The post includes:
– table with all the forms of personal pronouns;
– rules of usage
Pronouns refer to nouns and noun phrases, therefore also are inflected for genders, number and, most importantly, for cases. The table below presents Polish personal pronouns and their declension patterns.
Many of the personal pronouns have more then one form. Which one we should use in a sentence depends on whether the pronoun is emphasized or follows a preposition.
As you can see in the table, the cases of some personal pronouns have two (or even three) possible options. The short forms are the basics, the long one can be used to provide emphasis.
e.g. Znam go. – I know him
Znam jego, nie ją. – I know him, not her
Nie słyszę cię. – I can’t hear you
Słyszę jego, ale nie słyszę ciebie. – I can hear him, but I can’t hear you
The long form can stand anywhere in a sentence, while the short form usually stands next to a verb (can’t be used to start a sentence).
e.g. Wczoraj widziałem go.
Widziałem go wczoraj.
Go widziałem wczoraj.
Wczoraj widziałem jego, a nie ją.
Wczoraj jego widziałem, a nie ją.
Jego wczoraj widziałem, a nie ją.
The long pronouns go after prepositions. 3rd person both singular and plural have special forms with the n- prefix (niego, nią, niemu nich etc.).
e.g. To jest prezent dla ciebie not To jest prezent dla cię – This is a present for you.
Mam wiadomość dla niej. – I have a message for her.
Nie idziemy bez niego. – We are not going without him.
Możesz na nich liczyć. – You can count on them.
Thank you! This is a great summary.
Dziękuję! 🙂