Dative Case (Celownik) - Usage

The following section explains the usage of the Dative Case. The formation of words in this case is covered in separate articles that detail all endings and declension patterns.

As mentioned in the introduction article, the Dative Case appears in sentences containing both a direct object and an indirect object. The direct object receives the action of the verb, while the indirect object receives the direct object.

Many verbs require the use of the Dative Case:

For additional examples, see the article on Dative Case after verbs .

Some adverbs appear in impersonal expressions with the Dative Case to describe someone's state. For example, in English one would say "I'm warm", but in Polish the expression is "Is me warm". This represents an impersonal expression where there is no subject "I" in the sentence. The personal pronoun "me" must be in the Dative Case. The Polish sentence structure is as follows:

For information on how to decline personal pronouns in the Dative Case, see the article on personal pronouns in Dative Case . The following examples demonstrate this usage pattern.

Adverbs that can be used in this construction include:

Some prepositions require the Dative Case:

For additional examples, see the article on Dative Case after prepositions .