Prepositions and their case requirements in B1, B2 and C1 exams

Prepositions are small, but they cost many points, because they force a specific case. It is not enough to know the word "do", "na" or "w". You also have to know whether it will be followed by the genitive (dopełniacz), accusative (biernik), instrumental case (narzędnik) or locative (miejscownik). In the exam, a mistake in a preposition often brings a second mistake with it, namely the wrong ending of a noun, adjective or pronoun. That is why this section is directly connected with cases and noun declension and with adjective and pronoun declension.

Prepositional government: what you need to check

Government is a grammatical requirement. A preposition "governs" a case, which means it tells you what form the word after it must have. We say: "do urzędu", not *do urząd. We say: "z kolegą", not *z kolega.

First ask yourself about the meaning:

• "Gdzie?" means location. The locative often appears: "w Warszawie", "na poczcie", "przy oknie". Sometimes the instrumental appears: "przed domem", "za szkołą", "między blokami".
• "Dokąd?" means direction. The accusative often appears: "na spotkanie", "w góry", "pod dom". With "do" you use the genitive: "do lekarza", "do Krakowa".
• "Skąd?" means the starting point. Usually you use the genitive: "z pracy", "od koleżanki", "ze sklepu".
• "Kiedy?" and "na jak długo?" require you to memorize whole constructions: "o siódmej", "w poniedziałek", "na miesiąc", "przez tydzień".
• "Po co?" means purpose: "po zakupy", "na badania", "do pracy", "dla dziecka".

Some prepositions have more than one government pattern. Then the case changes the meaning. "Jestem w banku" is location. "Idę w stronę parku" is direction in a fixed expression. "Książka leży na stole" is location, but "kładę książkę na stół" is direction of movement.

The most important prepositions and cases

This table does not replace practice, but it helps you quickly check what a preposition requires. It is worth learning not only the pair "preposition plus case", but the whole sentence.

Case after the preposition	Typical prepositions	Example sentence
Genitive	bez, dla, do, od, u, z, obok, podczas, w czasie	Wróciłem z Krakowa do Warszawy.
Genitive	z powodu, na skutek, wskutek, w razie, w przypadku	Wyjechali z powodu epidemii.
Dative	dzięki, przeciw, przeciwko, wbrew, ku	Wyzdrowiał dzięki dobrym lekarzom.
Accusative	na, w, o, przez, za, pod	Zapraszam cię na kolację.
Accusative	po, when it means "in order to buy or take care of something"	Idę po zakupy do sklepu.
Instrumental	z, przed, za, nad, pod, między, poza	Spotkamy się przed budynkiem.
Locative	w, na, o, po, przy	Rozmawialiśmy o tym problemie.

Watch out for "z". This preposition can mean "skąd?" and then it combines with the genitive: "Wracam z pracy". It can also mean "z kim?" or "z czym?" and then it combines with the instrumental: "Idę z koleżanką", "Piję kawę z mlekiem".

Also watch out for "po". In the sentence "Spaceruję po parku" we have the locative. In the sentence "Idę po chleb" we have the accusative, because the meaning is purpose. In the sentence "Maliny kosztują po 4 złote za kilogram" the construction expresses price or distribution.

Place, direction, time and purpose in sentences

It is best to learn prepositions (przyimki) in semantic groups. Below you have sentences that you could realistically say or write in Poland.

1. Mieszkam w Warszawie przy ulicy Pięknej.
2. Spotkajmy się na placu przy pomniku.
3. Jutro jadę do Gdańska na konferencję.
4. Po pracy pójdę po zakupy do sklepu obok apteki.
5. Czekam na autobus od dwudziestu minut.
6. Rozmawialiśmy o mieszkaniu z balkonem.
7. Przyjdę między siódmą a ósmą.
8. Rodzice przyjadą do nas na miesiąc.
9. W czasie studiów pracowałam w kawiarni.
10. Po wielu latach spotkaliśmy się w rodzinnym mieście.

In these sentences you can see several regular patterns. After "do", "od", "obok" and "w czasie" you use the genitive (dopełniacz). After "na" in the meaning of direction or purpose you use the accusative (biernik): "na konferencję", "na miesiąc". After "w" and "na" in the meaning of place you use the locative (miejscownik): "w kawiarni", "na placu". After "między" you use the instrumental case (narzędnik): "między siódmą a ósmą".

With verbs of motion it is easy to confuse direction with place. "Jestem w urzędzie" answers the question "gdzie?". "Idę do urzędu" answers the question "dokąd?". If this is difficult for you, also revise verbs of motion and prefixes.

"W" and "na" with names of places and fixed expressions

The pair "w" and "na" is one of the most common sources of mistakes. There is no single rule that explains all names of places. Some combinations have to be memorised.

We usually say "w" with names of cities, countries, buildings and rooms:

• Mieszkam w Krakowie.
• Pracuję w Polsce.
• Czekam w urzędzie.
• Dokumenty są w pokoju.

We usually say "na" with names of events, classes, open spaces and some institutions understood as places where you deal with an errand or official matter:

• Byłem na spotkaniu.
• Jestem na kursie polskiego.
• Czekam na przystanku.
• Muszę iść na pocztę.
• Studiuję na uniwersytecie.

With direction, the case often changes:

• Jestem na poczcie, ale idę na pocztę.
• Jestem w banku, ale idę do banku.
• Jestem na spotkaniu, ale jadę na spotkanie.
• Jestem w Polsce, ale jadę do Polski.

