Silesian grammar

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The grammar of the Silesian language is characterized by a high degree of inflection, and has relatively free word order, although the dominant arrangement is subject–verb–object (SVO). There commonly are no articles, and there is frequent dropping of subject pronouns. Distinctive features include the different treatment of masculine personal nouns in the plural, and the complex grammar of numerals and quantifiers.

Regular morphological alternation

Silesian exhibits regular consonant and vowel alteration that can be found across Slavic languages and more specifically Lechitic languages. These include the Slavic palatalizations, as well as vowel alterations result from historic "pochylone" or "slanted" vowels, which were the result from historically long vowels.

Nouns

Silesian retains the Slavic system of cases for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives. There are seven cases: nominative (mianownik), genitive (dopołniŏcz), dative (cylownik), accusative (biernik), vocative (wołŏcz), locative (miyjscownik), and instrumental (nŏrzyndnik).

Number

Silesian has two number classes: singular and plural.

A few nouns display irregularities resulting from a fossilized dual form, namely in:

  • body parts that naturally come in pairs have synchronically irregular plural and other forms
    • ôko ("eye") – pl. ôczy
    • rynka ("hand, arm") – pl. rynce
    • ucho ("ear") – pl. uszy

Gender

Silesian, like other Lechitic languages, has three genders in the singular (masculine mynski, feminine żyński, and neuter nijaki). The masculine gender can be divided into three subgenders, masculine personal (mynski ôsobowy), masculine animal (mynski zwierzyncy), and masculine inanimate (mynski rzeczowy). "Tantum plurale" or "plural only" nouns can be divided into virile (mynskoôsobowego) and non-virile (niymynskoôsobowego).

The following tables show this distinction using as examples the nouns syn 'son' (masc. personal), ptŏk 'bird' (masc. animate), cios 'hit, blow' (masc. inanimate), drōga 'road' (feminine), ciasto 'cake' (neuter). The following table presents examples of how a determiner tyn/ta/to ("this") agrees with nouns of different genders in the nominative and the accusative, both singular and plural. Adjectives inflect similarly to this determiner.

singular plural
nom. acc. nom. acc.
masculine personal tyn syn

tyn ptŏk

tyn cios

tego syna

tego ptŏka

ci synowie tych synōw
animate te psy

te ciosy

te drōgi

te ciasta

inanimate tyn cios
feminine ta drōga tã drōgã
neuter to ciasto

For verbs, the distinction is only important for past forms in the plural, as in the table below:

singular plural
masculine personal syn leżoł

ptŏk leżoł

cios leżoł

synowie leżeli
animate ptŏki leżały

ciosy leżały

drōgi leżały

ciasta leżały

inanimate
feminine drōga leżała
neuter ciasto leżało

The numeral dwa ("two"), on the other hand, behaves differently, merging masculine non-personal with neuter, but not with feminine:

plural
nom. acc.
masculine personal dwa synowie dwōch synōw
animate dwa ptŏki

dwa ciosy

dwa ciasta

inanimate
neuter
feminine dwie drōgi

Gender can usually be inferred from the ending of a noun.

Masculine:

  • masculine nouns typically end in a consonant
  • some nouns, describing people, end in -a, specifically:
    • all nouns ending in -sta, equivalent to English "-ist", e.g. gardzista ("guardsman")

Feminine:

  • feminine nouns typically end in -a
  • some nouns end in a soft or hardened consonant:
    • all abstract nouns ending in -ść, e.g. miyłość ("love")
    • some concrete nouns ending in -ść: kiść ("bunch")
    • -c: moc ("power"), noc ("night")
    • -cz rzecz ("thing")
    • -ć: płeć ("sex, gender")
    • -dź: łōdź ("boat")
    • -j: kolyj ("railway")
    • -l: myśl ("thought")
    • -ń: jesiyń ("autumn, fall")
    • -rz: twŏrz ("face")
    • -sz: mysz ("mouse")
    • -ś: gynś ("goose")
    • -ź: gałōńź ("branch")
    • -ż: modziyż ("youth")
    • -w: krew ("blood")
  • words ending in -niŏ and -ni are feminine, e.g. boginiŏ ("goddess"); also pani ("Mrs")

Neuter:

  • neuter nouns typically end in -o
  • verbal nouns, which are always neuter, end in -e, e.g. robiynie etc.
  • Baby animals ending in -ã are always neuter, e.g. cielã ("calf")
  • Latin loanwords ending in -um : invariable in the singular, declinable in the plural by removing the -um ending and replacing it by neuter plural endings ; the genitive plural is in -ōw contrary to other neuters that have no ending → muzeum, muzea (N. pl.), muzeōw (G. pl.)

