Good to Know
Genders and Cases

Knowing the Gender of the noun and the case we are in is crucial for writing and speaking Polish correctly so get in the habit of following these 3 mental steps:

Step 1: Identify the noun gender

• Ends in 'a' (e.g. woda) - Feminine
• Ends in 'o' or 'e' (e.g. miasto) - Neuter
• Otherwise it's masculine
• If it's masculine is it animate? ( Can move around on its own )

Step 2: Identify the case

• Are we describing what or where something is? - Nominative
• Are we using a verb in a positive way? - Accusative
• Is something lacking or missing? - Genitive

Step 3: Apply the appropriate endings

These steps will be slow at first but the more you do them the faster you will become - just in the same way that you know how to instantly change English verbs between past, present and future without really thinking about it.

Note that the rules above are general, there are plenty of exceptions and sub rules which we will come to, but they will keep you right 90% of the time.

Also bear in mind there are four more cases to cover but Nominative, Accusative and Genitive will cover 90% of your needs as a beginner.

So let's flex those mental muscles!