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A2 · Basics · Lesson 11

Numbers, time & days

The number changes the case of the noun after it.

Counting has a famous twist: the number decides the form of the following noun. One takes the plain noun, two-to-four take a plural, and five and up take the genitive plural — and that pattern repeats for every later 2-4 and 5+.

NumberNoun formExample
1nominativejeden bilet
2, 3, 4nominative pluraltrzy bilety
5 and upgenitive pluralpięć biletów
22, 23, 24like 2–4dwadzieścia trzy bilety
0 zero 1 jeden 2 dwa 3 trzy 4 cztery 5 pięć 6 sześć 7 siedem 8 osiem 9 dziewięć 10 dziesięć
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Mam dwa bilety.
I have two tickets.
To kosztuje pięć złotych.
It costs five zloty.
Spotkajmy się o piątej.
Let's meet at five.
Jest godzina trzecia.
It's three o'clock.
Mam dwadzieścia lat.
I'm twenty years old.
🧠 Tactic — Learn one noun as a trio — bilet / bilety / biletów (1 / 2–4 / 5+) — then copy the shape onto every other noun.
⚠️ Watch out — 11–14 behave like '5+', taking the genitive plural: trzynaście biletów. Only a final 2, 3 or 4 triggers the plain plural.

Quick check

Which is correct?

5 and up take the genitive plural.

How do you say 'three'?

trzy = three.

Practice

Now produce the answers yourself — type them, choose the form, or build the sentence.

pięć ___ (bilet)

5+ → genitive plural.

trzy ___ (bilet)

2–4 → plural.

dwa ___ (kot)

Say: I have two tickets.

Build the sentence — tap the words in order:

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