Accusative

Today we’re focusing on our most commonly used, omnipresent, and ubiquitous grammatical case – the accusative.

We need it whenever we have to provide a direct object for a verb. What does that mean? We need it whenever someone or something does something to someone or something 😊. There is a subject performing the action, and an object receiving it. Examples? Here you go:

(I) am reading (what?) an interesting book.
(We) are watching (what?) a funny comedy.
(He) Piotr met (whom?) his teacher.
(I) knew (whom?) a good doctor.
(I) like (whom?) my dog.
(We) ate (what?) a tasty hamburger.
(I) have (what?) a good car.
(I) drank (what?) orange juice.
(They) My friends bought (what?) a new apartment.
(We) love (whom?) our child.

(ja) Czytam (co?) ciekawą książkę.
(my) Oglądamy (co?) zabawną komedię.
(on) Piotr spotkał (kogo?) swojego nauczyciela.
(ja) Znałam (kogo?) dobrego lekarza.
(ja) Lubię (kogo?) mojego psa.
(my) Zjedliśmy (co?) smacznego hamburgera.
(ja) Mam (co?) dobry samochód.
(ja) Wypiłam (co?) sok pomarańczowy.
(oni) Moi znajomi kupili (co?) nowe mieszkanie.
(my) Kochamy (kogo?) nasze dziecko.

Roughly 40% of Polish verbs require the use of the accusative case. You can download a list of 100 accusative verbs from levels A1 and A2.

We also use the accusative case when describing someone’s mood or emotional state. These are very specific constructions in which the subject—the person experiencing the feeling—comes at the end of the sentence. That’s why literal translations may sound funny, like “the head is doing something to me,” “the movie is doing something to me,” or “the lesson is doing something to me.”

My head hurts. (Boli mnie głowa.)
I’m interested in history. (Interesuje mnie historia.)
Is your new job stressing you out? (Stresuje cię nowa praca?)
This movie amuses me. (Bawi mnie ten film.)
This lesson bores me. (Nudzi mnie ta lekcja.)
This situation annoys me. (Denerwuje mnie ta sytuacja.)

You often see the accusative case after the prepositions “na” and “po” with verbs of movement:

I’m going to the café for a coffee. (na kawę)
I’m going to school for a lesson. (na lekcję)
I’m going to the restaurant for dinner. (na kolację)
I’m going to the office for a meeting. (na spotkanie)
I’m going to Kraków for a conference. (na konferencję)
I’m going to the cinema for a film. (na film)
I’m going to the store for some bread. (po chleb)
I’m going to the restaurant to pick up lunch. (po obiad)
I’m going to school to pick up my diploma. (po dyplom)

Remember: we use “na” when we stay at the place—like ordering coffee to drink on the spot, and “po” when we grab something and leave—like ordering takeaway.