Learn Hardcore Polish: Parking w centrum przyjmuje tylko gotówkę. - The parking lot in the center accepts only cash.

Parking is a common loanword in Polish meaning “parking lot” or “parking area.” In Polish it’s treated as a masculine noun and declined accordingly (nominative parking, genitive parkingu, etc.).

Why do we say w centrum and not something like na centrum?

The preposition w (“in”) requires the locative case. Centrum is a neuter noun whose locative singular is unchanged (centrum). So w centrum literally means “in the center.”

How does the verb przyjmuje agree with parking?

Przyjmować means “to accept.” Here the subject is parking (masculine singular), so we use the third person singular present form przyjmuje (“it accepts”).

What case is gotówkę in, and why that case?

Gotówkę is the accusative singular of gotówka (“cash”). As the direct object of przyjmuje, it takes the accusative case. Feminine nouns ending in -a change to -ę in the accusative.

Why is tylko placed before gotówkę?

Tylko means “only” and typically precedes the word it limits. Placing it before gotówkę makes it clear that only cash is accepted. Word order in Polish is flexible, but this is the most natural sequence.

Could we use akceptuje instead of przyjmuje?

Yes. Akceptować also means “to accept.” You could say Parking w centrum akceptuje tylko gotówkę with no change in meaning. Przyjmować is just slightly more formal or traditional in this context.

Why aren’t there any words for “the” or “a” in this sentence?

Polish does not have definite or indefinite articles. Context and word order convey whether something is general or specific, so no extra words are needed.

How else could I say “only cash” in Polish?

You might hear tylko gotówką using the instrumental case after verbs like płacić (“to pay”):
• Można płacić tylko gotówką – “You can only pay with cash.”