The Genitive Case in Polish (Dopełniacz): Nie mam…, Dużo…, Bez…
If you have ever said Nie mam czasu (I don’t have time) or Idę do sklepu (I’m going to the shop), you have already used the genitive case, in Polish dopełniacz. It answers the questions kogo? czego? (of whom? of what?).
The genitive is everywhere: after no/not, after words like a lot of or a bottle of, to say whose something is and after many everyday prepositions. That is why it is worth learning right after the accusative case.
When do you use the genitive?
1. After a negated verb
A direct object that would be in the accusative moves to the genitive when the verb is negated: Mam siostrę → Nie mam siostry. Lubię kawę → Nie lubię kawy. Widzę samochód → Nie widzę samochodu.
This rule is only about direct objects. After być nothing changes: Jestem studentem → Nie jestem studentem (the noun stays in the instrumental).
2. Quantities and containers
After dużo (a lot of), mało (little, few), trochę (some, a little) and words for containers and measures: dużo pracy (a lot of work), trochę mleka (some milk), butelka wody (a bottle of water), kilo pomidorów (a kilo of tomatoes). Numbers from five up are also followed by the genitive plural: pięć minut, sześć jabłek. More on numbers in how to count in Polish.
3. Possession: “of” and ’s
Polish has no ’s. The owner simply goes into the genitive and usually comes after the thing: samochód brata (my brother’s car), pokój Ani (Ania’s room), centrum miasta (the city centre, literally “centre of the city”).
4. After common prepositions
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| do | to, into | Idę do sklepu. – I’m going to the shop. |
| z | from, out of | Jestem z Kanady. – I’m from Canada. |
| od | from (a person), since | To prezent od mamy. – It’s a present from Mum. |
| bez | without | Poproszę kawę bez cukru. – A coffee without sugar, please. |
| dla | for | To jest dla ciebie. – This is for you. |
| u | at someone’s place | Jestem u lekarza. – I’m at the doctor’s. |
| obok | next to | Mieszkam obok parku. – I live next to a park. |
5. After some verbs
A handful of very common verbs always take the genitive: szukać (to look for), potrzebować (to need), słuchać (to listen to), uczyć się (to learn), bać się (to be afraid of): Szukam telefonu. Potrzebuję pomocy. Uczę się polskiego.
Genitive endings in the singular
| Noun type | Ending | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Feminine in -a | -y; -i after k, g and soft consonants | kawa → kawy, woda → wody, mama → mamy; książka → książki, Polska → Polski, kuchnia → kuchni |
| Feminine in a consonant | -i / -y | noc → nocy, miłość → miłości |
| Neuter | -a | okno → okna, mleko → mleka, piwo → piwa, morze → morza |
| Masculine – people and animals | -a | brat → brata, pies → psa, kot → kota, lekarz → lekarza |
| Masculine – things | -u or -a | czas → czasu, cukier → cukru, sklep → sklepu, dom → domu; chleb → chleba, ser → sera, Kraków → Krakowa |
The masculine -u / -a choice for things has tendencies but no simple rule, so the best habit is to learn new masculine nouns with their genitive: sklep, sklepu; chleb, chleba. Masculine nouns in -a (men) behave like feminine ones: kolega → kolegi, mężczyzna → mężczyzny.
Adjectives and the plural
| Adjective | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine and neuter singular | -ego | samochód mojego brata, butelka zimnego piwa |
| Feminine singular | -ej | szklanka zimnej wody, nie mam starszej siostry |
| Plural (all genders) | -ych / -ich | dużo nowych samochodów, kilo polskich jabłek |
The genitive plural of nouns is the trickiest form in Polish, so at A2 it is enough to recognise the main patterns:
- Most masculine nouns add -ów: pomidor → pomidorów, samochód → samochodów.
- Most feminine and neuter nouns simply drop the ending, sometimes adding an e: minuta → minut, kobieta → kobiet, jabłko → jabłek, okno → okien.
- Some useful irregular forms: ludzie → ludzi (people), dzieci → dzieci (children), dzień → dni (days).
