Verbs (Czasowniki)

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Noun Declension - Common Irregularities

Certain irregularities occur repeatedly during the declension of nouns. Most common irregularities are:

mobile -e-

mobile -ie-

ó ↔ o exchange

ą ↔ ę exchange

mobile means that the letter(s) are being dropped or added.
exchange means that the letters are being swapped.

You should examine these irregularities from the perspective of a noun in the Singular Nominative Case form.

Examples

Irregularity	Nominative Case	A different case	Transition
mobile `-e-`	budynek	budynkowi	added `-owi` ending and dropped `-e-`
mobile `-e-`	notatka	notatek	removed `-a` ending and added `-e-`
mobile `-ie-`	pies	psa	added `-a` ending and dropped `-ie-`
mobile `-ie-`	okno	okien	removed `-o` ending and added `-ie-`
`ó ↔ o` exchange	samochód	samochody	added `-y` ending and swapped `-ó-` with `-o-`
`ó ↔ o` exchange	prośba	próśb	removed `-a` ending and swapped `-o-` with `-ó-`
`ą ↔ ę` exchange	mąż	mężem	added `-em` ending and swapped `-ą-` with `-ę-`
`ą ↔ ę` exchange	ręka	rąk	removed `-a` ending and swapped `-ę-` with `-ą-`

As shown in the examples above, each irregularity has two possible transitions. Which transition to use depends on whether you are adding or removing an ending:

when adding endings to nouns, use the transitions shown in the second column of the table below.
when removing endings from nouns, use the transitions shown in the third column of the table below.

Irregularity	Transition when adding an ending to a noun	Transition when removing an ending from a noun
mobile -e-	`e ➜ -`	`- ➜ e`
mobile -ie-	`ie ➜ -`	`- ➜ ie`
ó/o exchange	`ó ➜ o`	`o ➜ ó`
ą/ę exchange	`ą ➜ ę`	`ę ➜ ą`

The - symbol indicates that the letter(s) are being dropped.

Additional information:

these irregularities occur in the last syllable of the noun's stem
when you are adding an ending to a noun and it has an irregularity, then this noun will have the same irregularity in all cases where an ending is added.
in practice ending removal happens only in Plural Genitive Case for feminine and neuter nouns, so the transition from the third column is used only in these two instances.

Throughout the articles on my website you can find the following squares. This is a convention for marking nouns that have irregularities during declension. You can always hover over the squares to see which transition it is.

square for e ➜ - or - ➜ e transition

square for ie ➜ - or - ➜ ie transition

square for ó ➜ o or o ➜ ó transition

square for ą ➜ ę or ę ➜ ą transition

The tables below present full declination tables for each transition

Examples

budynek - building

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	budynek	budynki
Genitive	budynku	budynków
Dative	budynkowi	budynkom
Accusative	budynek	budynki
Instrumental	budynkiem	budynkami
Locative	budynku	budynkach
Vocative	budynku	budynki

notatka - note

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	notatka	notatki
Genitive	notatki	notatek
Dative	notatce	notatkom
Accusative	notatkę	notatki
Instrumental	notatką	notatkami
Locative	notatce	notatkach
Vocative	notatko	notatki

pies - dog

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	pies	psy
Genitive	psa	psów
Dative	psu	psom
Accusative	psa	psy
Instrumental	psem	psami
Locative	psie	psach
Vocative	psie	psy

okno - window

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	okno	okna
Genitive	okna	okien
Dative	oknu	oknom
Accusative	okno	okna
Instrumental	oknem	oknami
Locative	oknie	oknach
Vocative	okno	okna

samochód - car

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	samochód	samochody
Genitive	samochodu	samochodów
Dative	samochodowi	samochodom
Accusative	samochód	samochody
Instrumental	samochodem	samochodami
Locative	samochodzie	samochodach
Vocative	samochodzie	samochody

prośba - request

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	prośba	prośby
Genitive	prośby	próśb
Dative	prośbie	prośbom
Accusative	prośbę	prośby
Instrumental	prośbą	prośbami
Locative	prośbie	prośbach
Vocative	prośbo	prośby

mąż - husband

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	mąż	mężowie
Genitive	męża	mężów
Dative	mężowi	mężom
Accusative	męża	mężów
Instrumental	mężem	mężami
Locative	mężu	mężach
Vocative	mężu	mężowie

ręka - hand

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ręka	ręce
Genitive	ręki	rąk
Dative	ręce	rękom
Accusative	rękę	ręce
Instrumental	ręką	rękami
Locative	ręce	rękach
Vocative	ręko	ręce

How do I know when to apply an irregularity?

