TRUKNER'S
1CT70N OF SIMPLIFIED GRAMMARS
fO
:
!-D
THE POLISH LANGUAGE
W.R.MORFILL.
PG
6111
In?:
|c. 1
ROBA
TRUBNER'S COLLECTION
OP
SIMPLIFIED GRAMMARS
OF THE PRINCIPAL
ASIATIC AND EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.
EDITED BY
REINHOLD ROST, LL.D., Pn.D.
XL
POLISH.
BY W. R. MORFILL, M.A.
TRUBNER'S COLLECTION OF SIMPLIFIED GRAMMARS OF THE
PRINCIPAL ASIATIC AND EUROPEAN LANGUAGES,
EDITED BY REINHOLD ROST, LL.D.. Pii.D.
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Grammars of tlie following are in preparation : —
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LONDON; TJJt'BXER A. CO., LUDGATE HILL.
SIMPLIFIED GRAMMAR
OP THE
POLISH LANGUAGE
BY
, M.A.
LONDON :
TRUBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL.
1884.
[All riyhts reserved.]
LONDON :
GILBEET AND EIVINGTON, LIMITED,
ST. JOHN'S SQUARE, CLEBKENWELL EOAD.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
PHONOLOGY. — The Polish Alphabet .... 1
CHAPTER II.
THE DOCTRINE OF FOBMS . ... . , 5
Nouns ........ 5
Adjectives ........ 12
Numerals 15
Pronouns . ....... 19
Verbs . 22
CONJUGATION or AUXILIARY VERBS . . . . 29
Bye, ' to be.' 29
Miec, ' to have.' 33
CONJUGATION OF REGULAR VERBS .... 36
First Conjugation ....... 30
Second Conjugation 39
Verbs ending in qc . . . . . 41
Verbs ending in ec, uc . . . . . 42
Third Conjugation .... . . 45
Fourth Conjugation ...... 47
Passive Voice . . ... 49
VI CONTENTS.
PAGE
PREPOSITIONS . 51
ADVERBS: — Primary, Derived, and Compounded . . 53
Of Time, Place, and Manner . . . 54
Interrogative and Affirmative ... 5^
CONJUNCTIONS 55
CHAPTER III.
SYNTAX : — Cases of Nouns 56
Adjectives ....... 58
Pronouns and Verbs . .... 59
Arrangement of Words in a sentence . . 60
PREFACE.
THE following short Grammar is the first attempt of
the kind in English. It is to be hoped that it may
be instrumental in furthering the study of Polish, a
noble language, which is still spoken by about ten millions
of people. I have consulted with advantage previous
works on the subject, written in Polish, German and
French. 'I have found the " Comparative Grammar " of
Miklosich, the " Historico-Comparative Grammar " of
Malecki (2 vols., Lemberg, 1879), and the works of Orda
(Paris, 1856) and Rykaczewski (Berlin, 1861) very useful.
Following the plan of the " Simplified Grammars," I have
only given an outline of the language, but this outline will
be found to contain all the chief rules, which I have
endeavoured to make as plain as possible. The student
of comparative philology will thus be able to form a
correct idea of the structure of the language, and it may
serve as a rudimentary handbook to any one who is anxious
to road the works of such authors as Mickiewicz and
Krasinski in the original.
W. R. MORFILL.
Oxford.
NOUNS. 7
Example 3 : — kon, ' the horse/
Singular. Plural.
N. kon konie.
G. konia koni (6w).
D. koniowi koniom,
A. konia konie.
V. koniu konie.
I. koniem koniami-(konim).
L. koniu w koniach.
Among peculiar forms belonging to this declension may
be mentioned the noun Bog, ' God/ which makes the
dative Bogu, instead of Bogowi, and also the vocative Boze;
czlowiek, 4 man/ has in the vocative both czlowieku and
czlowiecze ; xiqdz, * priest/ has the genitive xi$ze.
SECOND DECLENSION. v
Feminine substantives are those ending in the vowels a
(except a few implying the offices of men) and i, and most
of the substantives ending in one of the soft consonants <?',
dz, sc, z, z.
Example 1: — pani, 4 the lady/
Singular. Plural.
N. pani panic.
G. pani pan.
D. pani paniom.
A. pani^ panic.
Y. pani • panic.
I. pani$ paniami.
L. pani paniach.
POLISH GRAMMAR.
Example 2 : — praca, ' labour/
Singular.
Plural.
N. praca
prace.
G. pracy
prac.
D, pracy
pracom.
A. prae§ .
prace.
V. praco
prace.
I. prac^
pracami.
L. praey
praeach.
Example
3 : — zona, ' the wife/
Singular,
Plnral.
N. zona
zony.
G. zony
zon.
D. zonie
zonom.
A. zon§
zouy.
V. zono
zony.
I. zoni|
zonami.
L. zonie
zonach.
Example
4 : — cz$sc, ' the part/
Singular.
Plural.
N. cz§sc
czejsci.
G. cz§sci
czcjsci.
D. cz^sci
2z§sciom.
A. cz^sc
cz^sci.
V. cz^sci
cz^sci.
I. cz§scij|
cz^sciami.
L cz^isci
cz^sciach.
NOUNS.
THIRD DECLENSION.
Neuter Substantives.
To this declension belong all the neuter substantives
ending in <?, £, o. These neuter nouns differ from mas-
culines, with the same termination ; in the neuters the
nominative, accusative and vocative are the same in both
numbers : in the plural these cases end in a.
Example
1 :—pole, ' the field.'
Singular.
Plural.
N. pole
pola.
G. pola
pol.
D. polu
polom.
A. pole
pola.
V. pole
pola.
I. polem
polami.
L. polu
polach .
Example 2 :—ciel$, ' the calf/
Singular. Plural.
N. ciel§ ciekjta.
G. cielejcia ciel^t.
D. ciel^ciu ciel^tom.
A. ciel§ ciel^ta.
V. ciel§ ciel^ta.
ciel^tami.
ciel^tach.
L. ciel^ciu
10 POLISH GRAMMAU.
Example 3 : — imie, ' the name/
Singular. Plural.
N. imie imicma.
G. imienia imion.
D. imieniu imionom.
A. imie imiona,
V. imie imiona.
I. imieniem imionami.
L. imieniu imionach.
To this declension belong1 the verbal substantives in ie,
but, as a rule, they are only used in the singular.
Many other substantives are also used only in the sin-
gular, especially when a collective idea is implied; as, zyto,
'barley;' jazda^ 'cavalry/ dziatwa, * children/ Others
are only used in the plural ; as, chrzciny, ' baptism / lowy,
4 hunting/ Substantives can also be modified into diminu-
tives and augmentatives ; as, Jcrowka, ' a little cow / mies-
cisko,'& great ugly town/ In some substantives in the
last syllable in the locative a and o are changed into e, as
gniazdo, ' the nest,' w gniezdie ; siodlo, ' the saddle/ w
siedle ; jezioro, ' the lake/ w jezierze ; zelazo, ' the iron/
w zelazie.
The following- substantives are also irregular : — oko, 'the
eye / ucho, ' the ear/ in the plural ; tciqze, ' prince/ is
irregular in the singular — in the plural it is declined like
ciel$ta, ' calves/
ADJECTIVES.
15
tanszy, ' cheapest/ The superlative of pre-eminence is made
by placing bardzo, ' very/ before the adjective, as bardzo
dobry, ' very good/
NUMERALS.
Cardinal.
