Polish/More on adjectives

More on Adjectives

Adjectives in Polish can be used in various ways, including:

• In constructs "X is Y"
• As nouns
• As descriptors for nouns, usually placed before nouns

The English construct "X is Y" has multiple meanings. If Y is a noun, it typically implies that X is a member of a certain class, for example, "Kasia jest dziewczyną" (Kasia is a girl). In this case, Y should be used in the instrumental case. However, if Y is an adjective, it implies that Y has a certain feature. For instance, "Kot jest czarny" (the cat is black) doesn't mean that the cat is a member of the class of black things. To distinguish this situation, the nominative is used for Y. In the case of adjectives that can be used as nouns, both cases may be used, but the nominative is much more common.

Here is the conjugation of the verb "to be":

	Singular	Plural
First person	jestem	jesteśmy
Second person	jesteś	jesteście
Third person	jest	są

Examples:

• Agnieszka jest ładna - Agnieszka is pretty
• Kot Basi jest czarny - Basia's cat is black
• Krowy rolnika są białe - The farmer's cows are white
• Jestem wysoki - I'm tall
• Jesteś gruby - You're fat (singular you)
• Jesteśmy młodzi - We're young
• Jesteście bogaci - You're rich (plural you)

Here are some adjectives and their antonyms, in the feminine singular nominative:

• ładna - pretty
• brzydka - ugly
• czarna - black
• biała - white
• wysoka - tall/high
• niska - short (height)
• gruba - thick/fat
• chuda - thin
• młoda - young
• stara - old
• bogata - rich
• biedna - poor

Here are some examples with adjectives used as nouns:

• Czarni lubią muzykę - Black people like music (the fact that it's black people discussed must be found out from context)
• Basia lubi czarną - Basia likes black coffee (of course it could have also been in the context of "pornography")
• Bogaci lubią golf - Rich people like golf

If an adjective describes a noun, it has to be used in the same case, number, and gender as the noun. Here are some examples:

• Biały kot pije mleko - A white cat drinks milk (white in nominative)
• Ładna dziewczyna ma białego kota - The pretty girl has a white cat (pretty in nominative, white in accusative)
• Gruby chłopak nie ma czarnego kota - The fat boy doesn't have a black cat (fat in nominative, black in genitive)
• Czarne oczy Marty są ładne - Marta's black eyes are pretty (black and pretty in nominative)
• Dorota jest stara - Dorota is old (old in nominative)
• Dorota jest starą kobietą - Dorota is an old woman (old in instrumental)

You can also stack adjectives:

• Basia ma grubego czarnego kota - Basia has a fat black cat (fat and black in accusative)