There are also fixed expressions that are not worth analysing for too long. It is better to learn them as ready-made chunks: "bez pracy", "dla kariery", "o historii Polski", "z ostatniej chwili", "do prania", "z mlekiem", "przed kolacją", "pod naciskiem", "wbrew zakazowi", "dzięki pomocy". At B2 and C1 levels, such constructions become more important because syntactic synonymy appears: "z powodu epidemii", "na skutek epidemii", "wskutek epidemii". This will also be useful in the section on conjunctions and complex sentences, because one sentence can often be replaced with a prepositional phrase.

Typical mistakes made by Ukrainian-, Russian- and English-speaking learners

Ukrainian-speaking learners

• *Jestem na pracy. Correct: "Jestem w pracy". The mistake comes from similarity to the Ukrainian expression with "na".
• *Studiuję w uniwersytecie. Correct: "Studiuję na uniwersytecie". This is a syntactic calque from Ukrainian "w uniwersytecie".
• *Idę do poczty. Correct: "Idę na pocztę". In Polish, "na pocztę" is the fixed form in this situation.
• *Dziękuję dla pani za pomoc. Correct: "Dziękuję pani za pomoc". The mistake comes from transferring a construction with the dative case (celownik) or with a preposition into a Polish sentence.

Russian-speaking learners

• *Jadę w Kraków. Correct: "Jadę do Krakowa". This is a calque from Russian direction with a preposition corresponding to Polish "w".
• *Czekam autobusu. Correct: "Czekam na autobus". In Russian, a similar meaning may not require the same preposition, while in Polish the verb "czekać" combines with "na" and the accusative case (biernik). You will find more pairs like this in the section on verb government (rekcja czasownika).
• *Rozmawialiśmy za pracę. Correct: "Rozmawialiśmy o pracy". This is a calque of colloquial East Slavic constructions with an equivalent of "za".
• *W poniedziałku mam egzamin. Correct: "W poniedziałek mam egzamin". The source of the mistake is the similarity of time expressions, but in Polish the day of the week after "w" takes the accusative.

English-speaking learners

• *Czekam dla autobusu. Correct: "Czekam na autobus". This is a calque from English "wait for". Polish does not use "dla" here.
• *To zależy na pogodzie. Correct: "To zależy od pogody". The mistake comes from English "depends on". Prepositions do not map one-to-one between English and Polish.
• *Rozmawiałem na telefonie. Correct: "Rozmawiałem przez telefon". This is a literal translation of "on the phone". In Polish you need the established construction with "przez".
• *Mieszkam na centrum. Correct: "Mieszkam w centrum". In English, one preposition can cover different situations, while in Polish you have to know the fixed combination.
• *Mówię w polskim. Correct: "Mówię po polsku". This is a calque of "in Polish". In Polish we use the construction "po polsku".

With negation, also pay attention to the genitive case (dopełniacz), because a preposition mistake can combine with a negation mistake: "Nie mam czasu", not *Nie mam czas. This topic is explained separately in the section on negation and the genitive of negation.

What this looks like on the exam

Prepositions belong to grammatical correctness, but they also appear in writing and speaking, because without them it is difficult to describe place, time, direction, purpose and relations between facts.

At B1 level, the "grammatical correctness" module has 8 tasks and lasts 45 minutes in the sample paper. The whole module is worth 30 points. One task in the sample paper consists directly of filling in prepositions from a box. There are 5 gaps worth 0.5 points each, and one preposition is not needed. Prepositions may also return in tasks on the declension of nouns, adjectives and pronouns, and in questions about the underlined part of a sentence.

At B2 level, the grammar module has 8 tasks, 60 minutes and 40 points. It is no longer only about choosing a preposition from a box. Prepositions appear in changing forms, choosing the correct construction and turning complex sentences into single clauses, for example when a sentence with "ponieważ" has to be shortened to the expression "z powodu".

At C1 level, the grammar module has 7 tasks, 60 minutes and 40 points. There are no closed tasks in the sample paper, so you have to create the forms yourself. Prepositions are important when forming adjectives from prepositional expressions, for example of the type "bezalkoholowy" or "przeciwdeszczowy", and in formal syntactic constructions.

The pass threshold applies to each module separately. Until 31 December 2026, at B1 you must obtain at least 50 percent from each written-module component and from the oral part. At B2 and C1 you must obtain at least 60 percent from each module and from the oral part. Points from modules are not added together into an average, so weak grammar can determine the result of the entire exam.

What to review before the exam

Before the exam, review especially:

• prepositions with the genitive (dopełniacz): "do", "od", "z", "bez", "dla", "obok", "w czasie";
• prepositions with the dative (celownik): "dzięki", "przeciw", "przeciwko", "wbrew", "ku";
• the difference between place and direction: "w banku" and "do banku", "na poczcie" and "na pocztę";
• the difference between "z pracy" and "z koleżanką";
• time constructions: "o siódmej", "w poniedziałek", "na miesiąc", "przez tydzień";
• fixed expressions: "z powodu", "na skutek", "w razie", "w przypadku", "pod naciskiem";
• prepositions after verbs: "czekać na", "pytać o", "prosić o", "rozmawiać o", "walczyć z" or "walczyć o", depending on the meaning.

The best method is to write down whole sentences. A preposition by itself, without a noun, rarely helps. A sentence shows both the case and the situation in which a given construction really works.