The Genitive Case (Dopełniacz) is the second case in the Polish language. It is primarily used to express possession. Most instances of the word "of" in English translate to Polish as the Genitive Case.

butelka mleka- a bottle of milk

mleka - Genitive Case

mleko - Nominative Case

książka mamy- mother's book

mamy - Genitive Case

mama - Nominative Case

For more information about usage, see the article on Genitive Case Usage .

Each case has its own interrogative words that it answers. The Genitive Case answers the questions kogo? and czego?.

kogo?- refers to people
czego?- refers to things, animals, and abstractions

The interrogative words of a case can be used to form a question about that part of the sentence. The following examples illustrate this concept.

Example

kogo?

Nie widzę nauczyciela.- I don't see the teacher.

Kogo nie widzę?- Whom do I not see?

czego?

Potrzebuję pomocy.- I need help.

Czego potrzebuję?- What do I need?

Genitive Case (Dopełniacz)

Genitive Case (Dopełniacz) - Usage

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Cases - Noun Declension

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Genitive Case (Dopełniacz) - Introduction

What is a Case?