Semantic membership

The distinction between personal, animate and inanimate nouns within masculine nouns is largely semantic, although not always.

Personal nouns are comprised by human nouns such as 'man' or chop 'man'.

Animate nouns are largely comprised by animals such as pies ("dog"), many members from other life domains, as well as a number of objects associated with human activity. On the morphological level however, such nouns are only partially similar to animate nouns, having their accusative identical to their genitive only in the singular.

Masculine personal nouns can be "downgraded" to masculine animate nouns, called the deprecative form.

  • Synowie szli → syny szły (sons were walking).

Plants and objects ending in a consonant are masculine inanimate.

Declension

Declensions are generally divided into hard and soft declensions. Soft declensions are used when the stem of the noun ends in a soft (postalveolar or palatal-like) consonant in all forms, while hard declensions are used by nouns with stems ending in a hard consonant in some (but not necessarily all) forms.

The following generalizations can be made for the inflection of all nouns:

  • The nominative and vocative plural are always identical.
  • For neuter nouns, the nominative, accusative and vocative are always identical in both singular and plural.
  • The accusative of masculine nouns is identical to either the nominative or the genitive.
  • The locative, dative and instrumental plural almost always have the same endings (-ach, -ōm, -ami/-ōma) no matter how the noun is declined. The form -ōma is used mostly in the north-western part of Silesia.

Declension I

This group comprises nouns ending in -a and -ŏ. This is predominantly feminine nouns, with a few masculine nouns (in the singular).

Class 1
Hard declension Soft declension
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative (mianownik) gŏdka, poeta gŏdki, poety/poeci kuźnia, granica kuźnie, granice
Genitive (dopołniŏcz) gŏdki, poety gŏdek∅, poetōw kuźnie, granice kuźniōw/kuźni, granic∅
Dative (cylownik) gŏdce, poecie godkōm, poetōm kuźni, granicy kuźniōm, granicōm
Accusative (biernik) gŏdkã, poety/poetã gŏdki, poetōw kuźniã, granicã kuźnie, granice
Vocative (wołŏcz) gŏdko, poeto gŏdki, poety/poeci kuźnio, granico kuźnie, granice
Locative (miyjscownik) gŏdce, poecie gŏdkach, poetach kuźni, granicy kuźniach, granicach
Instrumental (nŏrzyndnik) gŏdkōm, poetōm gŏdkami/gŏdkōma, poetami/poetōma kuźniōm, granicōm kuźniami/kuźniōma, granicami/granicōma
Class 2
-ijŏ -yjŏ -ŏ
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative (mianownik) armijŏ armije historyjŏ historyje mszŏ msze
Genitive (dopołniŏcz) armije armijōw historyje historyjōw msz'y/msze mszōw
Dative (cylownik) armiji armijōm historyji historyjōm mszy mszōm
Accusative (biernik) armijõ armije historyjõ historyje mszõ msze
Vocative (wołŏcz) armijo armije historyjo historyje mszo msze
Locative (miyjscownik) armiji armijach historyji historyjach mszy mszach
Instrumental (nŏrzyndnik) armijōm armijami/armijōma historyjōm historyjami/historyjōma mszōm mszami/mszōma

[1]

Declension II

This group comprises nouns ending in -o, -e, and -ã. This group is comprised without exception of neuter nouns.