1. Jeden.
2. Dwa.
3. Trzy.
4. Cztery.
5. Pi§c.
6. Szesc.
7. Siedm.
8. Osm.
9. Dziewi^c.
10. Dziesiejc.
11. Jedenascie.
12. Dwanascie.
13. Trzynascie.
14. Czternascie.
15. Pi^tnascie.
16. Szesnascie.
17. Siedemnascie.
18. Osmnascie.
19. Dziewi^tnascie.
20. Dwadziescia.
Dziescie, or dziesci, is added to the numerals from twenty
to fifty, pi$dzttsiqt ; from fifty to one hundred, chiesiat
being added. Thus, czterdziesci, ' forty/ dziewi$c-dziesiqt,
' ninety.' The smaller numerals follow the greater as in
English ; as trzy dziesci pi$6, k thirty-five / csmdziesiq.t siedm'
'eighty-seven/
100. Sto.
200. Dwiescie.
300. Trzysta.
400. Czterysta.
500. Preset.
600. Szescset.
700. Siedemset.
800. Osmset.
900. Dziewiejcset.
1000. Tysit|c.
16
POLISH GRAMMAR.
The arrangement of the greater and smaller numerals is the
same as in English : thus, sto dwadziescia siedm, ' one
hundred and twenty- seven/ Jeden, jedna, jedno are declined
after the manner of adjectives.
Dwaj, 'two/*
N. dvvaj (a), dwa (b).
G. dwoch.
D. dwom.
A. dwoch (a), dwa (b).
I. dwoma.
L. dwoch.
N. dwie (c).
G. dwoch.
D. dwom.
A. dwie.
I. dwiema.
L. dwoch.
Trzej,'1 three.'
N. trzey (a), trzy (d).
G. trzech.
D. trzem.
A. trzech (a), trzy (d).
I. trzema.
L. trzech.
Czterej, 'four/
N. czterej (a), cztery (I).
G. czterech.
D. czterem.
A. czeterech (a), cztery (d)
I. czterema.
L. czterech.
* Following the example of Rykaczewski, and in order to secure
brevity in the above tables, letters have been used for, (a) men,
(b) animals of the masculine gender, and inanimate objects masc. and
neuter ; (c) women, and all feminine substantives ; (c?) substantives of
•whatsoever gender they may be, except signifying men. According to
their position with these, the numerals are modified.
ADJECTIVES. 17
Pi$ciu} ' five/
N. pi^ciu (a], pi^c (d). A. pitjciu (0), piec (d).
G. pi^ciu. I. pie,ci<|.
D. pi^ciu. L. pi^ciu.
Jeden^ divaj, diva, dwie, trzej, trzy, czterej, cztery are
considered as adjectives, and in consequence the substantive
goes with them in the nominative case. Dwaj, trzej, and
czterej, however, are only so used when they precede their
nouns ; if they follow them the noun is put in the genitive,
as m hist dwa, 'two cities/ Pigc and the rest up to tysiac
are substantives, and take a genitive case after them.
Jedenastu, 'eleven/
N. jedenastu («), jede-
nascie (U).
G. jedenastu.
D. jedenastu.
A. jedenastu (a), jede-
nascie (d).
I. jedenastq,.
L. w jedenastu.
Piqciudziesiqt, ' fifty/ inflects the word pi^ciu (as given
previously) : the word dziesiqt remains unaltered. All the
numerals till czterdjiesci are declined like jedenascie, and all
the others till dziewi$cdziesiqt like pigcdziesiqt.
Stu, ' a hundred/
Singular. Plural.
N. stu (a), sto (d). sta.
G. sta or stu. set.
D. stu. stom.
A. stu («), sto (d). sta (d).
I stem. sta mi.
L. stu. stach.
18 POLISH GRA.MMA.R.
Dwustu, 'two hundred.'
N. dwustti (0), dwiescie (d).
G. dwochset.
D. dwomset.
A. dwochset (#), dwiescie (d).
I. dwomaset, dwiemaset (c) .
L. dwochset.
For the others, e.g. 500, take the wordpigc, as previously
declined, and add in each case set.
Tysiqc, ' a thousand/
Singular. Plural.
N. tysi^o. tysiq,ce.
G. tysi^c a tysi^cy.
D. tysi{|cu. tysi^com.
A. tysi^c. tysiq,ce.
I. tysi-^cem. tysi^cami.
L. tysi^cu. tysit|cach.
The ordinal numbers are not given here, as they are in-
flected like adjectives, and can be easily learned from a
dictionary. In the Slavonic languages we also find collec-
tive numerals, as czworo, 'a collection of four/ pied oro
dzieci, ' a band of five children/ Cf. English, f a dozen/
' a score.' These collective numerals take for the most
part the genitive case after them.
PRONOUNS.
19
I.
THE PRONOUNS.
PERSONAL.
Singular.
Ja, ' I/
Ty/Thou/
N. ja.
N. ty.
G. mnie.
G. ciebie.
D. mnie, mi.
D. tobie, ci.
A. mnie, mi§.
A. ciebie, ei§.
V. ja.
V. ty.
I. mn^.
I. tobjfc.
L. mnie.
L. tobie.
Plural.
N. my, 'we.'
N. wy, 'you/
G. nas.
G. was.
D. nam.
D. warn.
A. nas.
A. was.
V. my.
V. wy.
I. nami.
I. wami.
L. nas.
L. was.
Singular.
>n, f he/ ona, ' she/
ono, ' it'
Qgo> g°> niego. jej, niej.
jego, go, niego.
emu, mu, niemu. jej, niej .
jemu, mu, niemu
ego, go, niego. j^, ni^.
je, nie.
lira. nijj.
niem.
dm. niej.
niem.
POLISH GRAMMAR.
Plural
For Men.
N. oni, 'they.'
G. ich, nich.
D. im, nim.
A. ich, nich.
I. nimi.
L. nich.
For all except Men.
one, e they.'
ich, nich.
im, nim.
je.
niemi.
nich.
The abridged forms of the pronouns are only used after
verbs, and cannot be employed after prepositions, or when
emphasis is to be laid upon the pronoun.
The pronoun niego is sometimes changed into n in the
genitive and accusative, and is united with the preposition,
as dlan for ' him ;' so also the pronoun ci is changed into
c, and is attached to a previous word ending in a vowel.
The pronoun siedie, si$ is reflexive : it is used to express
the singular and the plural of all three genders, and may
refer to all three persons.
G. siebie, sie..
D. sobie.
A. siebie, si§.
I. soba,.
L. sobie.
The POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS are declined like adjectives, as
n/6j, ' my/ 1w6j, ' thy;' for the third person the genitive
singular and plural of the personal pronoun is used, as
jego, ich.
PRONOUNS.
21
DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS.
Ten, 'this.1
Singular.
N.
ten,
ta,
to.
G.
tego,
tej,
tego.
D.
tern,
tej,
temu
A.
tego, ten,
t§,
to.
I.
tym,
t'4,
tern.
L.
tym,
tej,
tern.
Plural.
Men.
N. oni.
(T. onych.
D. onym.
A. onych.
I. onymi.
L. onych.
For all others.
one.
onych.
onym.
one.
onerai.
onych.
RELATIVE PRONOUNS.
Klo, co, ~ktory, Jctora, ktore are both relatives and inter-
roi^iitives. Kto refers to masculines and feminines ; co to
animals and inanimate things : they have no plural.
Ktory is declined like an adjective, the only irregularity
being Ittorzy for the masculine nominative plural.
22 POLISH GRAMMAR.
The NEGATIVE PRONOUNS when employed with verbs re-
quire also the use of the negative particle. Several letters
and words may be added to pronouns^ which have the effect
of modifying their meanings, as s, ~kolwick, li, lito, z, ze,
zeto : s and kolwiek are added only to pronouns, as Titos,
jakis, Ittokolwiek, &c. ; li, lito, z, ze, zeto are added not
only to pronouns but to adjectives.
