In short

In Polish an adjective must match the noun it describes in three things at once: gender, number and case. This matching is called agreement (Polish związek zgody). So the same adjective “good” looks different in dobry student (a good student), dobra książka (a good book) and dobre dziecko (a good child). Once you know the noun’s gender and case, the adjective ending is fully predictable, so a small set of endings covers everything.

The rule

An adjective is a word that answers jaki? jaka? jakie? (what kind of? / which?) - for example nowy (new), mały (small), dobry (good), polski (Polish). It never stands on its own grammar: it copies the noun.

Agreement in gender, number and case

When you attach an adjective to a noun, you read off three properties of the noun and give the adjective the matching ending:

• Gender - masculine, feminine or neuter (in the singular).
• Number - singular or plural.
• Case - nominative, accusative, instrumental, etc. (Lessons 4, 9, 10 and later).

So dobry changes with the noun: dobry student (masc.), dobra studentka (fem.), dobre dziecko (neut.). The adjective and its noun form one unit that moves through the cases together.

Reading the citation ending

Dictionaries give an adjective in the masculine nominative singular, which ends in -y or -i:

• -y after most consonants: nowy (new), mały (small), dobry (good).
• -i after k, g and after soft stems: polski (Polish), drogi (dear/expensive), tani (cheap).

From that citation form you can build every other ending.

Hard vs. soft stems (the -y/-i split)

The choice between -y and -i in an ending is not free - it follows the stem’s final consonant. After k and g you can never write y, so you get -i (polski, drogi) and, in the feminine/neuter plural, -ie rather than -e. This is the same spelling rule you met for nouns: k, g dislike y and e.

Position

The default position is before the noun: nowy samochód (a new car). A following adjective usually marks a fixed type or category: język polski (the Polish language), scyzoryk szwajcarski (a Swiss army knife). At A1 the neutral choice is adjective before noun.

Forms & patterns

Nominative singular and plural (the base agreement)

The plural has only two genders: masculine personal (męskoosobowy / virile - a group that includes a male human) and everything else (niemęskoosobowy / non-virile). See Lesson 30.

Note the softening in the masculine personal plural: nowy -> nowi, mały -> mali, dobry -> dobrzy, polski -> polscy, drogi -> drodzy.

Full singular declension - hard stem (nowy, “new”)

The masculine accusative copies the genitive (nowego) for animate nouns but the nominative (nowy) for inanimate ones - exactly the rule you saw for nouns in Lesson 9. The feminine accusative and instrumental share the ending -ą: nową (widzę nową książkę - I see a new book; z nową książką - with a new book).

Full singular declension - velar/soft stem (polski, “Polish”)

The only difference from nowy is that k/g force -i- and -ie where a hard stem has -y- and -e (polskie, not polske; polski, not polsky).

Examples

Common mistakes

• dobry książka -> dobra książka - the adjective must take the feminine ending to match książka.
• nowe samochód -> nowy samochód - a masculine noun needs masculine -y, not neuter -e.
• polske jedzenie -> polskie jedzenie - after k you must write -ie, never -e.
• widzę dobra książkę -> widzę dobrą książkę - in the accusative the adjective takes -ą just like the noun; keep the whole unit in one case.
• dobre studenci -> dobrzy studenci - a group of male humans is masculine personal, so the adjective takes -i with the r -> rz softening.
• z nowy dom -> z nowym domem - after a preposition the adjective changes case too, not only the noun.

Tips

• Learn each new adjective in its masculine nominative form (nowy, dobry, polski) - all other endings grow from it.
• Say the adjective and noun together as one chunk: dobra książka, mały pies. If the noun moves to another case, move the adjective with it.
• The -i/-ie endings (not -y/-e) are the giveaway of a k/g stem: polski, drogi, wysoki -> polskie, drogie, wysokie.
• Neuter singular and non-virile plural share the ending -e (nowe okno, nowe okna, nowe domy) - a handy overlap.
• The masculine personal plural (nowi, mili, dobrzy, polscy) is the one form worth drilling, because it triggers consonant softening.
• Ask jaki? jaka? jakie? to find the right gender ending, then apply the noun’s case.