Matching cases for cities and rivers
When pairing a generic geographic noun like miasto (city) or rzeka (river) with a specific proper name, the proper name must agree in case with the generic noun.
For example, if you use the preposition w (in), which requires the Locative case, both "city" and "Poznań" take the Locative form (w mieście Poznaniu). With nad (on/over), which takes the Instrumental, both take the Instrumental (nad rzeką Wisłą):
| The expansion in the city of Poznań was finally approved. | Rozbudowa w mieście Poznaniu została wreszcie zatwierdzona. |
| We approved the project, although the infrastructure on the Vistula river is old. | Zatwierdziliśmy projekt, chociaż infrastruktura nad rzeką Wisłą jest stara. |
| This urban planner works in the new center of the city of Wrocław. | Ten urbanista pracuje w nowym centrum miasta Wrocławia. |
The country exception
There is an important exception to this rule: countries. When using the generic word państwo (country/state), the specific country name remains locked in the Nominative (dictionary) case, regardless of the case of państwo.
Notice how państwo takes the Locative form (państwie), but Polska and Niemcy stay Nominative:
| The expansion of infrastructure in the country of Poland is very expensive. | Rozbudowa infrastruktury w państwie Polska jest bardzo droga. |
| Although the architect works in the country of Germany, he is planning the expansion in the city of Wrocław. | Chociaż architekt pracuje w państwie Niemcy, planuje rozbudowę w mieście Wrocławiu. |
Municipal planning
This lesson's examples feature vocabulary related to urban planning and local administration, such as gmina (municipality), województwo (province), and plan przestrzenny (spatial plan).
| Every municipality in this province has a spatial plan. | Każda gmina w tym województwie ma plan przestrzenny. |
| The architects are discussing the spatial infrastructure in this municipality. | Architekci dyskutują o infrastrukturze przestrzennej w tej gminie. |
| The urban planner approved the spatial plan in the city of Poznań. | Urbanista zatwierdził plan przestrzenny w mieście Poznaniu. |