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### Nouns from Participles

In Polish, participles (verbs functioning as adjectives) can often be used as nouns. This is called **substantivization**. Instead of modifying a noun (e.g., "the accused man"), the participle stands entirely on its own ("the accused"). 

Because they originally act as adjectives, **these nouns decline exactly like adjectives**. This grammar structure is extremely common in formal, journalistic, and legal contexts to describe people by their current role, state, or what has been done to them.

### Passive Participles: The Receiver

Many of these nouns are derived from passive participles, which typically end in **-ny** or **-ty**. They describe a person who has received an action. For example, *oskarżyć* means "to accuse," so the passive participle *oskarżony* acts as the noun for "the accused."

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You will see many similar terms in criminal justice and police work to describe individuals caught up in a case, such as *poszkodowany* or *pokrzywdzony* (the injured party/victim) and *zatrzymany* (the detainee).

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### Active Participles: The Doer

While passive participles describe what happens *to* someone, active participles describe what someone *does*. These end in **-ący** and describe a person actively carrying out a function or role. 

For instance, the verb *przewodniczyć* (to preside) becomes *przewodniczący*, meaning "the chairman" or "presiding judge." Similarly, *prowadzić* (to lead/host) gives us *prowadzący* (the host).

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### More States and Courtroom Roles

This pattern applies to a wide variety of legal statuses. Notice that *zmarły* (the deceased) comes from a past participle, but it functions in the exact same way, declining like a standard adjective.

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As a trial unfolds, a person's status may change, or they may be contrasted with someone else. Note how the following examples place different substantivized participles side by side. An arrested person (*aresztowany*) is contrasted with someone still wanted (*poszukiwany*), while the accused (*oskarżony*) faces the one bringing the complaint, the complainant (*skarżący*).

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Nouns from participles

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

predicative

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

This is (to jest)

The verb to be, singular (być)

Formal address (Pan, Pani)

Demonstrative pronouns (ten, ta, to)

Adjective agreement

Negation (nie)

Basic questions (czy, kto, co, gdzie, jak)

The verb to be, plural (być)

Present tense -m/-sz verbs

Reflexive verbs (się)

Coordinating conjunctions (i, a, ale)

Feminine direct objects (Accusative)

Inanimate direct objects (Accusative)

Animate masculine direct objects (Accusative)

Present tense verbs 2 (-ę, -isz / -ysz)

Expressing location (w, na)

Locative adjective agreement

Professions and nationalities (Instrumental)

Accompaniment (z + Instrumental)

Present tense verbs 3 (-ę, -esz)

Plural possessives (nasz, wasz)

Numbers 1 to 10

Genitive of possession

Genitive of negation

Lack or absence (nie ma)

Basic quantifiers (dużo, mało, trochę)

Liking things (podoba mi się)

Modal verbs (móc, musieć)

Subordinating conjunctions (bo, że)

Unidirectional motion verbs (iść, jechać)

Expressing age (mieć... lat)

Habitual motion (chodzić, jeździć)

Expressing destination (do)

Days of the week (poniedziałek, wtorek...)

Plural nouns for objects and animals

Plural nouns for people

Plural adjective agreement

Accusative object pronouns (go, ją, je...)

The past tense of to be (był)

Singular past tense (-łem, -łam...)

Expressing age (mieć + lata / lat)

Plural past tense (-li / -ły)

Perfective past tense

Future tense (będę + infinitive)

Age: one year (mieć rok)

Prices and currency (złoty, grosz)

Destination (na + accusative)

Non-masculine plurals (-e, -y, -i)

Instrumental pronouns (ze mną, z tobą)

To know (znać vs wiedzieć)

The future perfective tense

The imperative mood

Months of the year (styczeń, luty)

Greetings and farewells (dzień dobry, cześć)

Introducing yourself (mam na imię)

Thank you and sorry (dziękuję, przepraszam)

Left, right, up and down (po lewej stronie)

Parts of the body (ręka, noga)

Parts of the day (dzień, noc, południe)

What is it like? (jaki, jaka, jakie)

Speaking Polish (mówić po polsku)

Instrumental for adjectives (dobrym, dobrą)

Please do... (proszę + infinitive)

Interests (interesować się + Instrumental)

Can one? (można, trzeba, nie wolno)

By bus or by train (jechać autobusem)

Where are you from? (jestem z Polski)

Where exactly? (obok, przy, przed, za, pod, nad)

What time is it? (Która godzina?)