Class 1
Hard declension Soft declension
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative (mianownik) gniŏzdo, pole gniŏzda, pola czytanie, życie czytania, życia
Genitive (dopołniŏcz) gniŏzda, pola gniŏzd∅/gniŏzdōw, pōl∅ czytaniŏ, życiŏ czytań∅, żyć∅
Dative (cylownik) gniŏzdu, polu gniŏzdōm, polōm czytaniy, życiu czytaniōm, życiōm
Accusative (biernik) gniŏzdo, pole gniŏzda, pola czytanie, życie czytania, życia
Vocative (wołŏcz) gniŏzdo, polo gniŏzdy, poly czytanio, życio czytanie, życie
Locative (miyjscownik) gniŏździe, polu gniŏzdach, polach czytaniu, życiu czytaniach, życiach
Instrumental (nŏrzyndnik) gniŏzdym, polym gniŏzdami/gniŏzdōma, polami/polōma czytaniym, życiym czytaniami/czytaniōma, życiami/życiōma

[2]

Class 2
-t- stems -n- stems
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative (mianownik) cielã cielynta ramiã ramiōna
Genitive (dopołniŏcz) cielyncia cielynt∅ ramiynia ramiōn∅
Dative (cylownik) cielynciu cielyntōm ramiyniu ramiōnōm
Accusative (biernik) cielã cielynta ramiã ramiōna
Vocative (wołŏcz) cielã cielynta ramiã ramiōna
Locative (miyjscownik) cielynciu cielyntach ramiyniu ramiōnach
Instrumental (nŏrzyndnik) cielynciym cielyntami/cielyntōma ramiyniym ramiōnami/ramiōnōma

[3]

Declension III

This group comprises nouns ending in consonants and have -u or -a in the genitive singular. This pattern is exclusively masculine nouns, including masculine person, animal, and inanimate.

Class 1

Hard stems

Masculine personal Masculine animal
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative (mianownik) bajtel∅ bajtle kot∅ koty
Genitive (dopołniŏcz) bajtla bajtli/bajtlōw kota kotōw
Dative (cylownik) bajtlowi bajtlōm kotu kotōm
Accusative (biernik) bajtla bajtli/bajtlōw kota koty
Vocative (wołŏcz) bajtlu bajtle kocie koty
Locative (miyjscownik) bajtlu bajtlach kocie kotach
Instrumental (nŏrzyndnik) bajtlym bajtlami/bajtlōma kotym kotami/kotōma

[3]

Soft stems

Masculine personal Masculine animal
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative (mianownik) złodziyj∅ złodzieje kōń∅ kōnie
Genitive (dopołniŏcz) złodzieja złodzieji/złodziejōw kōnia kōni
Dative (cylownik) złodziejowi złodziejōm kōniowi kōniōm
Accusative (biernik) złodzieja złodziejōw kōnia kōnie
Vocative (wołŏcz) złodzieju złodzieje kōniu kōnie
Locative (miyjscownik) złodzieju złodziejach kōniu kōniach
Instrumental (nŏrzyndnik) złodziejym złodziejami/złodziejōma kōniym kōniami/kōniōma

[3]

Class 2

Hard stems

Masculine inanimate
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative (mianownik) gniyw∅ gniywy ancug∅ ancugi
Genitive (dopołniŏcz) gniywu gniywōw ancuga ancugōw
Dative (cylownik) gniywowi gniywōm ancugowi ancugōm
Accusative (biernik) gniyw∅ gniywy ancug∅ ancugi
Vocative (wołŏcz) gniywie gniywy ancugu ancugi
Locative (miyjscownik) gniywie gniywach ancugu ancugach
Instrumental (nŏrzyndnik) gniywym gniywami/gniywōma ancugiym ancugami/ancugōma

[4]

Soft stems

Masculine inanimate
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative (mianownik) grzebiyn∅ grzebiynie kafyj∅ kafyje
Genitive (dopołniŏcz) grzebiynia grzebiynii kafyju kafyjōw
Dative (cylownik) grzebiyniowi grzebiyniōm kafyjowi kafyjōm
Accusative (biernik) grzebiyń∅ grzebiynie kafyj∅ kafyje
Vocative (wołŏcz) grzebiyniu grzebiynie kafyju kafyje
Locative (miyjscownik) grzebiyniu grzebiyniach kafyju kafyjach
Instrumental (nŏrzyndnik) grzebiyniym grzebiyniami/grzebiyniōma kafyjym kafyjami/kafyjōma

[4]

Declension IV

This group comprises nouns ending in -∅ have -i/-y or -e in the genitive singular. This is exclusively feminine nouns.

