🔗 Prepositions
Complete guide to Polish prepositions
🎯 Why Prepositions Matter
💡 Key insight: Polish prepositions ALWAYS take a specific grammatical case — you cannot mix and match. For example: W DOMU ✅ (in the house — locative case) is correct, but W DOM ❌ is simply wrong. This guide shows you exactly which case goes with each preposition.
Location Prepositions 📍
W DOMU
v DOH-moo
In The House
W MIESCIE
v MYESH-chyeh
In The City
W SZKOLE
f SHKOH-leh
In School
W BIURZE
v byoo-ZHEH
In The Office
W POIZIEDZIALEK
v poh-nyeh-DYAH-wek
On Monday
NA STOLE
nah STOH-leh
On The Table
NA ULICY
nah oo-LEE-tsi
On The Street
NA PLAŻY
nah PWAH-zhih
On The Beach
NA DACHU
nah DAH-khoo
On The Roof
DALEKO OD DOMU
dah-LEH-koh ohd DOH-moo
Far From The House
OD PONIEDZIAŁKU
ohd poh-nyeh-DYAH-woo
From Monday
OD SWOJEJ MATKI
ohd svoh-YEY MAHT-kee
From Her Mother
IDZIE DO DOMU
the
He Goes To
DO PRACY
doh PRAH-tsi
To Work
DO SZKOŁY
doh SHKOH-wi
To School
DO POLSKI
doh POL-skee
To Poland
DO ZOBACZENIA
doh zoh-bah-CHEH-nyah
See You Later
Time Prepositions ⏰
O PÓŁNOCY
oh pohw-NOH-tsi
At Midnight
O PIĄTKACH
oh PYOHN-takh
On Fridays
O ŚWIĘTACH
oh SHVYEH-takh
On Holidays
PRZED POŁUDNIEM
pshed poh-WOO-dnyem
Before Noon
PRZED WIECEM
pshed VYEH-chorem
Before Evening
PRZED ROKIEM
pshed ROH-kyem
A Year Ago
PO PRACY
poh PRAH-tsi
After Work
PO POŁUDNIU
poh poh-WOO-dnyoo
After Noon
PO GŁÓWNYM DANIU
poh GWOO-vnim DAH-nyoo
After The Main Course
Other Important Prepositions 🔄
BAWIĘ SIĘ Z KOTEM
bah-VYEH shyeh z KOH-tem
I Play With The Cat
ROZMAWIAM Z PRZYJACIELEM
roz-mah-VYAHM z pshi-yah-TSYEH-lem
I Talk With A Friend
WODA Z KRANÓW
VOH-dah z KRAH-noov
Water From Taps
BEZ CIEBIE
bes TSYEH-byeh
Without You
BEZ CUKRU
bes TSOO-kroo
Without Sugar
BEZ POMOCY
bes poh-MOH-tsi
Without Help
DLA CIEBIE
dlah TSYEH-byeh
For You
DLA DZIECI
dlah DZHEH-tsee
For Children
TO JEST DLA MNIE
toh yest dlah MNYEH
This Is For Me
📋 Quick Reference: Preposition → Case
| Type | Preposition | Case |
|---|---|---|
| 📍 Location | W (in/inside), NA (on) | Locative |
| 📍 Location | OD (from), DO (to) | Genitive |
| 📍 Location | ZA (behind), POD (under) | Instrumental or Accusative |
| 📍 Location | PRZED (in front of), MIĘDZY (between) | Instrumental |
| ⏰ Time | O (at) | Locative |
| ⏰ Time | W (for days/months), NA (for duration) | Accusative |
| ⏰ Time | PRZED (before) | Instrumental |
| ⏰ Time | PO (after) | Locative |
| ⏰ Time | PODCZAS (during) | Genitive |
| 🔄 Other | Z (with/from) | Instrumental or Genitive |
| 🔄 Other | BEZ (without), DLA (for), U (at someone's place), KOŁO (near), WŚRÓD (among) | Genitive |
🎯 How to master this: memorize preposition + case pairs together (not the preposition alone), practice full sentences aloud, and group your studying by case rather than alphabetically. This builds directly on the Case System guide — once cases click, prepositions become automatic.