Accusative Plural Endings
In the plural, Polish simplifies its genders into just two categories: masculine-personal (groups containing at least one male human) and non-masculine-personal (groups of women, animals, or objects). The accusative case treats these two groups very differently.
How It Works
When a group includes at least one male human (even a mixed group of 99 women and 1 man), it is masculine-personal. For these groups, the Accusative Plural is identical to the Genitive Plural. You can simply reuse the Genitive Plural endings you already know:
- Adjectives & Pronouns: -ych (after hard consonants) or -ich (after soft consonants, k, and g). A very common pronoun is wszyscy (everyone/all), which becomes wszystkich. The personal pronoun oni (they) becomes ich. Demonstrative pronouns change accordingly (ci becomes tych), and possessive pronouns follow the adjective rule (e.g., moi → moich).
- Nouns: -ów (most hard stems like student → studentów, many soft and hardened stems like uczeń → uczniów, and most masculine nouns ending in -a like kolega → kolegów), -i (soft stems like gość → gości), or -y (hardened stems like lekarz → lekarzy).
Important exceptions: The word mężczyzna (man) takes a zero ending (mężczyzn). For nouns ending in -anin (like Rosjanin or Amerykanin), you first drop the -in in the plural. Then, some take a zero ending (Rosjan), while others take -ów (Amerykanów). Highly common irregulars include ludzie → ludzi (people), bracia → braci (brothers), and przyjaciel → przyjaciół (friends).
For all other groups (women, animals, inanimate objects—which includes all feminine and neuter nouns, as well as non-human masculine nouns), the Accusative Plural is identical to the Nominative Plural. For example, the demonstrative pronoun te remains te, and the personal pronoun one (they) becomes je.
Crucial distinction: In the singular, masculine animal nouns take a Genitive ending in the Accusative. However, in the plural, animals belong to the non-masculine-personal category, so they take the Nominative Plural form. Do not use -ów for animals in the accusative plural!
Examples (6)
- Widzę nowych studentów.
I see the new students.
Word by Word: I see new students.
Masculine-personal: Both the adjective and the hard-stem noun take Genitive Plural endings (-ych, -ów).
- Znam tych dobrych lekarzy.
I know these good doctors.
Word by Word: I know these good doctors.
Masculine-personal: The noun 'lekarz' takes the Genitive Plural ending -y.
- Lubię moich nowych kolegów.
I like my new colleagues.
Word by Word: I like my new colleagues.
Masculine-personal: Most masculine nouns ending in -a, like 'kolega', take the standard -ów ending.
- Zapraszam tych mężczyzn.
I am inviting these men.
Word by Word: I invite these men.
Masculine-personal: The noun 'mężczyzna' is a notable exception that takes a zero ending in the Genitive Plural, which is reused here for the Accusative Plural.
- Ona widzi tamtych ludzi.
She sees those people.
Word by Word: She sees those people.
Masculine-personal: 'Ludzie' (people) is a highly common irregular noun that becomes 'ludzi' in the accusative plural.
- Mamy małe psy i koty.
We have small dogs and cats.
Word by Word: We have small dogs and cats.
Non-masculine-personal: Animals take the Nominative Plural form in the accusative plural, even though they take a Genitive form in the singular.
Common Mistakes
Applying the masculine-personal ending to animals in the accusative plural.
Widzę małych psów.Widzę małe psy.Because 'pies' takes a Genitive ending in the singular ('widzę psa'), learners often mistakenly use the Genitive Plural ('psów') in the accusative plural. However, animals are non-masculine-personal, so they must use the Nominative Plural form in the accusative plural.
Forgetting to decline the adjective to match the masculine-personal noun.
Widzę nowe studentów.Widzę nowych studentów.When the noun takes the Genitive Plural ending (-ów, -i, -y, or zero), the adjective must also take its corresponding Genitive Plural ending (-ych or -ich).
How It Connects
Learn This First
Learn Accusative Case, Three Noun Genders before Accusative Plural Endings.
Related Patterns
- Masculine-Personal Plural
Explains the masculine-personal (virile) gender category, which is essential for knowing when to apply these specific endings.
Level 3 - Non-Masculine-Personal Plural
Explains the non-masculine-personal category, which uses nominative-like endings in the accusative plural.
Level 3 - Genitive Plural Endings
The accusative plural for masculine-personal nouns and adjectives is identical to these genitive plural forms.
Level 2 - Nominative Plural Endings
The accusative plural for non-masculine-personal nouns and adjectives is identical to these nominative plural forms.
Level 2
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice Accusative Plural Endings in Bubblegum
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