Polish Grammar - English words ending 'tion'

There are more cases to learn but it's worth hanging around in the accusitve case a little longer so the word endings really sink in. And there is no better time than to pick up another language transfer rule!

Thinking Brain

We can transfer English words ending 'tion' into Polish the following way

  • Take the English word - Option
  • Remove the 'tion' - Op
  • Replace it with 'cja' - Opcja -

This transfer method gives us dozens of words!

Transfer

Look at the English words below. First try saying them without the 'tion' ending. Then do this again but now adding 'cja'. Press the play button to hear the Polish.

  • Fiction -
  • Coalition -
  • Situation -

You've probably spotted that all these words, by 'definicja'(!), end in a ... so they are all feminine nouns.

Graduation Cap
  • Revelation - Rewelacja

No, we're not going all religious! In Polish 'rewelacja' is often used to mean 'amazing' and is a good to know complement if you are a guest.

  • The cake is amazing! - Ciasto jest rewelacja!
Graduation Cap

But what about this?

  • Restaurant - Restauracja

If we transfer 'restauracja' back into English we get 'restauration' which sounds an awful lot like 'restoration'.

That's because there is a connection. This does come from the French where places selling soup in the 1700s promoted themselves as places where you could 'restore youself'!

Click and drag these words into their correct boxes

The 'stem' of the word (what is left after removing the 'tion) sometimes has a couple of different letters - because in Polish when it sounds like a 'k' it is a 'k'. Sort these nouns into ones where the stem is the same in English and ones which have one or two letters changed.

Drag and drop all the dark blue boxes to their correct locations

Make sure your sound is turned on to hear the audio during this exercise

operacja

fikcja

sytuacja

stacja

definicja

intuicja

animacja

koalicja

konstitucja

rewelacja

The same stem in Polish

A slightly different stem in Polish

Think out the Polish

Practice this new 'tion' transfer rule in both the Nominative and Accusative cases.

Make sure your sound is turned on to hear the audio during this exercise

It is a good restaurant
q2|To jest dobra restauracja

I like action
q2|Lubię akcję

It is a good transformation
q2|To jest dobra transformacja

Do you want perfection?
q2|Czy chcesz perfekcję?

I think that it is the station
q2|Myślę, że to jest stacja

Do you think it is the station?
q2|Czy myślisz, że to jest stacja?

What do you think? It is fiction?
q2|Co myślisz? Czy to jest fikcja?

I think that it is romantic fiction
q2|Myślę, że to jest romantyczna fikcja

It is a dramatic auction
q2|To jest dramatyczna aukcja

I think that it is a rational reaction
q2|Myślę, że to jest racjonalna reakcja

You have a bad situation
q2|Masz złą sytuację

I think that you have good intuition
q2|Myślę, że masz dobrą intuicję

Do you have a constituition?
q2|Czy masz konstitucję?

Is it a political operation?
q2|Czy to jest polityczna operacja?

Do you have official documentation
q2|Czy masz oficjalną dokumentację?

You have dramatic inflation
q2|Masz dramatyczną inflację

Do you have a good presentation?
q2|Czy masz dobrą presentację?

I want official information
q2|Chcę oficjalną informację

I want a good education
q2|Chcę dobrą edukację

Do you have a bad infection?
q2|Czy masz złą infekcję?

Do you think that it is a tragic reaction?
q2|Czy myślisz, że to jest tragiczna reakcja?

Refresher

Revise earlier words and phrases to keep them fresh! Match the Polish and Engish below

Make sure your sound is turned on to hear the audio during this exercise

on lubi
lawyer
egg
nowy
cat
he likes
Nfood
ciasto jest rewelacja
doctor
jajko
ona ma
restaurant
new
zły
opcja
jedzenie
she has
artyst
the cake is amazing
artist
prawnik
kot
lekarz
restauracja
bad/wrong
option

Nouns

Tick all of Polish words which come from an English 'tion' word

Tick all of the boxes you believe are correct