THE VERBS.
Since a great object has been simplification as much as
possible, I shall here only enumerate the chief divisions
of the verbs : —
1. Active.
2. Passive. In reality there is no independent form of
the passive voice in Polish. It is made, as in most modern
European languages, by the auxiliaries and the past parti-
ciple. See, however, on p. 49 as to the various ways of
expressing this voice.
3. Neuter.
4. Impersonal.
5. Perfect, sometimes called Completive Verbs, which
express the action as finished; e.g., zjadlem, fl have
ceased eating/
6. Imperfect, or Continuative Verbs, which express the
duration of the action ; e.g., jem, ' I continue to eat/
7. Incentives, which express an increasing action; as
sfarzejg si$, (I grow old.'
VEEBS. 23
8. Frequentatives, which express an action continually
repeated, as jadam, f I eat frequently/ Both active and
neuter verbs may be either dokonane or niedokonane, perfect
or imperfect. The perfect verbs have no present tense nor
any present participle.* The mark of the perfect verb is
the future anterior, as it is called, which is conjugated like
the present of the imperfect verbs ; e. g., zgadn$> ' I shall
have guessed / przyczytam^ ' I shall have finished reading/
Many perfect verbs are characterized by being com-
pounded with a preposition, which gives the idea of com-
pletion ; others by changes in the letters. Perfect verbs are
sometimes formed out of imperfect by changing the
termination ac into id or q.6. The two forms, perfect and
imperfect, make a complete conjugation in Polish. We must
ascertain to which of these two classes a verb belongs by
looking into a good dictionary. Frequentatives, as a rule,
form the present in warn, the perfect in wal, and the infinitive
in wac. The four last of these divisions are termed by
.••
Slavonic grammarians ' aspects/ The constant use of the
aspects amply atones for the poverty of tenses in the modern
Slavonic verb, in Polish the palseo-Slavonic aorist being
lost.
The following are the chief prepositions which enter into
the composition of the Polish verbs : —
Do — which implies carrying the action to the extremity ;
as dobic, ' to beat utterly/
* MaJecki, i. 263.
24 POLISH GRAMMAR.
Na — expresses direction towards a certain place, as ply-
ivac ' to sail/ naplywac^ ' to sail towards/
Nad — expresses excess, as dac, ' to give/ naddac, ' to
give too much/
Od — expresses distance from a place, &sjec/iac, ' to depart/
odjechac, ' to go from a place/
Po — expresses continuation of an action, as bielic, ' to
make white/ pobielic, fto continue to make white/
0, ob, obe — express the accomplishment of an action, as
siodlac, ' to saddle/ osiodlac, ' to finish saddling a horse/
Pod — expresses ' underneath/ like the Latin sub, as
piaac3ciQ write/ podp isac, 'to sign/
Prze — express the thorough accomplishment of the action,
Latin per, as czytac^ ' to read/ przecyta6> ' to read from
beginning to end/
Przy — expresses f nearness,' as biedz, ' to run/ przybiedx,
f to run by the side of/
Roz — expresses different directions, as pisac, ' to write/
rozpisac, ' to write in different directions/
U — expresses thoroughness, as smiac si$, ' to laugh/
u'smiac si$, ' to laugh out and out/
W — expresses direction of a thing within, as cfiod&ic, ' to
go/ wc/wdzic, ' to go in/
Wy — expresses 4 out/ as prosic, * to entreat/ wypro&id, ' to
obtain from a person by entreaty/
JP, icz — expresses ' on high/ as nosic, Ho carry/ wznosic,
'to carry on high/
VERBS. 25
Z, ze — expresses the perfect accomplishment of an action,
a,sjesc, ' to eat/ zjesc, i to eat entirely/
£# — expresses * over/ as mowic, ' to speak/ zamowic, ' to
talk a person over/
The tenses are, (1) the Present, as czyni$, id$, &c. (2) The
Perfect ; as czynilem, ' I did •/ really a past participle with
certain suffixes, as will be shown afterwards, and hence it is
inflected according to gender. (3) The Pluperfect, rarely
used ; as czynilem byl, ' 1 had done/ (4) The Future, which
may be expressed in two ways, either by the auxiliary
and the participle, as b$d$ czynil, or the auxiliary and the
infinitive, czynic b$d$ — this is the simple future ; when some-
times the present is used as a future (e.g. in the perfect
verb), it is called the future anterior.
The perfect, imperfect, frequentative verbs, &c., are
arranged under the four conjugations according to their
terminations.
In Polish there are four conjugations and six moods :
(1) the Infinitive ; (2) the Indicative ; (3) the Imperative ;
(1) the Subjunctive, which is expressed by adding zebyt azeby
and izby to the participial form, as zebym liochal, ' that I
may love/ In reality no Slavonic language has an inde-
pendent form of the subjunctive. (5) The Conditional,
implying a condition : this mood is expressed in Polish in
two ways, (a) with by, gdyby, abyy with the participial form
of the verb bye, ' to be -/ or (b) by the addition of by to the
participial form of the verb in ^, but the particle by must
then take the personal terminations, as Isochal bym, ' I
should have loved/ (6) The Optative, which is made by the
26 POLISH GRAMMAR.
conjunction obym with the participial form in /, as obym list
odebral, { Oh, that I could receive the letter ! ' Thus
we see that in reality there are only three moods in
Polish of independent form : the last three are made by
particles.
The reader will observe the following elements of the
Polish verb : —
The mark of the 1st per. sing, is m, which sometimes by
a phonetic law becomes g; parallels to these two forms
being found in all the Slavonic languages. Sometimes
both forms are found in the same verb, as wydzMywam
and wydziubujg; the latter, however, is the more common.
Of the second s, or sz; of the first person plural smy, of the
second scie* These may enter into various combinations,
and by paying attention to their positions the acquisition
of a knowledge of the verbs may be much simplified. These
suffixes are in reality, as might be imagined, merely muti-
lated parts of the present tense of the verb ' to be,' which
oldest form was as follows : —
esm
jes jescie
jest. s^.
* The original suffix for the third person singular was t ; this, how-
ever, though preserved in Kussian, is lost in the West-Slavonic
languages. The suffix of the third person plural is n; this, however,
by its coalescing with the bindevocal, becomes a.
VERBS. 27
The explanation of the form now in use will be given a
little further on.
But these particles can be used not only with verbs but
with other words, so as to cause the sentence to be shaped
in many different ways, and this peculiarity of the Polish
language is deserving of careful consideration ; thus we
may say either dobrze pisalem, or dolrzem pisal, ( I have
written well/ ja pilny jestem, or jam pilny jest, ' I am in-
dustrious/ wczora rano byles w ~kosciele} or wczora ranos byl
w ko'sciele, ' Thou wert early at church yesterday/ So also
my bylismy, or mysmy byli, ' We were / wy byliscie, or
wyscie byli, ' Ye were / glosno spiewaliscie, or glosnoscie spie-
wali, ' You have sung loudly / &c. They may also be
added to particles, as Bom nie przyszedl wzywac sprawiedli-
wycJi ale grzesmych do polcuty, 'I came not to call the
righteous but sinners to repentance/ (Matt. ix. 13.) So
also Ale abyscic wiedzieli, iz ma moc syn czlowieczy, * But
that ye may know that the Son of man hath power/
(Matt. ix. 6.) This gives extraordinary flexibility and
variety to the sentence.
The following are the suffixes of the Imperative : —
Singular ... 2 pers., /.
Plural . PPerS" **•
( 2 pers., icie.
The suffix of the Perfect is 2, which is added immediately
to the stem, as gral, pield. The only exceptions are M61,
prol, where the o is the connecting vowel (lindevocal). This
28 POLISH GRAMMAR.
is properly a participle, as is shown by the feminine and
neuter terminations and the plural form.
The suffix of the Infinitive is 6t which is generally added
immediately, but in some instances with a lindevocal ; from
the fusing- of k with 6 we get <?, and from g the combination
dz. The spelling of the termination of the infinitive in some
cases in dz is censured by Miklosich as inaccurate (iii. 450).
The suffix of the Active Participle is qc. The suffix is
originally nc, and the addition of a bindevocal makes it ac ;
e. g. piekqc, trac. When the participle is used adjectively
it is declined like an adjective — -piekqcy, -a -e, trcycy -a -e.
The suffix of the Perfect Gerund is szy ; but this is not
added immediately to the stem, but after the /of the per-
fect, as upieltlszy (u-piek-l-szy) ; or with the addition of w,
e. g. wygrawszy (wy-gra-w-szy) : this, however, is only
another form of I, which is frequently pronounced as w in
Slavonic dialects.
The suffix of the Passive Participle is either -n, or -/,
which is declined like an adjective, either -ny, -na, -ne, or
~ty, -ta, -te.
The Verbal Substantive is derived from the Passive
Participle by adding ie to n or t ; e. g. bity, bide. If
the bindevocal before ny has become o, it is changed
again into e before nie ; e. g. pieczony, pieczenie, niesiony,
niesienie.
The Indicative Mood has the following tenses: the present,
in perfect verbs the future anterior, the pluperfect, and the
future. The Subjunctive, Conditional and Optative have
only the perfect tense.
CONJUGATION OF AUXILIARY VERBS.
Conjugation of Auxiliary Verbs.
bye, ' to be/
INDICATIVE MOOD.
Present.
Singular.
Jestem
jestes.
1 Jest.
Plural.
Jestesmy
jestescie.
1 1.
Perfect.
Singular.
Masc,
Fern.
Neut.
Bylem.
Bvles.
Bji
by lam.
bvlas.
byla.
by lorn,
bylos.
bylo.
Plural.
Bylismy.
bylysmy.
bylysmy.
Byliscie.
bylyscie.
bylvscie.
Byli.
byly.
byly.
30
POLISH GRAMMAR.
Pluperfect (but little used).
Singular.
Masc. Fern. Neut.
Bylem byl. I bylam byla. I bylom bylo.
And so on, adding byl to the masculine, byla to the feminine,
and bylo to the neuter, in all the different persons.
Plural.
Bylismy byli,
bylysmy byly,
same
adding byli
adding
as
to the other
byly.
feminine.
persons.
I shall be.'
Be.dziemy.
Future.
Singular.
b^dziesz.
Plural.
b^dziecie.
bejdzie.
CONDITIONAL.
The Conditional Mood is formed from the participial
form in I and the particle by ; after which are added the
letters and combinations m, s9 smy, scie, to designate the
persons. There is no present tense. Thus the perfect
(1st. pers.) would be bylbym, bylabym, bylobym.
CONJUGATION OP AUXILIARY VERBS. 31
SUBJUNCTIVE.
This Mood is formed by the participial form in I (byf),
before which is used the conjunction zeby ; to which the
letters and combinations m, s, smy, scie are added, as zebym
byl, 1st person, zebys byla (feminine). There is no present,
and the pluperfect is omitted here as being so little used.
OPTATIVE.
This resembles in form the Conjunctive, with the dif-
ference that oby is used instead of zeby, and takes the same
terminations to mark the persons. The perfect is the only
tense used.
IMPERATIVE.
Singular.
B^dz, ' be thou/ — Bi|d#cie.
Niech. or niechaj bq,dzcie ( let him be/
To niech and niechaj, the suffix ze is sometimes added.
Plural
B^dz'my. I b^dz'myz.
B^dzcie. | b^dz'ciez.
Niech or niechaj
POLISH GRAMMAR.
PARTICIPLES.
Present.
Masc. Fern. Neut.
Past.
Byly. byla. bylo.
Future.
Majj|cy bye. maj^ca bye. majt|ce bye.
Btjdt|c, ' being ;' by wszy, ' having been/
These two last are not inflected.
The modern form of the present tense of the verb bye is
merely a corruption, and arose from adding to the third
person of the old form the pronominal suffixes. This re-
sulted from false analogy, as the suffixes had become fused
with the participial form byl, byla, bylo, and made a past
tense; thus byljesm had become bylem, bylijesmy, bylismy.
The particle by, which is used in Polish and other Slavo-
nic languages to express condition, was originally the third
person singular of the old perfect of the verb bye, a tense
which is now lost. This particle has at the present time
something like the use of the Greek av. We also find it
in composition as aby, zeby^ azeby, with which we may com-
pare Greek oiav and av in other combinations.
CONJUGATION OF AUXILIARY VERBS.
Sing. . . Mam.
Plnr... Mamy.
Miec, 'to have/
INDICATIVE MOOD.
Present.
masz.
maeie.
ma.
Perfect.
Masc.
Singular.
Fern.
Neut.
Mialem.
Miales.
Mial.
mialam.
mialas.
miala.
mialom.
mialos.
mialo.
Plural.
Masc.
Mielismy.
Fern.
| mialysmy.
Neuter.
| mialysmy.
(In the second person add the usual suffix: the third
person has no suffix.)
Pluperfect.
The same as the preceding tense, adding byl to the
sing., byla to the fern., and bylo to the neuter ; byli ibr
masc. plur., and byly for fern, and neuter.
D
POLISH GRAMMAR.
Masc.
mial or
miec.
B^dziesz.
B^dzie.
B^dziemy mieli
or miec.
B^dziecie.
Masc.
Mialbym.
Future.
Singular.
Fern.
b§d§ miala or
miec.
b^dziesz.
b^dzie.
Plural.
b^dziemy mialy.
b^dziecie mialy.
b^dq, mialy.
CONDITIONAL.
Perfect Tense.
Fern,
mialabym.
Neuter.
b§d§ mialo or
miec.
b^dziesz.
b^dzie.
Neuter.
mialobym,
Add the regular suffixes to the first and second persons
as above, and add the suffixes to the plural, which will be
mietoby for the masc., and mialyly for the fern, and neut. ;
thus, mielobismy, &c.
SUBJUNCTIVE.
Add zeby, with suffixes for each of the persons, to the
ordinary past tense mial, in its various mutations of gender
and number.
OPTATIVE.
Add oby, with the same suffixes.
CONJUGATION OF AUXILIARY VERBS.
35
IMPERATIVE.
Singular.
Miej, ' have thou/ — Miejze.
Niech or niechaj (with addition sometimes of suffix
ze) — ma.
Plural.
Miejmy.
Miejcie.
Niech or niechaj maj^.
PARTICIPLES.
Present.
Fern. Neuter.
maji|ca. | maja,ce.
Perfect.
miana. | miane.
Future.
maj^ca miec. | majj|ce miec.
Note. — The verb mam (I have) is frequently used with
merelv a future signification, as wydanie ma bye ozdolionc
trzema portretami, 'The edition will be furnished with three
portraits/
GERUNDS.
Maj{|c, ' having/
, ' having had.'
Masc.
Maj^cy.
Miany.
Maji|cy miec.
POLISH GRAMMAR.
Conjugation of Regular Verbs.
FIRST CONJUGATION.
The mark of the conjugation is the second person singular
present of the verbs niedokonane, or the future anterior
of the verbs dokonane, which of necessity have no present,
as I have previously stated.
The characteristic of the first conjugation is the letter a
in the second person singular of the present.
INFINITIVE.
Kochac, *' to love.'
INDICATIVE.
Present Tense.
Kocham.
Kochamy.
