Adjectives

Adjectives always agree in gender, number and case with the nouns they modify. In the nominative singular they take the following endings:

• masculine adjectives end in -y or –i
• feminine adjectives end in –a
• neuter adjectives end in -e

In a sentence, adjectives usually precede the noun when they refer to a feature of the noun they modify. Adjectives follow a noun when they designate a category or sub-category of the noun. Compare the following phrases:

• ciekawa książka (interesting book) – książka kucharska (cookbook)
• dobra szkoła (good school) – szkoła podstawowa (elementary school)
• szybki pociąg ( fast train) - pociąg ekspresowy (express train)

Adjectives are divided into three groups:

1. with a stem ending in a hard or hardened consonant (except for k & g) – mały, duży
2. with a stem ending in k or g – długi, wysoki
3. with a stem ending in a soft consonant – tani, głupi

Each group follows a slightly different declension pattern.

Group 1. Adjectives with a stem ending in a hard or hardened consonant:

Group 2. Adjectives with a stem ending in k- or g-. Please note that the stem of nominative, accusative and genitive feminine forms is not palatalized!

Group 3. Adjectives with a stem ending in a soft consonant: