The genitive case: possession and quantity of one

To jest książka Anny. To jest dom mojego brata. Stół jest z drewna.This is Anna's book. This is my brother's house. The table is made of wood.

In English the owner comes first and takes 's (Anna's book), or you use of (the door of the house). Polish has no 's and no word for of. It puts the thing first, then the owner in the genitive (dopełniacz): książka Anny, drzwi domu. The same case names a part of something, the material it is made of, and one portion of something (szklanka wody, a glass of water).

Quick shortcut: the thing first, the owner after it in the genitive: książka Anny, dom brata, stolica Polski. Feminine nouns in -a take -y (or -i), masculine nouns for people and animals take -a, neuter nouns take -a, and masculine nouns for things take -a or -u (dom → domu).

In English the owner comes first and is marked by 's, so the word order is the opposite of Polish (Anna's book but książka Anny). What you have to learn is the ending on the owner, and the adjective or determiner next to it changes as well.

Whose is it? The owner after the thing

The owner follows the thing and takes the genitive. The thing itself keeps whatever case the sentence needs, and only the owner changes:

• To jest książka Anny. (This is Anna's book.)
• To jest dom brata. (This is my brother's house.)
• To jest torba mamy. (This is Mum's bag.)
• To jest samochód Piotra. (This is Piotr's car.)

To ask whose something is, use Czyj? (masculine), Czyja? (feminine) or Czyje? (neuter), agreeing with the thing: Czyja to książka? (Whose book is this?) To książka Anny. For my, your, his and her Polish uses possessive pronouns instead (moja książka, jego dom), described in Possessive pronouns (mój, twój, nasz, wasz, jego, jej, ich).

The genitive singular endings

Which ending a noun takes depends on its gender and its last sound.

Masculine nouns: -a or -u. Nouns for people and animals take -a. Nouns for things take -a or -u, and the ending is best learnt together with the word:

Neuter nouns: -a. dziecko → imię dziecka (the child's name), miasto → środek miasta (the city centre), morze → brzeg morza (the seashore), mieszkanie → drzwi mieszkania (the door of the flat).

Feminine nouns in -a: -y or -i. The ending is -y, but it is -i after k and g and after a soft consonant. Compare the locative ending in The locative case: location (w / na + locative), which is -e for many of the same nouns:

Feminine nouns that end in a consonant (noc, wieś) have their own endings (środek nocy, the middle of the night). A few of them appear in everyday phrases, and you can learn them as they come.

Adjectives and determiners

An adjective or a determiner before the owner takes a genitive ending too, so mój brat becomes mojego brata:

Surnames that end like adjectives change in the same way, and with pan and pani it gives forms you will hear every day (see Formal address with pan / pani / państwo): dom pana Kowalskiego (Mr Kowalski's house), torba pani Kowalskiej (Mrs Kowalska's bag). The word pan becomes pana, while pani stays pani. The adjective endings in the nominative are in Adjective agreement in the nominative (gender & number).

A few plural owners

The genitive plural has several patterns, and you can leave the full picture for later. These common owners are worth learning as whole words:

Part of something and what it is made of

The same pattern, thing + genitive, says what something is a part of or what it concerns: drzwi samochodu (the door of the car), początek filmu (the beginning of the film), koniec lekcji (the end of the lesson), nazwa ulicy (the name of the street).

To say what something is made of, use z + genitive: z or ze (before some consonant clusters, as in ze szkła).

The same z + genitive also gives the place someone is from: Jestem z Polski. (I'm from Poland.) Anna jest z Warszawy. (Anna is from Warsaw.) The look-alike z + instrumental means with (kawa z mlekiem, coffee with milk); that pattern is in The instrumental case: professions and "z" (with).

One portion or container

A word for a portion, a container or a measure is followed by the genitive: szklanka wody (a glass of water), filiżanka kawy (a cup of coffee), butelka mleka (a bottle of milk), kawałek ciasta (a piece of cake), kromka chleba (a slice of bread), kilo cukru (a kilo of sugar).

When the portion is the object of the verb, it takes the accusative (see The accusative case: inanimate objects and feminine nouns) and the thing stays in the genitive: Poproszę szklankę wody. (I'd like a glass of water.) Kupuję butelkę mleka. (I'm buying a bottle of milk.)

The genitive has other jobs as well: it follows nie ma for something that is not there (Nie ma mleka.) and the preposition do for a goal (Idę do szkoły.). They have their own lessons: The genitive case: absence with "nie ma" and Going somewhere: do + genitive, na / w + accusative.

Common mistakes

• ❌ To jest Anna książka. → ✅ To jest książka Anny. (the owner follows the thing and takes the genitive; there is no 's)
• ❌ To jest dom brat. → ✅ To jest dom brata. (a masculine person takes -a)
• ❌ To jest torba mama. → ✅ To jest torba mamy. (feminine -a becomes -y)
• ❌ To jest pokój Ania. → ✅ To jest pokój Ani. (-ia becomes -i)
• ❌ To jest samochód mój brata. → ✅ To jest samochód mojego brata. (the determiner changes too)
• ❌ Poproszę szklankę woda. → ✅ Poproszę szklankę wody. (the thing in the glass is in the genitive)
• ❌ Stół jest z drewno. → ✅ Stół jest z drewna. (material: z + genitive)

Quick check

Which form fits each gap?

1. To jest książka ___. (Anna)
2. To jest dom ___. (brat)
3. To jest stolica ___. (Polska)
4. To jest samochód ___ ___. (mój brat)
5. Poproszę szklankę ___. (woda)
6. Stół jest z ___. (drewno)

Key takeaways

• To say whose something is, put the thing first and the owner after it in the genitive: książka Anny, dom brata. There is no 's and no word for of.
• Masculine people and animals take -a (brata, psa), things take -a or -u (domu, kościoła), neuter nouns take -a (miasta), and feminine nouns in -a take -y or -i (mamy, Polski, Ani). Learn the ending with the word.
• Adjectives and determiners change too: mojego brata, mojej mamy, tego studenta.
• A few plural owners are worth learning as whole words: rodziców, dzieci, przyjaciół, ludzi.
• The genitive also says what something is part of (drzwi domu), what it is made of and where someone is from (z + genitive: z drewna, z Polski), and one portion (szklanka wody).
• To ask whose something is, use Czyj? Czyja? Czyje?