bez + Genitive

Bez with the Genitive

Level 2

The Polish preposition bez means 'without' and is a 'single-case' preposition, meaning it always triggers the genitive case for the nouns, adjectives, and pronouns that follow it.

How It Works

To use bez correctly, follow these rules:

  • Case Government: Every word in the phrase following bez must be in the genitive. For example, cukier (sugar) becomes cukru in the phrase bez cukru.
  • Pronoun Changes: When using 3rd-person pronouns, you must add an initial n-. For example, jego becomes bez niego (without him). See pronouns after prepositions for more details.
  • The 'beze' Variant: Before the 1st-person singular pronoun mnie, the preposition changes to beze to make it easier to pronounce: beze mnie (without me).
  • No Double Negation: Even though bez implies a negative state, you do not need to add nie to the verb unless the sentence itself is negative. Piję kawę bez mleka (I drink coffee without milk) is a positive statement about a lack of something.

Examples (5)

  1. Poproszę kawę bez mleka i bez cukru.

    I'll have a coffee without milk and without sugar.

    Word by Word: I-will-request coffee without milk and without sugar.

    Both 'mleko' and 'cukier' change to their genitive forms 'mleka' and 'cukru' after 'bez'.

  2. Nie mogę żyć bez ciebie.

    I can't live without you.

    Word by Word: Not I-can live without you.

    The preposition 'bez' requires the genitive case; 'ciebie' is the genitive form of 'ty' (you).

  3. On przyszedł na spotkanie bez okularów.

    He came to the meeting without glasses.

    Word by Word: He came onto meeting without glasses.

    'Okulary' is a plural-only noun; 'okularów' is the genitive plural form.

  4. Czy możesz to zrobić bez niego?

    Can you do it without him?

    Word by Word: Whether you-can it to-do without him?

    The pronoun 'jego' (him) gains an 'n' because it follows a preposition.

  5. Wyszła z domu bez parasola.

    She left the house without an umbrella.

    Word by Word: She-went-out from house without umbrella.

    'Parasol' (masculine) takes the '-a' ending in the genitive singular.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the nominative case after 'bez'.

    Kawa bez cukier.
    Kawa bez cukru.

    Learners often forget to decline the noun. 'Bez' must always be followed by the genitive case.

  • Forgetting the 'n-' on 3rd-person pronouns.

    Zrobię to bez go.
    Zrobię to bez niego.

    In Polish, 3rd-person pronouns (jego, jej, ich) require an initial 'n' when they follow any preposition.

  • Using 'bez mnie' instead of 'beze mnie'.

    Nie idź tam bez mnie.
    Nie idź tam beze mnie.

    To avoid a difficult consonant cluster (z+m), 'bez' becomes 'beze' specifically before 'mnie'.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

bez + GenitiveLevel 2Bez with the Genitive

Learn This First

Learn Genitive Case before Bez With The Genitive.

Words in This Pattern

bez