Ikochasz.
kochacie.
kocha.
kochaj^.
Perfect.
For the masculine, add the suffixes for the first and
second persons, with the bindevocal e to the participial form
in /, and add them also to the feminine kochala and the
neuter koc/ialo. For the plural masculine, add the suffixes
to kockali, and for the feminine and neuter to koc/ial?/, thus
kochalem, hochalam, kochalom, &c.
CONJUGATION OF REGULAR VERBS. ^7
Pluperfect.
To form this tense, add to the perfect byl for the mascu-
line singular, and byli for the plural; byla for the feminine
singular, and bylo for the neuter ; and byly for the plural of
both genders.
Future.
Put the auxiliary b$d$ — inflecting it regularly, as in the
form given under the verb bye, ' to be/ — before kochal for
the masculine singular, and Icochali for plural ; kochala for
feminine, and kochalo for neuter singular ; and kochaly for
the plural of both, according to the invariable rule.
IMPERATIVE.
Kochaj.
Niech or niechaj kocha.
Kochaj my.
Kochajcie.
Niech or niechaj kocha 'tj,.
It will be observed that the characteristic letter of the
imperative is/, to which the terminations of the plural are
added, e. g. ~kocha-j-my.
I have not given at length another form of the impera-
tive included in some grammars : it is formed by adding
the enclitic z or ze to the simple form
38 POLISH GRAMMAR.
CONDITIONAL.
Made by adding the pronoun suffixes to -by, which is
appended to the participial form, as kochalbym. In the plural
we have the usual kochali and kochaly, with the personal
suffixes.
The pluperfect is formed by adding to the perfect byl,
which is inflected in the manner previously shown.
SUBJUNCTIVE.
Perfect.
This is aby, with the usual personal suffixes appended to
the inflected participial form in I.
OPTATIVE.
The same, oby being added instead of aby.
Pres. kochaj$|cy.
Past, kochany.
Put. maja,cy kochac.
PARTICIPLES.
kochaj^ca.
kochana.
maja^ca kochac.
kochaj^ce.
kochane.
maj^ce kochac.
GERUND. — KocJi.ajqc, ' loving/
The tenses, which are wanting to the imperfect verb
kochac, are supplied by the perfect verb ultochac.
CONJUGATION OF REGULAR VERBS. 39
SECOND CONJUGATION.
The characteristic of this conjugation is iesz or esz in the
second person singular present.
Grzebac, ' to bury/
Present.
Grzebi§.
Grzebi^my.
grzebie^sz.
grzebi^cie.
grzebi§.
grzebi^.
Perfect.
Formed from the participial form grzelal, with the addi-
tion of the suffixes, as in the preceding verb. The same
remarks apply to the pluperfect and future.
IMPERATIVE.
Grzeb.
Niech or uiechaj grzebi§.
Grzebmy.
Grzebcie.
Niech or niechaj grzebiq,.
Also another form with the addition of the enclitic ze.
CONDITIONAL. — G-rzebalbyui.
Cf. the former under Itochac, also the pluperfect on the
same model.
SUBJUNCTIVE. — Abum qrzebal. .
Cf. with kochac.
OPTATIVE. — Oli/m grzelal
bal.}
40 POLISH GRAMMAR.
PARTICIPLES.
Present . . . Grzebi^cy, &c.
Past G rzebany, &c.
Future ... Maj^cy grzebac. &c.
GERUND. — Grzebiqc, 'bringing/
Other tenses are supplied to this verb by the perfect or
complete form pogrzebac. Verbs belonging to this conju-
gation which end in owac, iwac and yivae, and are gene-
rally derivatives, change their termination into vj$, uje-sz,
i'je, &c., in the present.
The following rules may help to ascertain how the verbs
ending in ac belonging to this conjugation form their
present, this being in reality the only difficulty in the
Polish verb : —
When the final consonant of the stem is b, w,p, the
vowel i must be added before the personal suffixes ; as,
Lami§, ' I break/ from lamac.
Lami^sz.
Lami^my.
tami^scie.
Lamiq,.
When the final consonant is s or w, preceded by another
consonant, the i is only added to the second and third
CONJUGATION OF REGULAR VERBS. 41
persons of the singular, and the first and second of the
plural ; thus —
I call.'
Zw-i-esz.
Zw-i-e.
Zw-i-emy.
Zw-i-ecie.
Zw-tj.
If the final consonant of the stem is s, preceded by a
vowel, as pi-sac, ' to write,' this hard consonant is changed
into the soft sz, as pisz$, 1 1 write/ So also other hard
consonants which precede ac are changed into the soft
consonants corresponding to them ; as Igac, * to lie,' lz$ ;
plakac, ' to weep/ placz$. When the termination of the
stem is sk, it becomes szcz, as glaskac, ' to pat with the hand/
glaszczf, so also r is changed into rz, t into c, and z into f.
In the monosyllabic verbs, brae, fto take/ prac, 'to wash
linen/ and the verbs compounded from them, io is inserted
between the first and final consonants of the stem in the
first person singular and third person plural ; as, bior$,
bierzesz, bierze, bierzemy, bierzecie, biora.
Verbs ending in ^c.
When the root consonant is d, in the inflections m must
be put after it, with the vowel i in all the persons, except
the first and last, as dqc, f to breathe/
Dm§. Dmiemy.
Dmiesz. Dmiecie.
Dmie. Dnuj,.
When the final consonant of the stem is n, an / must be
added to all the persons of the present except the first sin-
42
POLISH GRAMMAR.
gular and the third plural, as pragnac, ' to be thirsty / the
present of which is thus inflected —
Pragn§.
Pragniesz.
Pragnie.
Pragnie my.
Pragniecie.
Pragn^.
The present tense of the verbs ciqc, f to cut/ giq,6, ' to fold/
is thus inflected —
Tniemy.
Tniecie.
Tn§.
Tniesz.
Tnie.
The t for c here being altogether irregular.
In many verbs ending in nqc, the n disappears entirely
in the inflection of the perfect, as rosnqc, * to grow/
Roslem. Roslismy.
Rosles. Rosliscie.
Rosl. Rosli.
Verbs ending in ec, uc.
Verbs terminated in this way, as dec, ' to flow/ piec, ' to
cook/ change the consonant c into k in the present, in the
first person singular, and third plural.
Pieke..
Pieczesz.
Piecze.
Pieczemy.
Pieczecie.
Piek^.
CONJUGATION OF REGULAR VERBS.
43
Verbs ending in ic take j after i in the present;
e. g., from bid, ' to fight.'
Bijemy.
Bijicie.
Bjjfc
Bijesz.
Bije.
The same is the case with verbs in ud and ye, as czuc, ' to
feel/ zyd, ' to live.'
The following verbs belonging to this conjugation are
very irregular: —
Jesd, ' to eat.'
Present.
Jem, ' I eat.'
Jesz.
Je.
Jemy.
Jecie.
Jedz^.
Perfect.
Jadlem, < I ate.'
Jadles.
Jadl.
Jedlismy,/! jadiysmy.
Jedliscie.
Jedli,/. jedly.
Future
(borrowed from perfect form of verb).
Zjem.
Zjesz.
Zje.
Zjemy.
Zjecie.
Zjedz^.
44-
POLISH GRAMMAR.
IMPERATIVE.
Jedz.
Niech je.
Idziesz.
Idzie.
Jedzmy.
Jedzcie.
Niech jedzq,.
to go on foot/
Present.
Idziemy.
Idziecie.
Id*.
Perfect.
Masc.
SzedJem, ' I went/
Szedles.
Szedl.
Fern.
Szlam, szlas, szla.
Neut.
Szlom, szlos, szlo.
Future.
