always end with '-owi' in the Dative/Celownik, except for the following words:

• ojciec --> ojcu (father)
• pan --> panu (gentleman, man)
• chłop --> chłopu (peasant, fellow)
• brat --> bratu (brother)
• pies --> psu (dog)
• kot --> kotu (cat)
• lew --> lwu (lion)
• orzeł --> orłu (eagle)
• świat --> światu (world)
• Bóg --> Bogu (God)
• diabeł --> diabłu (devil)

As with exceptions in English grammar, I'm always curious to define what possible similarities the exceptions have. Sometimes you can tease a pattern out of the exceptions . . . just enough to make you think you have it figured out. I hope that after a certain period of practice, applying the cases properly can become a matter of intuition, because I'm not really keen on remembering all these rules in detail. I often tell my English students that there are no rules . . . there are only groups of exceptions!

Cases / Przypadki

Word order in Polish is less important than in English. The function of nouns in the sentence is determined by the 'case' the noun appears in. Cases are distinguished by the various suffixes applied to nouns, depending on their function in the sentence. I'll post a chart (or a link to one) of case endings shortly. This is a rudimentary snapshot of Polish cases and their uses, very much in progress. I, of course, don't understand all of this. There's a good chance I don't understand any of it. As my understanding grows I'll expand these notes.

I also recognise that trying to master all seven cases in their myriad forms at this point is a little premature. It's just what I'm making notes on now because my teacher is making me learn them. 

Here they are, with their English and Polish names, and questions that correspond to them.

1. Nominative / Mianownik: Kto? Co?
2. Genitive / Dopełniacz: Kogo? Czego?
3. Dative / Celownik: Komu? Czemu?
4. Accusative / Biernik: Kogo? Co?
5. Instrumental / Narzędnik: z Kim? z Czym?
6. Locative / Miejscownik: o Kim? o Czym?
7. Vocative / Wołacz: O!

Notes on case use:

1. Nominative / Mianownik: Kto? Co?

• subject of the sentence

2. Genitive / Dopełniacz: Kogo? Czego? nie ma . . .

• indicates possession, most senses of 'of'

3. Dative / Celownik: Komu? Czemu? się przyglądam . . .

• indicates indirect object (to or for something is done)

4. Accusative / Biernik: Kogo? Co? widzę . . .

• indicates direct object (thing perceived by or acted on by the subject)

5. Instrumental / Narzędnik: z Kim? z Czym?

• indicates means by which something is done (by tram, with a pen)

6. Locative / Miejscownik: o Kim? o Czym?

• used with certain prepositions

7. Vocative / Wołacz: O!

• direct address

I have added this post to the 'reference' section on the right and will add to it as my understanding grows. I hope it is obvious that 1) I don't profess to be any kind of authority on these matters and 2) that I don't intend or expect that anyone will necessarily learn anything from these kinds of posts. For now it's mostly a public record of my notes.

Topics to be visited soon: basic verbs, prepositions, and my favourite topic - animals and their sounds. Hroom Hroom! Any suggestions? What's your favourite animal (English or Polish)? More interestingly, what sound does it make? Moo? Meow? Oink? Think about it and leave a comment.