Adjectival surnames (-ski and -ska)
Many Polish surnames end in -ski (or -cki / -dzki). These change endings based on gender: a man's surname ends in -ski, while a woman's ends in -ska.
| Mr. Kowalski is a good recruiter, but I do not know his professional profile. | Pan Kowalski jest dobrym rekruterem, ale nie znam jego profilu zawodowego. |
| Mrs. Kowalska has a lot of contacts in this industry. | Pani Kowalska ma dużo kontaktów w tej branży. |
Because these surnames are originally adjectives, they decline exactly like standard Polish adjectives. For example, in the genitive case, -ski becomes -skiego for men, and -ska becomes -skiej for women.
| We sent the recommendation to Mr. Zieliński. | Wysłaliśmy polecenie do pana Zielińskiego. |
| We do not have a recommendation for Mrs. Zielińska. | Nie mamy polecenia dla pani Zielińskiej. |
Consonant surnames for men
Other common Polish surnames are nouns ending in a consonant, like Nowak or Kaczmarek. When these belong to a man, they decline like regular masculine personal nouns. Note that some names have a "disappearing e" in their declined forms (for example, Kaczmarek dropping to Kaczmarka in the genitive and accusative cases).
| We did not invite Mr. Nowak, because we do not have a recommendation for him. | Nie zaprosiliśmy pana Nowaka, bo nie mamy dla niego polecenia. |
| I do not see Mr. Kaczmarek's profile. | Nie widzę profilu pana Kaczmarka. |
Consonant surnames for women (indeclinable)
When a surname ending in a consonant belongs to a woman, it is indeclinable. The surname never changes form, regardless of the grammatical case.
You will still decline the title pani (Mrs./Ms.) to fit the grammar of the sentence, but the surname attached to it remains untouched.
| I am talking with Mrs. Nowak about her professional profile. | Rozmawiam z panią Nowak o jej profilu zawodowym. |
| I will ask Mrs. Kaczmarek for a contact for this recruiter. | Poproszę panią Kaczmarek o kontakt do tego rekrutera. |