Przyjd§, ' I shall come/
Przyjdziesz.
Przyjdzie.
Szlismy.
Szliscie.
Szli.
Plural
(for both genders).
Szlysmy.
Szlyscie.
Szly.
Przyjdziemy.
Przyjdziecie.
Przyjdi|.
CONJUGATION OF REGULAR VERBS.
45
IMPERATIVE.
Idz. Idzmy.
Niech idzie. Idz'cie.
Niech ida,.
It has been thought advisable to give the chief tenses of
these verbs on account of their being so much in use.
THIRD CONJUGATION.
The characteristic of this conjugation is that the 2nd
pers. sing, present ends in isz.
Verbs belonging to this conjugation, which terminate in
the infinitive in ac, as bac si$, ' to fear/ change in the
present and future a into oj9 in the first person of the singular
and the third person of the plural : in the other persons they
change a into oi ; e. g. stac, ( to stand,' present.
Stoimy.
Stofe
Stoisz.
Stoi.
Stoicie.
Stoj*
Spac, fto sleep/ changes a into i
Spimy.
Spicie.
Spia,
Spisz.
Spi.
They preserve in all the persons of the past tenses a
before I or I; e. g. balem si$.
If the stem of a verb ends in I, as myslec, cto think/
the present is thus inflected :
Mysl§.
Myslisz.
Mvsli.
Myslimy.
Myslicie.
Mysla^
46 POLISH GRAMMAR.
The softening1 of the final consonants for euphony is
shown in the treatment of verbs ending in ic, in the first
sing, and third plural, as follows : — When a hard con-
sonant ends the stem, the i of the infinitive is preserved,
as zi^bic, 6 to cool/ zi$bi$y ' I cool,' ziebiq,, < they cool /
but when a soft consonant goes before, the i is not pre-
served. All these verbs keep in the past tenses their
characteristic vowel i before I and I ; e. g. prosilem, prosi-
lismij) &c., ' I entreated/
Palic9 ' to burn/
INDICATIVE.
Present Tense.
Pale,, palisz, pali.
Palimy, palicie, palj|.
Perfect.
Palilem, palilam, palilom,
and the other persons as before.
In the plural, add the pronominal suffixes to the plural
forms, masc., fern., and neut. of the participle, as pre-
viously.
The Pluperfect, same as the form in kochac.
Future.
palil, &c., as before.
CONJUGATION OF REGULAR VERBS. 47
IMPERATIVE.
Pal.
Niech or niechaj pali.
Palmy.
Palcie.
Niech or niechaj palq,-
CONDITIONAL.
Palilbym, &c.
SUBJUNCTIVE.
Abym palil, &c.
OPTATIVE.
Obym palil, &c.
PARTICIPLES.
Present^ paisley, palt|ca, palace.
Past, palony, palona, palone
Future y majq,cy palic, maj^ca palic, maj^ce palic.
GERUND — Pal^c, 'burning.'
Some tenses are supplied to this verb by the perfect
form, spa lie.
FOURTH CONJUGATION.
The characterictic of this conjugation is that the 2nd
pers. sing, present ends in -ysz.
POLISH GRAMMAR.
Styszec, fto hear/
INDICATIVE.
Present.
Slysz§ slyszysz slyszy.
Slyszymy slyszycie slyszy.
Perfect — Slyszalem .
Formed in the same way as given in the previous
paradigms.
Pluperfect — Same as before.
Future — B§de, slyszal, &c.
IMPERATIVE.
Slysz.
Niech or niechaj slyszy.
Slyszmy.
Slyszcie.
Nieeh or niechaj slyszy.
CONDITIONAL— Slyszal bym
The pluperfect as in previous paradigms.
SUBJUNCTIVE — Abyrn slyszal.
OPTATIVE — Obym slyszal.
PARTICIPLES.
Present, Slysz^cy, -a, -e.
Past, Slyszany, -a,
Future y Maj^cy slyszec, &c.
Past, Slyszany, -a, -e.
CONJUGATION OF REGULAR VERBS. -19
GERUND — Slysz^c, 'hearing/
Tenses wanting to this verb are supplied by the perfect
form, itslyszee ; e. g., wslyszaleni, ( I have heard/
All verbs in the fourth conjugation end in the infinitive
in ec or yc. Verbs which make the infinitive in ec have
in the past tenses a before I, and e before I, as j$czalem9 ' I
groaned ? jgczelismy, ( we groaned/ Those verbs which make
the infinitive in y, preserve it throughout the perfect tense.
PASSIVE YOICE.
There is no separate form for the Passive Voice .in
Polish. It may be expressed by the auxiliary bye and the
passive participle; but this method is rare in Polish, which
prefers to represent the passive either by a reflexive
verb, or by changing the mode of expression and using
the active ; or employing the third person of the pre-
sent, or the past participle used impersonally with the
accusative of the pronouns ja, ty, on, •/////, icy, oni, or ;i
substantive ; thus, instead of saying oni hi/li zalijttiii, ' they
were killed/ it is more in accordance with the Polish idiom to
say zabijano ick : this is by an idiom of the Polish language,
by which, even in the case of a neuter verb, although it has pro-
perly no past participle passive, yet one may be employed in
an impersonal use, as skakano, ' they were leaping' (literally,
it having been leapt) ; zicwano, ' they \vero yawning/ Cf.
Mickiewicz Pan Tacleusz, Book X. Ze wuie Jackowi c^anui
podano polewk$, 'That the black soup was given to me,
Jaczek/
E
50 POLISH GRAMMAR.
The reflexive verb, however, cannot be used for the passive
when any ambiguity might arise ; thus we cannot say, Cezar
zabil si$ dnia pietnastego Dlarca, ' Csesar was killed on the
fifteenth of March/ The following enclitics are suffixed to
verbs, li (which implies a question), and z after vowels, ze
after consonants. The two latter add emphasis to the
expression. Similar particles are found in the Russian and
Bohemian languages. By an idiom of the Polish language
the infinitives widac, slychac, may be used alone in an
impersonal sense, without adding wozna, (it is possible) ;
so also in the past tenses we have bylo widac, just as in
English, ' there was to be seen/
Sometimes, instead of lyl, zostal is used with the past
participle as an historical perfect, as stat-ek zaniesiony zostal
az ku brzegom Danii (Baliriski), f the vessel was brought to
the coast of Denmark/ Both jest and byl can be omitted by
an idiom common to all the Slavonic languages. Every
verb has its substantive, as bity, ' beaten/ bide, ' the act
of beating •' proszony, ' entreated/ proszenie, ' the act of
entreating / these substantives are all of the neuter gender,
and have no plural. The verbal noun in Polish can take
with it the reflexive pronoun ; as nieudanie si$ powtorney
eleclicyi Leczynskiego, ' the failure of the second election of
Leczynski/
IMPERSONAL VERBS.
Of these there are many in Polish, as lywa, f it happens •'
qrzrn'), 'it thunders/ All verbs maybe made impersonal
l>y adding the pronoun si$ to the third person of the
CONJUGATION OF REGULAR VERBS. 51
present and future of the active verb, and to the third
person neuter of the perfect, as mowi si$, ' it is said/ //?<>•//</
si$, 'it has been said/
PARTICIPLES.
There are four participles —
Present.
1st. The undeclined, called sometimes the gerund, czy-
tajac.
2nd. The declined, czi/tajq.cy, ' reading/
Past.
1st. Undeclined or gerund, dawszy, ' having given/
2nd. Declined, przeczytany , ' having been read/
PREPOSITIONS.
Prepositions which govern the genitive : —
Bez, ' without.'
Dia, ' for/
Do, < to/
0~kolo, ' around.'