Soft declension
Singular Plural
Nominative (mianownik) jakość∅, jesiyń∅, mysz∅, krew∅ jakości, jesiynie, myszy, krwie
Genitive (dopołniŏcz) jakości, jesiyni, mysz∅, krwie jakości, jesiyni, myszy, krwi
Dative (cylownik) jakości, jesiyni, myszy, krwi jakościōm, jesiyniōm, myszōm, krwiōm
Accusative (biernik) jakość∅, jesiyń∅, mysz∅, krew∅ jakości, jesiynie, myszy, krwie
Vocative (wołŏcz) jakości, jesiyni, myszy, krwi jakości, jesiynie, myszy, krwie
Locative (miyjscownik) jakości, jesiyni, myszy, krwi jakościach, jesiyniach, myszach, krwiach
Instrumental (nŏrzyndnik) jakościōm, jesiyniōm, myszōm, krwiōm jakościami/jakościōma, jesiyniami/jesiyniōma, myszami/myszōma, krwiami/krwiōma

[4]

Declension V

This group comprises nouns with adjectival declension, and can be masculine or feminine, taking the appropriate gender ending. See adjectives and adverbs.

Declension VI

This group comprises nouns ending in -um in the singular and neuter declensions in the plural. Nouns in this group are neuter.

Class I
Soft declension
Singular Plural
Nominative (mianownik) muzeum∅, cyntrum∅ muzea, cyntra
Genitive (dopołniŏcz) muzeum∅, cyntrum∅ muzeōw, cyntrōw
Dative (cylownik) muzeum∅, cyntrum∅ muzeōm, cyntrōm
Accusative (biernik) muzeum∅, cyntrum∅ muzea, cyntra
Vocative (wołŏcz) muzeum∅, cyntrum∅ muzea, cyntra
Locative (miyjscownik) muzeum∅, cyntrum∅ muzeach, cyntrach
Instrumental (nŏrzyndnik) muzeum∅, cyntrum∅ muzeami/muzeōma, cyntrami/cyntrōma

[5]

Class 2
Soft declension
Plural
Nominative (mianownik) pleca, bryle, spodniŏki, galŏty
Genitive (dopołniŏcz) plecōw/plyc∅, bryli/brylōw, spodniŏkōw, galŏt∅/galŏtōw
Dative (cylownik) plecōm, brylōm, spodniŏkōm, galŏtōm
Accusative (biernik) pleca, bryle, spodniŏki, galŏty
Vocative (wołŏcz) pleca, bryle, spodniŏki, galŏty
Locative (miyjscownik) plecach, brylach, spodniŏkach, galŏtach
Instrumental (nŏrzyndnik) plecami/plecōma, brylami/brylōma, spodniŏkami/spodniŏkōma, galŏtami/galŏtōma

[5]

Adjectives and adverbs

Adjectives agree with the noun they modify in terms of gender, number and case. In the nominative masculine virile plural the stem undergoes a softening change, e.g.

  1. -ry → -rzi
  2. -ki → -cy
  3. -gi → -dzy
  4. -ty → -ci
  5. -dy → -dzi
  6. -ny → -ni

Class 1

Hard stems

Case Singular number Plural number
Masculine animate
mynski ôsobowy 		Masculine inanimate
mynski rzeczowy 		Neuter
nijaki 		Feminine
żyński 		Masculine personal
mynskoôsobowy 		Not masculine personal
niymynskoôsobowy,
i.e. masculine impersonal,
feminine, and neutral
Nominative (mianownik) chory chore chorŏ chorzi chore
Vocative (wołŏcz)
Accusative (biernik) chorego chory chorõ chorych
Instrumental (nŏrzyndnik) chorym chorōm chorymi
Locative (miyjscownik) choryj chorych
Genitive (dopołniŏcz) chorego
Dative (cylownik) chorymu chorym

[6]

Class 2

Soft stems

Case Singular number Plural number
Masculine animate
mynski ôsobowy 		Masculine inanimate
mynski rzeczowy 		Neuter
nijaki 		Feminine
żyński 		Masculine personal
mynskoôsobowy 		Not masculine personal
niymynskoôsobowy,
i.e. masculine impersonal,
feminine, and neutral
Nominative (mianownik) wysoki wysokie wysokŏ wysocy wysokie
Vocative (wołŏcz)
Accusative (biernik) wysokigo wysoki wysokõ wysokich
Instrumental (nŏrzyndnik) wysokim wysokōm wysokimi
Locative (miyjscownik) wysokij wysokich
Genitive (dopołniŏcz) wysokigo
Dative (cylownik) wysokimu wysokim

[7]

Most short non-relational adjectives have a comparative form in -szy or -iejszy, (e.g. dugy → dugszy and a superlative obtained by prefixing noj- to the comparative (e.g. dugszy → nojdugszy. For adjectives that do not have these forms, the words barzij ("more") and nojbarzij ("most") are used before the adjective to make comparative and superlative phrases.