Not seeing her (go, jej, ich; niego, niej, nich)

When I have time (kiedy as a conjunction)

Irregular past stems (miał, mieli)

The verb 'iść' in the past (szedł, szli)

Imperfective future (będę odpoczywał)

Past aspect (robił vs zrobił)

Future aspect (będzie malował vs pomaluje)

Perfective motion with po- (pójść, pojechać)

Arrival verbs with przy- (przyjść, przyjechać)

Departure verbs with wy- (wyjść, wyjechać)

The Vocative case (Panie, Mamo)

Plural possessives (moi, moje)

Reflexive possessive pronouns (swój)

Genitive plural of masculine nouns (-ów, -y, -i)

Genitive plural of feminine and neuter nouns

Genitive plural of adjectives (-ych, -ich)

Accusative plural of masculine personal nouns

Question	Answer
accused	oskarżony
Since the accused remained silent, the judge asked about something else.	Ponieważ oskarżony milczał, sędzia zapytał o coś innego.
Why doesn't the accused look into the victim's eyes?	Dlaczego oskarżony nie patrzy w oczy ofiary?
convict	skazany
May the convict understand his mistake in prison.	Oby skazany zrozumiał swój błąd w więzieniu.
The convict finally raised his hands.	Skazany wreszcie podniósł ręce.
victim	poszkodowany
What did the injured party call the lawyer at night for?	Po co poszkodowany dzwonił do adwokata w nocy?
The injured party lost a lot of blood after the accident.	Poszkodowany stracił dużo krwi po wypadku.
injured party	pokrzywdzony
Since the victim is sick, the case will take place tomorrow.	Ponieważ pokrzywdzony jest chory, sprawa odbędzie się jutro.
Can the victim look this man in the eyes?	Czy pokrzywdzony może spojrzeć temu człowiekowi w oczy?
detainee	zatrzymany
Since the detainee was escaping, the police officer used a weapon.	Ponieważ zatrzymany uciekał, policjant użył broni.
May the detainee tell us the whole truth.	Oby zatrzymany powiedział nam całą prawdę.
host (of a TV or radio show)	prowadzący
The host opened the meeting punctually.	Prowadzący otworzył spotkanie punktualnie.
May the host know what to do.	Oby prowadzący wiedział, co robić.
The chairman asked for evidence and documents.	Przewodniczący poprosił o dowody i dokumenty.
Why did the chairman close his eyes during the speech?	Dlaczego przewodniczący zamknął oczy podczas przemówienia?
deceased	zmarły
The deceased was a known millionaire.	Zmarły był znanym milionerem.
The doctor closed the deceased's eyes.	Lekarz zamknął oczy zmarłego.
kidnapped person	porwany
Since the kidnapped person escaped, the criminal started to panic.	Ponieważ porwany uciekł, przestępca zaczął panikować.
What was the kidnapped person hiding this money in the basement for?	Po co porwany ukrywał te pieniądze w piwnicy?
acquitted	uniewinniony
The acquitted left the court.	Uniewinniony wyszedł z sądu.
May the acquitted recover his former life.	Oby uniewinniony odzyskał swoje dawne życie.
the arrested man	aresztowany
The presiding judge claims that the arrested man lied in court.	Przewodniczący twierdzi, że aresztowany kłamał w sądzie.
This is the street where the arrested man was hiding the weapon.	To jest ulica, gdzie aresztowany ukrywał broń.
the wanted man	poszukiwany
Is it possible that the wanted man is hiding abroad?	Czyżby poszukiwany ukrywał się za granicą?
The arrested man was in court, in contrast to the wanted man.	Aresztowany był w sądzie, w odróżnieniu od poszukiwanego.
the complainant	skarżący
The lawyer supposes that the complainant will reject the contract.	Adwokat przypuszcza, że skarżący odrzuci umowę.
The accused apologized in court, and the complainant forgave him his guilt.	Oskarżony przeprosił w sądzie, a skarżący wybaczył mu winę.