Anyone learning Polish as a foreign language will face that problem at some point. They already know that in the masculine gender accusative case takes one of the two forms: either -a ending or remains unchanged, i.e. it is the same as the nominative case (it is also called a zero ending – ø). Those attending the courses of Polish know that the –a ending refers to the so called masculine animate nouns (that’s why we say: mam męża, brata, kota, psa – I have a husband, brother, cat, dog), while the zero ending refers to the group of nouns that are masculine inanimate (that’s why we say: mam dom, samochód, komputer etc. – I have a house, car, computer).
BLOG, MEJL, SMS IN A POLISH LESSON
Right. Why then do we often hear: on pisze bloga (he’s writing a blog), wysłałam ci smsa (I’ve sent you a text message), kupiłem laptopa (I’ve bought a laptop), odebrałem twojego mejla (I’ve got your email)? All the nouns mentioned are of masculine inanimate gender. According to the rule, they should remain unchanged when put in the accusative case! Well. The rule says one thing, but life, or should we say, users of the language, say another. The above mentioned use of masculine inanimate nouns with the –a ending has become so common that Polish linguists had to give in and accept those forms. However, though acceptable, they are considered COLLOQUIAL, and the structures with masculine inanimate nouns in the nominative case still remain to be the correct ones (on pisze blog, wysyłam ci sms, kupiłem laptop, odebrałem twój mejl).
In the examples given we’ve used the words that have appeared in the Polish language quite recently, the words connected with the latest technologies. However, we face the same dilemma (whether to use the accusative case with or without the –a ending) when using the nouns that appeared in Polish a long time ago. We often say: jem kotleta, pomidora, banana, although the correct form is jem kotlet, pomidor, banan. The use of –a ending with those nouns has become so common that it will probably replace the zero ending over time.
CARS, DANCES, SPORTS:
THE “LEGAL” –A ENDING IN THE ACCUSATIVE CASE
When learning the accusative case we should bear in mind that there is a great deal of inanimate nouns which take the –a ending, and that is THE ONLY CORRECT FORM they can take. We use it when talking about car makes (mam mercedesa, fiata, peugeota), dances (tańczyliśmy walca, fokstrota, swinga, rock and rolla), sports (gram w tenisa, golfa, pokera, brydża), types of flowers (dostałam jednego goździka, tulipana, irysa).
You can learn more about the exceptions and unusual uses of the language while attending our classes or using our app.
