Nominative Subjects

Level 1

The Nominative case (Mianownik) is the "default" dictionary form of Polish words. It answers the questions kto? (who?) and co? (what?).

How It Works

The Nominative case is the foundation of Polish nouns. When you look up a word in the dictionary, you will find it in the Nominative.

1. The Subject of the Sentence
The main job of the Nominative is to mark the person or thing performing the action. For example, in "The dog barks", the dog is the subject.

2. Identifying Things with "To" and Describing with Adjectives
When you want to say "This is a..." or "It is a...", you use the word to (or to jest) followed by the Nominative case. For example: To jest kot (This is a cat). However, if you use a regular pronoun or noun as the subject with just jest, you must use the Instrumental case instead (e.g., On jest kotem - He is a cat). Importantly, if you are only using an adjective after jest to describe the subject, the adjective stays in the Nominative case (e.g., On jest dobry - He is good, Kot jest czarny - The cat is black).

3. Recognizing Gender
The Nominative ending usually tells you a noun's gender:

  • Masculine: Usually ends in a consonant (pies, dom).
  • Feminine: Usually ends in -a (kobieta, kawa). Exception: Some feminine nouns end in a consonant (noc, rzecz, krew) or in -i (pani).
  • Neuter: Usually ends in -o, -e, -ę, or -um (okno, dziecko).

Note: Watch out for exceptions! Words like mężczyzna (man) end in -a but are masculine.

4. Adjective Agreement
Adjectives must match the noun's gender in the Nominative case:

  • Masculine: ends in -y or -i (dobry pies, tani dom).
  • Feminine: ends in -a (dobra kawa). Note that -ia is just a spelling variation for soft-stem adjectives (tania kawa).
  • Neuter: ends in -e (dobre dziecko). Note that -ie is just a spelling variation for soft-stem adjectives (tanie auto).

5. Plural Forms
In the plural, Polish divides nouns into two groups:

  • Masculine-Personal (Virile): Groups including at least one male person (dobrzy mężczyźni). Adjectives for this group end in -i or -y, and nouns typically end in -i, -y, -e, or -owie.
  • Non-Masculine-Personal (Non-Virile): Everything else, including women, animals, and objects (dobre kobiety, dobre psy). Adjectives for this group end in -e, and nouns typically end in -y, -i, -e, or -a.

6. No Prepositions
The Nominative case is never used with prepositions. If a noun follows a preposition (like w, na, z, or do), it cannot be in the Nominative case.

7. Casual Address
In modern, everyday Polish, the Nominative case often replaces the Vocative case when addressing people informally (e.g., Cześć, Piotr! instead of Cześć, Piotrze!).

Examples (5)

  1. Pies szczeka.

    The dog is barking.

    Word by Word: Dog barks.

    The noun 'pies' (dog) is the subject performing the action, so it is in the Nominative case.

  2. Kobieta pije kawę.

    The woman is drinking coffee.

    Word by Word: Woman drinks coffee.

    'Kobieta' (woman) is the subject doing the drinking, so it takes the Nominative. Notice that 'kawę' (coffee) is the object, so it changes case.

  3. To jest moja nowa książka.

    This is my new book.

    Word by Word: This is my new book.

    When identifying something using 'to' or 'to jest', the noun and its adjectives stay in the Nominative case.

  4. Dobrzy studenci zawsze zadają pytania.

    Good students always ask questions.

    Word by Word: Good students always ask questions.

    In the plural, masculine-personal subjects (groups including at least one male) take special Nominative endings that can change the stem (student -> studenci).

  5. Ten mężczyzna jest bardzo miły.

    This man is very nice.

    Word by Word: This man is very nice.

    Even though 'mężczyzna' ends in '-a', it is a masculine noun. It takes masculine adjectives ('ten', 'miły') in the Nominative.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the Nominative case for the direct object of a sentence.

    Lubię kawa.
    Lubię kawę.

    Because the Nominative is the dictionary form, beginners often use it everywhere. However, the receiver of an action (the object) usually needs the Accusative case.

  • Assuming every noun ending in '-a' is feminine and using feminine adjectives with it.

    Ta dobra mężczyzna czyta.
    Ten dobry mężczyzna czyta.

    While most nouns ending in '-a' are feminine, words describing male people like 'mężczyzna' (man) or 'kolega' (colleague) are masculine. They require masculine adjectives in the Nominative.

  • Using the Nominative case after "jest" when describing someone's profession or identity with a pronoun.

    On jest nauczyciel.
    On jest nauczycielem.

    When using to or to jest to say "This is a...", use the Nominative case (To jest nauczyciel). But when you use a pronoun like on or ona with just jest, you must use the Instrumental case (On jest nauczycielem).

How It Connects

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Nominative SubjectsLevel 1

Learn This First

Learn Basic Word Order, The Seven Cases before Nominative Subjects.