Future Time Intervals with "Za"
To say that something will happen "in" a certain amount of time (like "in a week" or "in an hour"), use the preposition za followed by the Accusative case.
For masculine inanimate time units like tydzień (week), miesiąc (month), and rok (year), the Accusative form is identical to the Nominative.
| The premiere of the movie is in a week. | Premiera filmu jest za tydzień. |
| This stage will finish in a month. | Ten etap skończy się za miesiąc. |
| This is some mistake, the premiere is in a year. | To jest jakiś błąd, premiera jest za rok. |
Feminine Time Units
For feminine time units ending in -a, like godzina (hour) and chwila (moment), the Accusative case changes the -a to -ę.
- "in an hour" becomes za godzinę
- "in a moment" becomes za chwilę
| Your paycheck will be in an hour. | Twoja wypłata będzie za godzinę. |
| The play will end in a moment. | Spektakl skończy się za chwilę. |
Using Numbers with "Za"
When adding numbers like dwa (two) or trzy (three) after za, both the number and the noun take the Accusative plural. For these nouns, the Accusative plural is identical to the Nominative plural.
- dwa miesiące (two months) becomes za dwa miesiące
- trzy godziny (three hours) becomes za trzy godziny
| Father is retiring in two months. | Ojciec idzie na emeryturę za dwa miesiące. |
| Our tournament will end in three hours. | Nasz turniej skończy się za trzy godziny. |
Scheduled Events
You will frequently use za to discuss upcoming events like a final match (finał) or a conference (konferencja). The time expression works with both future and present tense verbs.
| The company is organizing a conference in a month. | Firma organizuje konferencję za miesiąc. |
| The final will be in an hour. | Finał będzie za godzinę. |