Adverbs are formed from adjectives with the ending ie, or in some cases -o (e.g. dugi → dugo. Comparatives of adverbs are formed (where they exist) with the ending -(i)yj (e.g. dugo → dużyj). Superlatives have the prefix noj- as for adjectives (dużyj → nojdużyj).

Pronouns

The personal pronouns of Silesian (nominative forms) are jŏ ("I"), ty ("you", singular, familiar), ŏn ("he", or "it" corresponding to masculine nouns), ŏna ("she", or "it" corresponding to feminine nouns), ŏno ("it" corresponding to neuter nouns), my ("we"), wy ("you", plural, familiar), ŏni (virile "they" – see Noun syntax below), ŏne (non-virile "they").

The polite second-person pronouns are the same as the nouns pōn ("gentleman, Mr"), pani ("lady, Mrs") and their plurals panowie, panie. The mixed-sex plural is państwo. All second-person pronouns are often capitalized for politeness, in letters etc.

Case Singular Plural
1st 2nd 3rd 1st 2nd 3rd
fam. polite masc. neut. fem. fam. polite masc.

pers.

non-

masc.

masc. fem. masc. epic. fem.
Nominative/vocative (mianownik/wołŏcz) jŏ ty pōn pani ôn ôno ôna my wy panowie państwo panie ôni ône
Genitive (dopołniŏcz) mie ciebie/ciã/cie pana pani ônego/niego/(je)go ônego/niego/(je)go ônyj/nij/jij nŏs wŏs panów państwa pań ônych/(n)ich ônych/(n)ich
Dative (cylownik) mie mi ciebie ci panu panowi pani ônymu/niymu/(jy)mu ônymu/niymu/(jy)mu ônyj nij jij nōm wōm panōm państwie paniōm ônym/(n)im ônym/(n)im
Accusative (biernik) mie ciebie/ciã/cie pana pani ônego/niego/(je)go ônego/niego/(je)go jōm niã nŏs wŏs panōw państwo panie ônym/nim ônym/nim
Locative (miyjscownik) mie ciebie panie pani ônym/nim ônym/nim ônyj/nij nŏs wŏs panach państwie paniach ônych/nich ônych/nich
Instrumental (nŏrzyndnik) mnōm tobōm panym paniōm ônym/nim ônym/nim niōm nami wami panami/panōma państwym paniami/paniōma ônymi nimi ônymi nimi

[7]

There may be a form beginning with n-, used after prepositions. Short clitic forms (i.e. mu) might be used in unstressed positions.

The reflexive pronoun for all persons and numbers is siebie, sie, siã.

Case
reflexive siebie/sie/siã.
Nominative/vocative (mianownik/wołŏcz) —
Genitive (dopołniŏcz) siebie / sie / siã
Dative (cylownik) sobie
Accusative (biernik) siebie / sie / siã
Locative (miyjscownik) sobie
Instrumental (nŏrzyndnik) sobōm

The possessive adjectives (also used as possessive pronouns) derived from the personal pronouns are mōj, twōj, jego (m., n.)/[jij (f.); nasz, wasz, ich. There is also a reflexive possessive swōj. The polite second-person pronouns have possessives identical to the genitives of the corresponding nouns.

The demonstrative pronoun, also used as a demonstrative adjective, is tyn (feminine ta, neuter to, masculine personal plural ci, other plural te). The distal demonstrative pronoun is tamtyn.

Interrogative pronouns are fto ("who") and co ("what"); these also provide the pronouns ftoś/coś ("someone/something"), nikt/nic ("no one/nothing").

The usual relative pronouns are kery, chtory, and ftory (which, which one; that) (declined like an adjective).

The pronoun and adjective wszystek means "all". It is used most commonly in the plural wszyjscy ("everyone"), and in the neuter singular (wszyjsko) to mean "everything". The pronoun and adjective każdy means "each, every", while żŏdyn means "no, none".

