ty / ciebie / ci / tobą

The pronoun ty is informal, used with friends, family, and peers (though it is also used in prayers to address God or saints). For formal address, use Pan or Pani.

1. The Case Forms:

• Nominative: ty (Subject). Often dropped because the verb ending already shows who is acting.
• Genitive/Accusative: ciebie (long) or cię (short). Used for direct objects, after negation, or when required by specific verbs (like szukać, słuchać, potrzebować) and prepositions (like bez, od).
• Dative: tobie (long) or ci (short). Used for indirect objects ('to you').
• Instrumental: tobą. Used for accompaniment (with you), spatial prepositions (e.g., przed tobą, za tobą), and with certain reflexive verbs (e.g., interesuję się tobą).
• Locative: tobie. Used after specific prepositions like 'o' (about). Because the Locative case is only ever used after prepositions, and prepositions always require the long form, the Locative naturally only exists in the long form.
• Vocative: ty. Identical to the Nominative, used for direct address.

2. Long vs. Short Forms:
The long/short distinction only applies to the Genitive, Accusative, and Dative cases. The choice is not random:

• Short forms (cię, ci): These are unstressed clitics. They often take the second position in a clause and frequently precede the verb (e.g., Bardzo cię lubię). They should generally avoid the end of a sentence because the final position naturally carries stress, appearing there only in very short sentences where no other position is available (e.g., Kocham cię). They cannot start a sentence.
• Long forms (ciebie, tobie): These are used for emphasis, at the very beginning of a sentence, always after a preposition (e.g., dla ciebie), and in lists or coordination (e.g., joined by i, albo, or contrasted with a nie, like Widzę ciebie i Piotra).

3. Prepositions:
Unlike third-person pronouns, 'ty' does not add an 'n-' after prepositions. When a case has both long and short forms, you must always use the long form after a preposition. For cases with only one form, simply use that form (e.g., z tobą).

4. Capitalization in Writing:
In written correspondence (emails, letters, text messages), it is customary to capitalize all forms of 'ty' (Ty, Ciebie, Cię, Tobie, Ci, Tobą) to show respect to the person you are addressing.

The Neutral Default: Unless emphasis or a preposition requires a full form, choose short cię or ci: Widzę cię (I see you), Pomogę ci jutro (I will help you tomorrow). Full ciebie and tobie are not simply interchangeable neutral alternatives.