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🔗 Compendium
Grammar
PL
Polski — Prepositions + genitive
A fixed group of Polish prepositions always takes the genitive case. Learn them as a set: bez, dla, do, od, u, z/ze, obok, koło, według, oprócz, podczas, wśród, dookoła.
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How it works
✓ Rule
After these prepositions the following noun stands in the genitive: dom bez okien, prezent dla mamy, jadę do Polski, list od brata, byłem u lekarza, wracam z pracy. The genitive ending is what changes, while the preposition itself stays fixed.
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Examples
| Preposition + example | Meaning |
|---|---|
| bez cukru | without sugar |
| dla dziecka | for the child |
| do szkoły | to school |
| od poniedziałku | from Monday |
| u babci | at grandma's |
| obok domu | next to the house |
| według planu | according to the plan |
| podczas lekcji | during the lesson |
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Good to know
⚠ Note
The preposition z governs the genitive when it means "from / out of" (wracam z pracy), but it takes the instrumental when it means "with" (kawa z mlekiem). Use ze before hard consonant clusters: ze szkoły, ze Słowacji. Also note that od answers "from whom / since when", while z answers "from where / out of".