Polish prepositions na, do

Polish
1 answer

Hi Ania, thanks for your question. Polish na is used in a few different situations. It usually connects to a noun in miejscownik case and describe where something is or taking place. So English meaning is on, in, at.

A few examples:

na stole, na podłodze, na Cyprze mean on the table, on the floor, in Cyprus.

But less often it also goes together with a noun in biernik case and in these situation means where to. Examples: na miasto, na uniwersytet to the city, to do university

Please have a look at these two sentences:

Jestem na basenie. basen is in miejscownik case, the meaning is I'm at a swimming pool.

Idę na basen. basen is in biernik case, the meaning is I'm going to the swimming pool.

Regarding do. We can translate it in English as in, to, towards. This preposition connects to nouns in dopełniacz case and is used to signify movement towards something. For instance:

Wsiadam do samochodu. I get in the car. Idę do szkoły. I go to school.

I hope this is not too confusing. I would not worry too much about it. If you come across it, try to decipher the meaning of the sentence and also say the sentence aloud a few times to remember the cases.

Here's a great website where you can check Polish cases of any noun and adjective: Odmiana.net

But I think in the beginner level we should avoid learning Polish grammar and instead learn whole sentences.

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