Dwa metry, pięć metrów: the noun after the number
After a number the noun changes shape. English only adds -s; Polish has three patterns. For example: “Zamówiłem dwa kilogramy ziemniaków i pół litra śmietany” — I ordered two kilograms of potatoes and half a litre of cream. A rule from the Polish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
After a number the noun changes shape. English only adds -s; Polish has three patterns.
With jeden the noun stays as in the dictionary: jeden metr, jedna minuta, jedno pytanie. With dwa, trzy, cztery it takes the ordinary plural: dwa metry, trzy kilometry, cztery litry.
From five up the noun takes the of-form plural, the shape it has after a lot of: pięć metrów, dziesięć minut. So it's trzy metry but sześć metrów, and you will hear this in every shop.
Men are counted with forms of their own: dwaj panowie, pięciu studentów. For now it is enough to recognise them. Half takes the of-form singular: pół litra, pół godziny.
Table
| Number | Example | Which case | Another example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | jeden metr | dictionary form | jedna minuta |
| 2 | dwa metry | ordinary plural | dwa kilogramy |
| 3 | trzy kilometry | ordinary plural | trzy pytania |
| 4 | cztery litry | ordinary plural | cztery godziny |
| 5 | pięć metrów | of-form plural | pięć minut |
| 20 | dwadzieścia minut | of-form plural | sto punktów |
| half | pół litra | of-form singular | pół godziny |
| people | pięciu studentów | personal masculine | dwaj panowie |
By example
- Zamówiłem dwa kilogramy ziemniaków i pół litra śmietanyI ordered two kilograms of potatoes and half a litre of cream
- Pięć minut, trzy telefony, cztery pytaniaFive minutes, three phones, four questions
- Pokój ma sześć metrów długości i trzy metry szerokościThe room is six metres long and three metres wide
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Dwa metry, pięć metrów: how does it work in Polish?
After a number the noun changes shape. English only adds -s; Polish has three patterns.
What does it look like in a Polish example sentence?
“Zamówiłem dwa kilogramy ziemniaków i pół litra śmietany” — I ordered two kilograms of potatoes and half a litre of cream. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.