Krom, okrom,procz, oprocz, 'outside of/
Miasto, zawiasfy l in place of/
Od, < from/
Pod/e, ' near/
Wedluff
, •> faccord; ,
, )
POLISH GRAMMAR.
} < in the midle of/
W srod, j
U, ' with ' (cf. the French chez).
Also the following adverbs used as prepositions : —
BlizkOj 6 near.'
Niedaleko, ( not far/
Ohok, ( by the side of/
Poprzek, ( across/
Wewnqtrz, ' within/
Zewnqfrz, ' without/
WzdluZy ' along1/
Prepositions which govern the dative : —
Gwoli. ") , r i . ,
C ' for, according to.
T/~ T \ "
Kwoli, 3
AX ' forward/
p««i», •) <againsti)
Preciwko, )
W brew, ' against, in contempt of/
Przez, ( by/ governs the accusative ; przy, ' near/ the
locative.
Naprzcciw, naprzeciwko, ' against/ ' opposite/ govern the
genitive or dative.
Mi/no, ponnnio, 'in spite of/ ' notwithstanding/ govern
the genitive or accusative. Mi-mo, however, when it means
' near/ always governs the genitive.
Z takes the genitive when it marks the place from
which the movement comes, the cause, the material out of
which a thing is made ; but when it signifies e together
with/ it must take the instrumental.
ADVERBS.
The prepositions mi$dzy, pomigdzy, * among ;'
' upon ; pod, f under / przed, ' before ;' za, f beyond/
govern the accusative when motion is signified, but the
instrumental when rest is implied. The prepositions mt,
1 on •' o, ( about ;' po, ' after •/ w, ' in,' govern the accusative
when the verb with which they are used marks motion to
a place. On the other hand, they govern the locative
when the verb with which they are used implies rest.
ADVERBS.
I can only find room here for the principal adverbs : the
rest can be learned from the dictionaries.
PRIMARY
Gdzie, ' where/
Tn, ' here/
Wnetj ( soon/
, ' as.J
DERIVED.
Dobrze, < well/
Dlf i go •, 'long/
Slabo, ( weakly/
Mocno, ' strongly/
COMPOUNDED.
Nazajutrz, ' the following day/
W czas, ' at the right time/ ' punctually/
Przedlem-, ' previously/
Niegdys* ' once/
54 POLISH GRAMMAR.
ADVERBS OF TIME.
Zawsze, 'always.'
Nigdy, 'never.'
Teraz, 'now/
Dawno, ' long since/
OF PLACE.
Na gorze, ' above/
Na dole, ' below.'
Napodal, 'from afar.'
Najprzeciw, ' from opposite/
OF MANNER.
Po polsku, ( in the Polish manner/
Zewnqtrz, ' from without.'
Ustnie, c by word of mouth/
Cichavzem, ( quietly/
INTERROGATIVE.
Kiedy, 6 when ?'
Zkqd, ( from whence ?'
Gdzie, ( where ?'
whither ?'
AFFIRMATIVE.
Koniecznie, ' certainly ;' ba, ( yes/
Adverbs are formed from adjectives by changing the
termination of the adjective into e or o ; for example,
li/, ' gay/ ivesolo, ( gaily/
CONJUNCTIONS. 55
Adverbs ending in ie are formed from adjectives which
have a hard consonant in the last syllable but one, as
pewne, ' sure/ pewnie, ' surely/
Some adverbs have a double termination, as smialo, or
smielg} ' boldly/
.Many adverbs are formed in Polish by the use of sub-
stantives, either alone or with prepositions, as na bakier,
6 across ;' najaw, ' evidently ;' na oslep, l blindly ;' poprzek,
6 across / pogotowiu, ( in readiness ;' wewnqtrz, ' within ;'
icet za wet, 'tit for tat/ So also substantives alone, as
ollazem, ' in a body ;' raptem, f suddenly / ukradkiem,
' secretly / rankiem, ' in the morning ;' pospolu,, { to-
gether/
The comparative of adverbs is formed by adding j or ej
to the stem ; as, skromnie, f more modestly ;' smielej, ' more
boldly/ For the superlative add naj to the comparative
adverb ; as, pi$kniej, c more beautifully ;' najpi$kniej\ ' most
beautifully/
CONJUNCTIONS.
Of these there are different sorts : some join sen-
'tences together, as a, i, ' and ;' takze, fez, ' also ;' oraz,
linhiez, ( so that ^ nie tylko-ale, 'not only/ — 'but;'
<//// — ani, 'neither/ A when employed between two ad-
verbs strengthens the expression of the adverb, as wszyxi'i/
a wszyscy, ' all without exception ;' nic a nic, ( absolutely
nothing/
Alternative conjunctions, allo, Inb albo, Inb, or
z badz , 'whether' , or czy, ' if •' czyli, or
czy, 'whether it be that/ &c. Conjunctions of
5(> POLISH GRAMMAR.
comparison, jalto tals-, as, tak ze, ' so that / niz
nizeli (after the comparative), raczej niz, ' rather than.'
Adversative conjunctions, such as acz, aczkolwiek,
'although/ ale, lecz, 'but/ cJwc, cJwciaz, £ although/ zas,
' but/ which latter, like the Latin quoque, is never put as
the first word in a sentence. Conditional conjunctions are
l>yle, ' provided that,' cliyba, 'unless/ Conjunctions of time
are gdy, ( when/ j'ak tylko, 'as soon as/ Optative con-
junctions, bogdaj oby, ' God grant that/ used to express
the optative mood.
CHAPTER III.
Syntax,
As brevity has been aimed at in this Grammar, I shall
allow myself to omit those points of Syntax which are not
peculiar to Polish, but are shared in by the majority of
languages.
CASES OF NOUNS.
1. The genitive is used after many adjectives and parti-
ciples : of these a few are here specified — the rest must be
learned by practice ; as, godzien nagrody, ' worthy of recom-
pence;' potrzebujqcy wsjxtrcia, ' having need of assistance/
2. After all the cardinal numbers beginning with pi$c,
1 five/ (See page 17.)
•3. The genitive is always used after the verb when it
goes with a negative ; as uie czyta listu, ' he does not read
the letter/
SYNTAX. 57
Ale serce u molojcow,
Niezl^knie sie Turkow. — (Siemienski.)
f But the hearts of the young men do not fear the Turks/
4. After the impersonal verb, niemasz or niema, niebylo,
< there is not/ ( there was not ;' as nie ma zgody, ' there is
no agreement/
5. After active verbs where they have a partitive sense ;
as daj mi wody, ( Give me some water.'
6. Verbs compounded of the prepositions do, od, na, nad,
przy, u, take the genitive; as nazrywac fatnat6w,(to gather
flowers/
7. The genitive is used after adverbs implying abun-
dance, or want, as in other languages.
8. Also to express quality or character ; as czlowiek wy-
sokiego wzrostu, ' a man of tall stature/
9. Also to express point of time ; as Dwadziestego dzie-
wiqjego stycznia roku tysiqcznego osmsetnego osmdziesiajego
czwartego, f January 29, 1884/
A great number of verbs take the genitive, but these
must be learned by the help of a good dictionary.
The Dative. — Many adjectives take the dative, aspos-
/HXZHI/, ' obedient/ Verbs compounded with do take the
dative, and many others which can be learned from the
dictionary.
The Accusative is, as in most languages, the ordinary
case after the verb. The price of a thing is put in the
accusative, also duration of time, distance, height and
length (with these four last compare the Latin use).
