Expressing Destination with "do"
To state where you are going, use the preposition do (to). In Polish, prepositions require the noun that follows them to change its ending. The preposition do always triggers the Genitive case.
For common inanimate places, the Genitive singular endings follow a predictable pattern based on the noun's gender:
- Masculine inanimate: Add -u to the end of the word (bank ➔ banku).
- Feminine: Change the final -a to -y or -i (apteka ➔ apteki, piekarnia ➔ piekarni).
- Neuter: Change the final -e or -o to -a (przedszkole ➔ przedszkola).
| Tomorrow morning I am going to the bank. | Jutro rano idę do banku. |
| We are going to the bank, and in the evening to the pharmacy. | Idziemy do banku, a wieczorem do apteki. |
| Every morning I go to the bakery. | Codziennie rano chodzę do piekarni. |
| My child doesn't like going to kindergarten. | Moje dziecko nie lubi chodzić do przedszkola. |
Going to People and Professionals
When you visit a professional, you are literally going "to" them. The Genitive case is also used here, but masculine personal nouns use a different ending:
- Most masculine professions take the ending -a (fryzjer ➔ fryzjera).
- Professions ending in -a (like dentysta), even if they refer to men, follow the feminine pattern and take -y (dentysta ➔ dentysty).
| My wife is going to the hairdresser tomorrow. | Moja żona idzie jutro do fryzjera. |
| Our son has to go to the dentist. | Nasz syn musi iść do dentysty. |
Returning and Traveling to Cities or Countries
You will also use do to talk about traveling to cities and countries, or returning to a place.
| to return | wracać |
Feminine place names, such as countries and cities ending in -a, follow the standard feminine rule, changing to -y or -i (Polska ➔ Polski, Warszawa ➔ Warszawy). Remember that "home" is treated as a standard masculine inanimate noun (dom ➔ domu).
| Why are you returning home early today? | Dlaczego dzisiaj wcześnie wracasz do domu? |
| She usually returns to Poland in the evening. | Ona zwykle wraca do Polski wieczorem. |
| The boss is going to Warsaw in the morning. | Szefowa jedzie rano do Warszawy. |