Examples in context
| Polish | English |
|---|---|
| Nie mam czasu. | I don’t have time. |
| Poproszę butelkę wody. | A bottle of water, please. |
| Poproszę kawę bez cukru. | A coffee without sugar, please. |
| To jest samochód mojego brata. | This is my brother’s car. |
| Idę do sklepu. | I’m going to the shop. |
| Jestem z Kanady. | I’m from Canada. |
| Szukam telefonu. | I’m looking for my phone. |
| Uczę się polskiego. | I’m learning Polish. |
| Kupiłam kilo jabłek. | I bought a kilo of apples. (said by a woman) |
| Mam dzisiaj dużo pracy. | I have a lot of work today. |
Pronouns have genitive forms too – dla mnie, u ciebie, bez niego. You will find them all in Polish pronouns in every case, and plenty of genitives in real shop situations in shopping in Polish.
Common mistakes
- ✗ Nie mam czas. ✓ Nie mam czasu.After a negated verb the object goes into the genitive.
- ✗ Nie jestem studenta. ✓ Nie jestem studentem.być is not followed by a direct object, so negation changes nothing: the noun stays in the instrumental.
- ✗ Kawa bez cukier. ✓ Kawa bez cukru.bez always takes the genitive.
- ✗ Idę do sklep. ✓ Idę do sklepu.do always takes the genitive.
- ✗ Pięć jabłka. ✓ Pięć jabłek.Numbers from five up take the genitive plural.
- ✗ Dom mój brat. ✓ Dom mojego brata.The owner goes into the genitive – the noun and the adjective.
Dialogue: the shopping list
Kasia and Tomek check the fridge before Tomek goes shopping.
Spot the genitives: mleka, chleba, sera, pomidorów, wody, dla kota, kluczy, do sklepu. Notice that butelkę is in the accusative (it is what Tomek buys), but wody is in the genitive (a bottle of water).
Practice: make it genitive
Complete each sentence with the word in brackets in the genitive. Say the sentences aloud.
- Nie lubię ___ (kawa).
- Kupuję kilo ___ (ser).
- To jest pokój ___ (Ania).
- Jestem z ___ (Hiszpania).
- Nie mam ___ (samochód).
Show answers
1. kawy 2. sera 3. Ani 4. Hiszpanii 5. samochodu
Feminine -a becomes -y, or -i after soft consonants (Ani, Hiszpanii). Masculine things take -u or -a: samochodu, but sera.
Quiz: test yourself
Complete: Nie mam ___. (siostra)
Show answer
b) siostry – After a negated verb the object goes into the genitive: siostry.
Complete: Poproszę butelkę ___. (woda)
Show answer
a) wody – a bottle of… → genitive: wody.
Complete: Idę do ___. (sklep)
Show answer
c) sklepu – do always takes the genitive: sklepu.
Complete: Nie jestem ___. (lekarz)
Show answer
b) lekarzem – After być the noun stays in the instrumental, even with nie.
Complete: Herbata bez ___. (cukier)
Show answer
a) cukru – bez takes the genitive: cukru.
Flashcards: nominative → genitive
- kawa → kawycoffee
- woda → wodywater
- książka → książkibook
- mama → mamymum
- brat → bratabrother
- pies → psadog
- mleko → mlekamilk
- okno → oknawindow
- czas → czasutime
- cukier → cukrusugar
- chleb → chlebabread
- sklep → sklepushop
Summary
- The genitive (dopełniacz) is used after a negated verb, with quantities, for possession, after prepositions such as do, z, od, bez, dla, u, obok and after verbs like szukać, potrzebować, słuchać.
- Feminine nouns: -y or -i; neuter nouns: -a; masculine people and animals: -a; masculine things: -u or -a (learn them with the word).
- Adjectives: -ego (masculine, neuter), -ej (feminine), -ych/-ich (plural).
- Genitive plural: masculine usually -ów; feminine and neuter usually drop the ending (minut, jabłek).
- Negation does not change być + noun: Nie jestem studentem.
Practise this lesson on paper
A printable worksheet with exercises and an answer key on the last page (PDF, A4).
Practise the genitive in real conversations
Our free beginner course gives you short lessons with pronunciation practice and exercises, so phrases like nie mam czasu and do sklepu become automatic.
Want a clear plan from A1 to A2 with daily practice? The 3 Month Polish Course guides you through all the Polish cases step by step.
This lesson was prepared by the Learn Polish Everyday team with the help of AI tools. Spotted a mistake? Let us know via the contact page.
