Genitive plural: kogo? czego?

When do you need the plural genitive?

In Polish, after nie ma (“there is/are no”), the noun is very often in the genitive.

• Jest miejsce. (There is a seat.)
• Są miejsca. (There are seats.)
• Nie ma miejsc. (There are no seats.) → genitive plural

This is why the exercises focus on forms like miejsc, wejściówek, wykonawców, nauczycieli.

How to build the genitive plural: the quick decision path

1. Decide the gender/type in plural: masculine personal vs. non-masculine-personal.
2. Pick the typical ending from the table.
3. Check the stem: sometimes the ending is “zero” (no ending) but the word still changes.

Masculine personal (men): the most common endings

Use these forms for groups of men (real people): e.g. teachers, performers.

Self-check: Are you talking about men as people? If yes, expect endings like -ów / -i / -y rather than “no ending”.

Non-masculine-personal (women, things, animals): typical endings

This group includes: feminine nouns, neuter nouns, and masculine non-personal nouns (objects).

What “Ø (zero ending)” really means

Ø does not mean “no change”. It means: no ending is added, but the word may still change.

• miejsce → miejsc (the ending disappears and the stem shortens)
• wejściówka → wejściówek (you see -ek at the end, not -a)

Tip: If the nominative ends in -a / -e, genitive plural often removes that vowel.

Common pitfalls (and how to avoid them)

• Don’t use nominative after “nie ma”.
  Nie ma miejsca. (means “There is no seat” = genitive singular, OK only if you mean one seat)
  Nie ma miejsc. (There are no seats)
• Watch “men vs. not men”.
  If the group includes at least one man and you refer to people: use masculine personal forms (e.g., wykonawców, nauczycieli).
• -i vs. -y is often spelling-driven.
  After cz, dz, rz, sz, ż you typically see -y: piosenkarz → piosenkarzy.

Mini checklist before you answer

1. Is it after nie ma? → you need genitive.
2. Is it plural? → you need genitive plural.
3. Are they men (people)? → likely -ów / -i / -y.
4. Is it feminine/neuter/thing? → often Ø, sometimes -i or -y.