Noun exclamations (co za)

To react spontaneously and express strong emotion about a person, thing, or situation, Polish uses the exclamatory phrase co za (what a).

The Nominative Case

Unlike many other prepositions and expressions in Polish, co za does not change the grammatical case of the noun that follows it. The noun simply remains in the Nominative case—its basic dictionary form.

You can use it for both positive reactions and negative shocks.

Adding Context to the Exclamation

Often, you will want to explain exactly what triggered your reaction. You can expand a co za exclamation by attaching an action to it. This is usually done with a simple infinitive verb, a że (that) clause, or a żeby (to) clause.