Polish Dative Case

Content

• Usage
• Singular Nouns
  • Masculine
  • Feminine
  • Neuter
• Singular Adjectives
  • Masculine
  • Feminine
  • Neuter
• Plural Nouns
  • All Genders
• Plural Adjectives
  • All Genders
• Declension Tables

The dative is the third of the 7 cases.

Its main use is as the indirect object.

It answers the questions:

– komu? (to/for who)
– czemu? (to/for what)

 

Dative Case Usage

1. Indirect object

Dałem chłopcu piłkę.
(I gave the boy the ball)

Opowiedziałem dzieciom historię.
(I told the kids a story)

2. In impersonal expressions

Jest kobietom zimno.
(The women are cold)

Jest im trudno.
(It is difficult for them).

3. With certain prepositions

These include: dzięki (thanks to), ku (towards, to), przeciw/przeciwko (against), and more.
Here is a more detailed list of prepositions.

Dzięki szkole, mam dużo wiedzy.
(Thanks to school, I have a lot of knowledge)

Ku mojemu zdziwieniu.
(To my surprise)

 

Dative Case Declension

Dative Singular Nouns

Masculine

– Mostly receive owi ending.

Nominative Singular	Dative Singular
Marek syn (son) budynek (building)	Markowi synowi budynkowi

– A few nouns, mostly monosyllabic ones, receive u ending.

Nominative Singular	Dative Singular
Bóg (God) pies (dog) chłopiec (boy)	Bogu psu chłopcu

Feminine

– If it ends with a hard consonant, the hard consonant softens and receives e ending.

Nominative Singular	Dative Singular
córka (daughter) kobieta (woman) dziura (hole)	córce kobiecie dziurze

– If it ends with a hardened consonant, receives y ending.

Nominative Singular	Dative Singular
praca (work) noc (night) smycz (leash)	pracy nocy smyczy

Praca (work)               Poświęcam się mojej pracy (I devote myself to my work).

– If it ends with a soft consonant, receives i ending.

Nominative	Dative
Daria lekcja (lesson) filozofia (philosophy)	Darii lekcji filozofii

Neuter

– Receive u ending.

Nominative Singular	Dative Singular
dziecko (child) pole (field) ciepło (warmth)	dziecku polu ciepłu

 

Dative Singular Adjectives

Masculine

– Receive emu ending.

Nominative Singular	Dative Singular
duży (big) tani (cheap)	dużemu taniemu

Feminine

– Receive ej ending

Nominative Singular	Dative Singular
duży (big) tani (cheap)	dużej taniej

Neuter

– Receive emu ending.

Nominative Singular	Dative Singular
duży (big) tani (cheap)	dużemu taniemu

 

Dative Plural Nouns

All dative plural nouns receive the same ending.

All Genders

– Receive om ending.

Nominative Singular	Dative Plural
osoba (person) syn (son) dziewczyna (girl)	osobom synom dziewczynom

 

Dative Plural Adjectives

All Genders

– If it ends with a hard consonant, except k and g, or a hardened consonant, receives ym ending.

Nominative Singular	Dative Plural
duży (big) inny (different)	dużym innym

– If it ends with a soft consonant, or k or g, receives im ending.

Nominative Singular	Dative Plural
tani (cheap) wysoki (tall)	tanim wysokim

 

Declension Tables

Singular Nouns

Singular Adjectives

Plural Nouns

Plural Adjectives