Unfortunately, there is no golden rule for this. When you learn a new noun, you should check the declension table for it and memorize if it has an irregularity. However, there are some patterns that can help you guess if a noun has an irregularity:

When a masculine or feminine noun ends in e/ie/ó/ą + a consonant in the Singular Nominative Case and you are adding an ending, there is a chance you must apply an irregularity:
budynek budynku
pies psa
stół stołu
mąż męża
krew krwi
wieś wsią
gałąź gałęzie
sól soli
When a feminine noun loses its -a vowel in the Plural Genitive Case and has o/ę in the last syllable, there is a chance you must apply an irregularity:
siostra sióstr
ręka rąk
przygoda przygód
When a feminine noun loses its -a vowel in the Plural Genitive Case and after that it has two or more consonants at the end, there is a chance you must apply an irregularity:
szklanka szklanek
wojna wojen
pralka pralek
cegła cegieł
When a neuter noun loses its -o/e vowel in the Plural Genitive Case and has o/ę in the last syllable, there is a chance you must apply an irregularity:
morze mórz
święto świąt
słowo słów
dobro dóbr
When a neuter noun loses its -o vowel in the Plural Genitive Case and after that it has two or more consonants at the end, there is a chance you must apply an irregularity:
okno okien
łóżko łóżek
wiadro wiader
źródło źródeł
piętro pięter
jabłko jabłek
biodro bioder

Hi, I'm Jarek

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Cases - Noun Declension

You can support my website and my Youtube Channel by buying my grammar book on Amazon. In that book I have clearly explained, how to create different forms of noun depending on the case, number, and gender.

After reading this book you will be able to decline any noun in the Polish language. This book also contains exercises with answers, which will help you practice what you learn.

Paperback

E-book

Noun Declension - Summary of Endings

Noun Declension - Softening

Noun Declension - Common Irregularities

Certain irregularities occur repeatedly during the declension of nouns. Most common irregularities are:

mobile -e-

mobile -ie-

ó ↔ o exchange

ą ↔ ę exchange

mobile means that the letter(s) are being dropped or added.
exchange means that the letters are being swapped.

You should examine these irregularities from the perspective of a noun in the Singular Nominative Case form.

Examples

Irregularity	Nominative Case	A different case	Transition
mobile `-e-`	budynek	budynkowi	added `-owi` ending and dropped `-e-`
mobile `-e-`	notatka	notatek	removed `-a` ending and added `-e-`
mobile `-ie-`	pies	psa	added `-a` ending and dropped `-ie-`
mobile `-ie-`	okno	okien	removed `-o` ending and added `-ie-`
`ó ↔ o` exchange	samochód	samochody	added `-y` ending and swapped `-ó-` with `-o-`
`ó ↔ o` exchange	prośba	próśb	removed `-a` ending and swapped `-o-` with `-ó-`
`ą ↔ ę` exchange	mąż	mężem	added `-em` ending and swapped `-ą-` with `-ę-`
`ą ↔ ę` exchange	ręka	rąk	removed `-a` ending and swapped `-ę-` with `-ą-`

As shown in the examples above, each irregularity has two possible transitions. Which transition to use depends on whether you are adding or removing an ending:

when adding endings to nouns, use the transitions shown in the second column of the table below.
when removing endings from nouns, use the transitions shown in the third column of the table below.

Irregularity	Transition when adding an ending to a noun	Transition when removing an ending from a noun
mobile -e-	`e ➜ -`	`- ➜ e`
mobile -ie-	`ie ➜ -`	`- ➜ ie`
ó/o exchange	`ó ➜ o`	`o ➜ ó`
ą/ę exchange	`ą ➜ ę`	`ę ➜ ą`

The - symbol indicates that the letter(s) are being dropped.