58 POLISH GRAMMAR.
The Instrumental. — Many verbs take this case ; as mia-
nowac go wodzem, 'to name him leader/
It is sometimes employed idiomatically with the verb ' to
be ;' as jest-em gospodarzem, ' I am the master/ And the
same is the case with zostawac, ' to become ;' as zosial
pielyrzymem, ' he has become a pilgrim.' The following
examples will, it is believed, clearly illustrate the various
uses of this case, which is often peculiarly employed
in the Slavonic languages : — -jechal nocq, ' he travelled
during the night ;' jadl tyzkq, ' he ate with a spoon;'
zlapal zajqca zywcem, fhe has caught a hare alive ;} nazywal
mnie przyjacielem, 'he called me friend/
The Locative expresses in what place, or when, except the
days of the week, when point of time is marked by the
accusative ; as we czwartek, ( Thursday/
ADJECTIVES.
The adjective agrees in number, gender, and case with
its substantive. When an adjective refers to the names of
a man or a woman, or a man and an animal, it is put in
the plural of the more worthy gender ; but when the
adjective is placed with several names of inanimate things,
of whatever gender they may be, it is used in the neuter
plural. In sentences where the two subjects of the verb
are connected by the preposition ~, the verb may be put in
the singular or the plural ; as, ojciec z synem zyl w zgodzie,
or ojciec z synem zyli w zgodzie, ' the father lived peaceably
with his son/
SYNTAX. 59
Collective substantives ending in stwo require the verb
in the plural. With collective numerals the verb is put in
the third person singular, and when in a past tense with the
singular neuter ; as, dwoje dzieci umarto, ' two children are
dead/
PRONOUNS.
Co, ( what,' is often used instead of ktory, when it refers
not to the subject, but to the whole previous sentence.
Comparison of Adjectives. — If a superior thing is com-
pared with an inferior, the adverbs niz, nizli, nizeli, anizeli,
must be used ; as Drozsze jest zycie anizeli majajek, ' Life is
more valuable than goods/ But if superiority is attributed
to the thing which is the object of the comparison, the
adverb jak is placed after the comparative; as, Nie ma nic
lepszego jak spokojne sumienie, ' There is nothing better
than a quiet conscience/ Instead of the adverbs niz, nizli,
nizelij anizeli, the preposition od may be employed with
the genitive, or nad with the accusative : Jajestem mlodszy
od ciebie, ( I am younger than thou/
VERBS.
The preposition do is employed after verbs when it is
desired to express an approximate number; as Bylo tu do
trzy dziestu ludzi, ' There were here almost thirty men/
Od is used to designate the place or the time after which a
thing is begun; as, od piqtego roJcu, ' from the fifth year/
Od is used after passive participles and neuter verbs, to
express the agent or instrument ; as kochany od przyjaciol,
60 POLISH GRAMMAR.
' loved by one's friends •/ umiera od zahi, f he is dying of
grief.' Z is also used to express the instrument or agent ;
as mdleje z slabosci, fhe faints from weakness:' so also
przez — thus we may equally say wylrany od wojsJca, or
wylrany przez ivojsko, ( elected by the army/
Nad is used with the instrumental after verbs implying
pity, grief, astonishment, or vengeance. The occasions on
which the preposition w are employed remind us of the
difference in Latin between the uses of in with the accusative
and with the ablative ; as zamienic w chleb, 'to change into
bread ;' oblec w szat^ ' to surround with a garment.'
The preposition z governs the genitive of substantives
to express material, as dom z drzewa, ( a house of wood/
which can also be expressed by the adjective, as dom drzew-
niany • also to imply motion from, as in English ; and it is
the ordinary case after the superlative, as najpilniejszy z
nic/i, ( the most industrious of them/
ON THE ARRANGEMENT OF WORDS IN A SENTENCE.
Owing to the Polish language being in a highly syn-
thetic state, great licence is allowed in this respect. Much
must depend upon the taste of the writer ; and, in order to
get a good style in composition, good works should be read,
such as Lelewel's " History of Poland," or the " Ballads "
of Mickiewicz, which would be useful for the beginner. It
may be remarked, however, that a preposition cannot be sepa-
rated from the noun which it governs, and the adverb must
be put either immediately before or after the word which it
qualities. Any conjunction may begin a sentence, except
SYXTAX. . 61
zas and loiciem. The verb is frequently put at the
end of a sentence. The adjective and participle can be
separated, by many words, from the substantives with
which they agree. Thus, Domowe mi$dzy nast^pcami Karola
Witlkego w wzdzielonem cesarsfwie rozruchy, ' The domestic
troubles among the successors of Charles the Great in his
divided empire/
In order to convey to the reader a fair idea of the con-
struction of a sentence, the following1 lines are given,
selected from " Lelewel's History of Poland," Dzieje Polski,
page 58. (Leipzig, 1837) :—
Pomimo oplakanego polozenia w jakim si§ Polska
In spite of the melancholy condition in which herself Poland
znajdowaia, nie mozna powiedziec aby miala bye biedn^
found, not is possible to say that she found herself poor
i zn§dzioni|, tylko w niej ladu i publicznego zycia niedos-
and miserable, only in her of order and public life was
tawato, ktore umial obudzic Lokietek. Ludnosc Polska
not which understood how to stimulate Lokietek. The people Polish
widocznie wzrastata, liczba wsi i miast pomnozyln si<;,
visibly increased, the number of villages and cities augmented itself
i wielu Polakow szlo w Litw§ i na Rus, fortuny szukac.
and many Poles went to Lithuania and to Russia,, fortunes to seek.
Licznych ksiestw stolice podnoz^c si§ poci^gnt|ly za
Of many principalities, the capitals raising themselves, drew after
sob{| wzrost wielu innych miast. Murowano koscioly
them the growth of many other cities. They built of stone churches
i klasztory a w miastach i domy. Po dworach szla-
and convents, and in the cities also houses. In the abodes belong-
f)2 POLISH GRAMMAR.
checkicb i znamienitszych wiejskich domach, mozna
ing to gentlemen, and notable country houses possible
bylo widzic piece i w scianie pomieszczone z wyprowad-
it was to see stoves, and in the wall placed with built
-zona, nad dach szyj^ kominy, co nie malo, do wygody
up above roof projection chimneys, which not a little to convenience
i zdrowia przyczynilo. Okna byly niewielkie, ale szklanne.
and health contributed. The windows were small, but made of glass.
Szklo rozpowszechnialo si§. Obok dawnych drzewnianych,
(The use of) glass spread itself. By the side of old wooden,
glinianych lub metalowych kubkow i baniek stawaly
earthen or metallic goblets and cups stood
skleniee i butelki. Polevvaiie gliniane naczynia, coraz w
glasses and bottles. Glazed earthen vessels, always in
lepszym gatunku upowszechniaiy si§. Do ubioru
the best style developed themselves. For the furniture
i mieszkan, wi^cej bylo potrzeba kobiercow, wybor-
also of the dwellings more was need of carpets, most
niejszego sukna i jedwabnych materyj rownie po dworach
excellent linen and silk materials, equally at the courts
jak przez mieszczan uzywanych.
as among the burghers used.
Tbe following points of syntax in this passage seem'
worthy of special attention: —
Nie mozna, used impersonally, as explained on page 50.'
With this may be compared lylo potrzeba, like the Latin
ojji/x /'nit, a few lines further on.
"By 6 biednq : — this construction, very much used in the
Slavonic languages, is explained on page 58.
SYNTAX. 63
Zijcia niedostawalo : observe genitive with the negative,
page 56.
fPsi, gen. plural of the somewhat irregular fern, noun
wies, ' a village/
Pomnozyla si$ : observe the dislike of the Polish language
to the ordinary passive form.
Wielu Polakow szlo, page 59, a curious idiom.
Murowano : this idiom is explained on page 49.
Pomieszczone kominy : observe the arrangement
of these words, and compare with remarks on page 6] .
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