Language/Polish/Grammar/Prepositions

How to use Prepositions in Polish

Hi Polish Learners! 😃

➡ In today's lesson we will learn How to use Prepositions in Polish.

• which one to use? 
• under what conditions? or when? 

Here are some explanations...

Happy learning!

Consider exploring these related pages after completing this lesson: Cases, Gender, Definite and Indefinite Articles & być to be.

Different kinds of prepositions in Polish and examples of use

The preposition NAD

• When the verb expresses a displacement , the preposition nad is followed by the accusative.

➡ Example: My jedziemy nad morze , a dzieci nad jezioro We go to the seaside, and the children, to the shores of a lake.

• When the verb does not express displacement , the preposition nad is followed by the instrumental .

➡ Example: My spędzamy wakacje nad morzem , a dzieci nad jeziorem . We spend the holidays by the sea, and the children by a lake.

The preposition W followed by the accusative

• It is used to express a complement of time, in particular the days of the week: w ponieziałek, we wtorek, w środę, w czwartek .........

➡ Example:

• • Kiedy będziesz w domu ? Będę w domu w poniedziałek - When will you be home? I'll be home on Monday . 

• In some cases, the preposition w indicates the destination.

➡ Example: Pojedziemy w góry - We will go to the mountain.

NB: w has the long form we in front of certain groups of consonants.

The preposition za

•  In a temporal sense, it is followed by the accusative and indicates how soon an action will take place.

➡ Example:

• • pojedziemy na wakacje za tydzień. We will be going on vacation in a week. 

Or: 

• • Za godzinę wyjeżdżam do Warszawy. In an hour, I'm leaving for Warsaw.

The prepositions od and do

They are followed by the genitive. The complements introduced by these prepositions mark an interval:

in time

➡ Example:

• • Będę tam od wtorku do soboty = I will be there from Tuesday to Saturday. 
  • Od godziny czekam na ciebie = I've been waiting for you for an hour. 
  • Mam dwiegodziny do odjazdu = I have two hours until (before) my departure.

in space

➡ Example:

• • Od przystanku autobusowego do teatru jest jeszcze daleko. It's still a long way from the bus stop to the theater.

The CO particle

The particle co preceding a name with temporal value marks the periodicity.

• Co godzina = Every hour (every hour)
• Co dzień = Every day (every day)
• Co drugi dzień = Every other day
• Co dwa dni = every two days
• Co niedziela = Every Sunday (every Sunday)
• Co tydzień = Every week (every week)
• Co miesiąc = Every month (every month)
• Co rok or co roku = Every year (every year)
• Co dwa lata = Every two years

List and translations of prepositions

Examples of use

Prepositions	Polish prepositions
prepositions	Przyimki
interior of the house	w domu
car exterior	poza samochodem
with me	ze mną
without him	bez niego
under the table	pod stołem
after tomorrow	pojutrze
before sunset	przed zachodem słońca
but i'm busy	ale jestem zajęta (gender)

List

Main prepositions

English	Polish
at	w
against	przeciwko
about	o
below	poniżej
before	przed
between	pomiędzy
behind	za
but	ale
during	w trakcie
from	z
in	w
of	z
on	na
under	pod
with	z
without	bez

Complete list of prepositions

One word Prepositions

English	Polish
on	o
above	powyżej
through	przez
after	za/ po
vs	naprzeciw
Between	między
around	około
like	jako
at	na, w, u, przy
before	przed
behind	za
below	poniżej
under	pod
beside	przy
Between	między
beyond	poza
corn	ale
through	przez
despite	mimo
down	w dół
during	podczas
except	poza
for	dla
from	z
in	na
inside	wewnątrz
in	w
near	blisko
next	obok
of	z
on	na
opposite	naprzeciwko
out	poza
outside	na zewnątrz
on	przez
for	za/ na
more	plus
around	naokoło
since	ponieważ/ od/ odkąd
than	niż
through	przez
up to	do
at	do
toward	ku
under	pod
contrary to	inaczej
until	do
up to	w górę
through	przez
with	z
in	w ciągu
without	bez

Two words Prepositions

English	Polish
two words	dwa słowa
according to	zgodnie z
because	z powodu
beside	w pobliżu
due to	ze względu na
with the exception of	z wyjątkiem
far from	z dala od
inside	wewnątrz
instead of	zamiast
near	blisko
beside	obok
apart from	poza
before	przed

Three words Prepositions

English	Polish
three words	trzy słowa
as much as	o ile
as good as	oraz
in addition to	dodatkowo
in front of	przed
despite	wbrew
on behalf of	w imieniu
above	dodatkowo
demonstrative pronouns	zaimki wskazujące
that this	to
that one, that one	tamto
those	te
those	tamtych

The prepositions as declination indices

	declination
Similar French preposition	genitive	dative	accusative	instrumental	rental
to (direction), from, for	do, od, dla
at (place)	u
next to, near, among / between	obok, koło, wśród
without, except	bez, oprócz
with, from	z, ze			z, ze
toward		ku
thanks to		dzięki
against		wbrew
by, through			przez
at (place), on, after			na, o, po		na, o, po
behind, under			za, pod	za, pod
in			w, we		w, we
in front of					przy
through, among / between, on (space)			przed, między, nad	przed, między, nad

Sources

• https://www.po-polsku.fr

Other Lessons

• How to Use Be
• Plurals
• Definite Articles in Polish
• How to Use Have
• Be Polite
• Gender
• Possessive Case in Polish
• Adverbs
• mieć to have
• Conditional Mood