Numbers and quantifiers

Silesian has a complex system of numerals and related quantifiers, with special rules for their inflection, for the case of the governed noun, and for verb agreement with the resulting noun phrase.

The base numbers are as follows:

  1. Zero – zero or nul
  2. One – jedyn
  3. Two – dwa
  4. Three – trzi
  5. Four – sztyry
  6. Five – piyńć
  7. Six – szejś
  8. Seven – siedym
  9. Eight – ôziym
  10. Nine – dziewiyńć
  11. Ten – dziesiyńć
  12. Eleven – jedynŏście
  13. Twelve – dwanŏście
  14. Thirteen – trzinŏście
  15. Fourteen – sztyrnŏście
  16. Fifteen – piytnŏście
  17. Sixteen – szesnŏście
  18. Seventeen – siedymnŏście
  19. Eighteen – ôziymnŏście
  20. Nineteen – dziewiytnŏście
  21. Twenty – dwadzieścia
  22. Thirty – trzidzieści
  23. Forty – sztyrdzieści
  24. Fifty – piyńćdziesiōnt
  25. Sixty – szejśdziesiōnt
  26. Seventy – siedymdziesiōnt
  27. Eighty – ôziymdziesiōnt
  28. Ninety – dziewiyńćdziesiōnt
  29. One hundred – sto
  30. Two hundred – dwieście
  31. Three hundred – trzista
  32. Four hundred – sztyrysta
  33. Five hundred – piyńćset
  34. Six hundred – szejśset
  35. Seven hundred – siedymset
  36. Eight hundred – ôziymset
  37. Nine hundred – dziewiyńćset
  38. One thousand – tysiōnc or tauzyn, which is treated as a noun (as thousand is dwa tysiōnce/tauzyny, literally "two thousands").
  39. Million – milijōn, also a noun.
  40. Billion (short scale), milliard (long scale) – milijard
  41. Trillion (short scale), billion (long scale) – bilijōn
  42. Quadrillion (short scale), billiard (long scale) – bilijard

Compound numbers are constructed similarly as in English (for example, 91,234 is dziewiyńćdziesiōnt jedyn tysiyncy/tauzynōw dwieście trzidzieści sztyry). The numeral jedyn (1) behaves as an ordinary adjective, and no special rules apply. It can even be used in the plural, for example to mean "some" (and not others), or to mean "one" with pluralia tantum, e.g. jedne dźwiyrze "one door" (dźwiyrze has no singular). After the numerals dwa, trzi, sztyry (2, 3, 4), and compound numbers ending with them (22, 23, 24, etc. but not 12, 13, or 14, which take -nŏście as a suffix and are thus not compound numbers in the first place), the noun is plural and takes the same case as the numeral, and the resulting noun phrase is plural (e.g. 4 koty stały, "4 cats stood"). With other numbers (5, 6, etc., 20, 21, 25, etc.), if the numeral is nominative or accusative, the noun takes the genitive plural form, and the resulting noun phrase is neuter singular (e.g. 5 kotōw stało, "5 cats stood"). With the masculine personal plural forms of numbers (as given in the morphology article section), the rule given above – that if the numeral is nominative or accusative, the noun is genitive plural and the resulting phrase is neuter singular – applies to all numbers other than 1 (as in trzech chopōw prziszło, "three men came"). If the numeral is in the genitive, dative, instrumental or locative, the noun takes the same case as the numeral (except sometimes in the case of numbers that end with the nouns for 1000 and higher quantities, which often take a genitive noun regardless since they are treated as normal nouns).

Certain quantifiers behave similarly to numerals. These include kilka ("several"), ("a few") and wiele ("much, many"), which behave like numbers above 5 in terms of the noun cases and verb forms taken.

Quantifiers that always take the genitive of nouns include dużo ("much, many"), mało ("few, little"), wiyncyj ("more"), mynij ("less") (also nojwiyncyj/nojmynij "most/least"), trochã ("a bit").

The words ôba and ôbydwa (meaning "both"), and their derived forms behave like dwa.

Verbs

Silesian verbs have the grammatical category of aspect. Each verb is either imperfective, meaning that it denotes continuous or habitual events, or perfective, meaning that it denotes single completed events (in particular, perfective verbs have no present tense). Verbs often occur in imperfective and perfective pairs – for example, czytać and przeczytać both mean "to read", but the first has imperfective aspect, the second perfective.