Additional information:

these irregularities occur in the last syllable of the noun's stem
when you are adding an ending to a noun and it has an irregularity, then this noun will have the same irregularity in all cases where an ending is added.
in practice ending removal happens only in Plural Genitive Case for feminine and neuter nouns, so the transition from the third column is used only in these two instances.

square for e ➜ - or - ➜ e transition

square for ie ➜ - or - ➜ ie transition

square for ó ➜ o or o ➜ ó transition

square for ą ➜ ę or ę ➜ ą transition

The tables below present full declination tables for each transition

Examples

budynek - building

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	budynek	budynki
Genitive	budynku	budynków
Dative	budynkowi	budynkom
Accusative	budynek	budynki
Instrumental	budynkiem	budynkami
Locative	budynku	budynkach
Vocative	budynku	budynki

notatka - note

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	notatka	notatki
Genitive	notatki	notatek
Dative	notatce	notatkom
Accusative	notatkę	notatki
Instrumental	notatką	notatkami
Locative	notatce	notatkach
Vocative	notatko	notatki

pies - dog

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	pies	psy
Genitive	psa	psów
Dative	psu	psom
Accusative	psa	psy
Instrumental	psem	psami
Locative	psie	psach
Vocative	psie	psy

okno - window

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	okno	okna
Genitive	okna	okien
Dative	oknu	oknom
Accusative	okno	okna
Instrumental	oknem	oknami
Locative	oknie	oknach
Vocative	okno	okna

samochód - car

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	samochód	samochody
Genitive	samochodu	samochodów
Dative	samochodowi	samochodom
Accusative	samochód	samochody
Instrumental	samochodem	samochodami
Locative	samochodzie	samochodach
Vocative	samochodzie	samochody

prośba - request

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	prośba	prośby
Genitive	prośby	próśb
Dative	prośbie	prośbom
Accusative	prośbę	prośby
Instrumental	prośbą	prośbami
Locative	prośbie	prośbach
Vocative	prośbo	prośby

mąż - husband

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	mąż	mężowie
Genitive	męża	mężów
Dative	mężowi	mężom
Accusative	męża	mężów
Instrumental	mężem	mężami
Locative	mężu	mężach
Vocative	mężu	mężowie

ręka - hand

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ręka	ręce
Genitive	ręki	rąk
Dative	ręce	rękom
Accusative	rękę	ręce
Instrumental	ręką	rękami
Locative	ręce	rękach
Vocative	ręko	ręce

How do I know when to apply an irregularity?

When a masculine or feminine noun ends in e/ie/ó/ą + a consonant in the Singular Nominative Case and you are adding an ending, there is a chance you must apply an irregularity:
budynek budynku
pies psa
stół stołu
mąż męża
krew krwi
wieś wsią
gałąź gałęzie
sól soli
When a feminine noun loses its -a vowel in the Plural Genitive Case and has o/ę in the last syllable, there is a chance you must apply an irregularity:
siostra sióstr
ręka rąk
przygoda przygód
When a feminine noun loses its -a vowel in the Plural Genitive Case and after that it has two or more consonants at the end, there is a chance you must apply an irregularity:
szklanka szklanek
wojna wojen
pralka pralek
cegła cegieł
When a neuter noun loses its -o/e vowel in the Plural Genitive Case and has o/ę in the last syllable, there is a chance you must apply an irregularity:
morze mórz
święto świąt
słowo słów
dobro dóbr
When a neuter noun loses its -o vowel in the Plural Genitive Case and after that it has two or more consonants at the end, there is a chance you must apply an irregularity:
okno okien
łóżko łóżek
wiadro wiader
źródło źródeł
piętro pięter
jabłko jabłek
biodro bioder

Hi, I'm Jarek

Drop me a message

Donate

Cases - Noun Declension

After reading this book you will be able to decline any noun in the Polish language. This book also contains exercises with answers, which will help you practice what you learn.

Paperback

E-book

Noun Declension - Summary of Endings

Noun Declension - Softening

Grammar

Grammar

Noun Declension - Common Irregularities

How do I know when to apply an irregularity?

Hi, I'm Jarek

Cases - Noun Declension

Noun Declension - Common Irregularities

How do I know when to apply an irregularity?

Hi, I'm Jarek

Cases - Noun Declension

budynek	budynku
pies	psa
stół	stołu
mąż	męża
krew	krwi
wieś	wsią
gałąź	gałęzie
sól	soli

siostra	sióstr
ręka	rąk
przygoda	przygód

szklanka	szklanek
wojna	wojen
pralka	pralek
cegła	cegieł

morze	mórz
święto	świąt
słowo	słów
dobro	dóbr

okno	okien
łóżko	łóżek
wiadro	wiader
źródło	źródeł
piętro	pięter
jabłko	jabłek
biodro	bioder