Domowe

Grammar - Gramatyka

This lesson also focuses on new grammatical uses for cases we already know. For example, why is the instrumental case called that? Well, because it’s used to declare an instrument used for an action. A tool!

Instrumental for tools! - Narzędnik dla narzędzi!

We see lots of new objects in this lesson, with many of them being tools, or instruments, with which we can perform verbs.

Czy on je zupę widelcem?	Is he eating soup with a fork?
Kroimy chleb nożem	We are cutting the bread with a knife
Jem zupę łyżką	I am eating soup with a spoon (like a normal person :P )
Piszę książkę komputerem	I am writing a book with a computer

Notice that in English, we have a preposition “with” to describe the same situation, but in Polish, since the case is already doing this, there’s no necessity.

More uses for Genitive - Dopełniacz

Genitive for containers containing

We saw before that genitive is used for possessive X of Y. But we can also use it for containers, X of Y.

For example - Na przykład:

Piję szklankę wody	I am drinking a glass of water
Miska zupy	A bowl of soup
Kubek kawy	A cup of coffee
Kubek herbaty	A cup of tea
Kartka papieru	A sheet of paper
Kawałek jabłka	A piece of apple

The genitive applies to the content of the container. But if the container is also subject to declension, it can look something like this:

On potrzebuje szklanki wody

He needs a glass of water

Potrzebować takes genitive, so szklanka is in genitive, and then the water is also in genitive because of being a “glass of water”.

Genitive for questions to describe

Some questions in this lesson expand on the use of Jaki, the descriptive question. It doesn’t make complete sense in English, but we can see that some questions ask something “of” something else. Genitive is used in these cases.

Jakiego koloru jest ten przedmiot?	What color is this object? ( of what color is this object)
Ten przedmiot jest koloru brązowego	This object is (the color of ) brown
Jakiego koloru są twoje ściany?	What is the color of your walls

For example, when talking about what is the color of some object.

Jakich drzwi szukacie?

What door are you looking for? (what kind of door)

Some others are less obvious. For example in English we would ask “which door are you looking for?”. But in Polish it implies that we know all the options of doors available. The word Jakich asks for what door regardless if we know about it or not.

Genitive possessive pronouns

Now, we already know that possessive is used with genitive, but this lesson focuses on this topic a bit more. It also fully uses the Genitive possessive pronouns that were only slightly seen in the Present 3 lesson. Here are some examples from the current lesson:

To koce mojego brata	These are my brother's blankets
To fotel naszego dziadka	This is our grandpa's armchair
To lodówka moich rodziców	This is my parent's refrigerator
To jest szczoteczka do zębów mojej córki	This is my daughter's tootbrush
Szukam mojej komórki	I am looking for my cellphone

The new uses that we didn't see in Present 3 are plural possessive moich and feminine singular mojej . I already made a table for these genitive possessive pronouns in Present 3 , so I'll copy and paste it here.

Preposition "Do" (for / to)

We had already used the preposition "do" using genitive (dopełniacz) in a previous lesson to mean "to":

Idę do szkoły

I am going to school

The new example is a useful phrase now that we know the word for it:

Idzie do łóżka

Going to bed

Which as in English, it means going to sleep.
Same as in English, it can also have a sexual meaning if used to go to bed with someone .
Like let’s say: Idziemy do łóżka - We are going to bed. So be careful how to use this one.

Then the new use that is introduced in this lesson is for “for”:

For example - Na przykład

Pasta do zębów	Toothpaste (paste for teeth)
Szczoteczka do zębów	Toothbrush (brush for teeth)
Klucz do drzwi	Door key (key for a door) (it’s in genitive but remains unchanged)

Difficult genitives

Now, this lesson I had lots of trouble with some of the genitive cases. It’s all rules that we have already seen, but somehow I keep forgetting. So here are some of the ones that were hard for me.

English	Nominative	Genitive
Plural ending in -ie
Frying pans	Patelnie	Patelni
Batteries	Baterie	Baterii (Which is also the genitive singular! )
Plural neutral
Magazines	Czasopisma	Czasopism
Plural male
Showers	Prysznice	Pryszniców
Male ending in -ek
Watch	Zegarek	Zegarka
Female ending in -ka Plural ending in -ki
Scissors	Nożyczki	Nożyczek
Pillows	Poduszki	Poduszek
Glasses	Szklanki	Szklanek
Sheets (of paper)	Kartki	Kartek

Useful phrases

Szukam mojego portfela	I’m looking for my wallet
Czy to twój portfel?	Is this your wallet?
Torba czy pudełko?	Bag or box? (probably at the register)
Biorę prysznic	I am taking a shower
Łyżka czy widelec?	A fork or a spoon?

Difficult phrases

Czyja jest ta kartka papieru?

=

Czyja to (jest) kartka papieru?

This one was confusing in the grammatical sentence structure. It either misses the jest and gets replaced with “to”, or it uses “ta” but the jest cannot disappear, which was my mistake many times.