Accusative Object Pronouns
When you direct an action at someone or something—like seeing them, hearing me, or inviting her—that person or object is the direct object of your sentence. In Polish, direct objects take the Accusative case.
Here, we will look at how to replace these noun objects with short pronouns.
Me, You, Us, and You (Plural)
The pronouns for the first and second person are essential for everyday conversation.
| English | Accusative Pronoun |
|---|
| me | mnie |
| you (sg.) | cię |
| us | nas |
| you (pl.) | was |
A quick tip on word order: Short pronouns like cię and go are unstressed. They like to tuck in right next to the verb, and they should not be placed at the very beginning of a sentence.
Him, Her, and It (Third Person Singular)
When replacing a singular noun with "him", "her", or "it", your pronoun must match the grammatical gender of the noun you are replacing.
| English | Accusative Pronoun |
|---|
| him / it (masculine) | go |
| her / it (feminine) | ją |
| it (neuter) | je |
Notice that go is used for all masculine nouns. This means you use it for male people ("him") as well as masculine inanimate objects ("it"), such as problem.
Them (Third Person Plural)
Just like plural adjectives, plural "them" pronouns depend on whether the group you are replacing is virile (contains at least one male person) or non-virile (everything else: groups of women, animals, or objects).
- ich ➔ them (virile: male people or mixed groups)
- je ➔ them (non-virile: women, animals, objects)
Note: The non-virile plural pronoun (*je) looks exactly the same as the singular neuter pronoun.*