Ôn czytoł ksiōnżkã. → "He was reading a book."
Ôn przeczytoł ksiōnżkã. → "He read a book."

Imperfective verbs have three tenses: present, past and future, the last being a compound tense (except in the case of być "to be"). Perfective verbs have a past tense and a simple future tense, the latter formed on the same pattern as the present tense of imperfective verbs. Both types also have imperative and conditional forms. The dictionary form of a verb is the infinitive, which usually ends with -ć and occasionally with -c, -ś, or -ź.

The present tense of imperfective verbs (and future tense of perfective verbs) has six forms, for the three persons and two numbers. There are eight main conjugation patterns.

Conjugation I

Conjugation I
Singular Plural
Person Masculine Feminine Neuter Virile Nonvirile
infinitive -ać
present tense 1st -ōm -ōmy
2nd -ŏsz -ŏcie
3rd -ŏ -ajōm

[8]

Conjugation II

Conjugation II
Singular Plural
Person Masculine Feminine Neuter Virile Nonvirile
infinitive -ać
present tense 1st -ã -ymy
2nd -esz -ecie
3rd -e -ōm

[8]

Conjugation III

Conjugation III
Singular Plural
Person Masculine Feminine Neuter Virile Nonvirile
infinitive -eć
present tense 1st -ã -ymy
2nd -isz/-ysz -icie/-ycie
3rd -i/-y -ōm

[9]

Conjugation IV

Conjugation IV
Singular Plural
Person Masculine Feminine Neuter Virile Nonvirile
infinitive -eć
present tense 1st -ejã -ejymy
2nd -ejesz -ejecie
3rd -eje -ejōm

[10]

Conjugation V

Conjugation V
Singular Plural
Person Masculine Feminine Neuter Virile Nonvirile
infinitive -eć
present tense 1st -ã -ymy
2nd -isz/-ysz -icie/-ycie
3rd -i/-y -ōm

[10]

Conjugation VI

Conjugation VI
Singular Plural
Person Masculine Feminine Neuter Virile Nonvirile
infinitive -ować
present tense 1st -ujã -ujymy
2nd -ujesz -ujecie
3rd -uje -ujōm

[11]

Conjugation VII

Conjugation VII
Singular Plural
Person Masculine Feminine Neuter Virile Nonvirile
infinitive -nōnć/-nyć
present tense 1st -ã -nymy
2nd -niesz -niecie
3rd -nie -nōm

[11]

Conjugation VIII

Conjugation VIII
Singular Plural
Person Masculine Feminine Neuter Virile Nonvirile
infinitive -ź/-ś/-c/-ć
present tense 1st -ã -ymy
2nd -esz -ecie
3rd -e -ōm

[12]

Być (to be)

być conjugation (irregular imperfective)
Singular Plural
Person Masculine Feminine Neuter Virile Nonvirile
Infinitive być
present tense 1st je żech my sōm/mychmy sōm
2nd je żeś sōm żeście
3rd je sōm
past tense 1st bōł żech/żech bōł była żech/byłach/żech była było żech/żech było byli my/my byli były my/my były
2nd bōł żeś/żeś bōł była żeś/byłaś/żeś była było żeś/żeś było byliście/żeście byli byłyście/żeście były
3rd bōł była było byli były
future tense 1st bydã bydymy
2nd bydziesz bydziecie
3rd bydzie bydōm
conditional 1st bych bōł bych była bych było by my byli/bychmy byli byście byli
2nd byś bōł byś była byś było byście byli byście były
3rd by bōł by była by było by byli by były
imperative 1st niych bydã bydźmy
2nd bydź bydźcie
3rd niych bydzie niych bydōm
active adjectival participle bydōncy bydōncŏ bydōnce bydōncy bydōnce
contemporary adverbial participle bydōnc
verbal noun bycie

[13]

Past tense

The past tense agrees with the subject in gender as well as person and number. The basic past stem is in -ł; to this are added endings for gender and number, and then personal endings are further added for the first and second person forms.

Simple past tense

Past tense
Singular Plural
Person Masculine Feminine Neuter Virile Nonvirile
Past tense 1st -łch/-łech/-ł żech -łach/-ła żech -łoch/-ło żech -limy/-lichmy -łymy/-łychmy
2nd -łś/-łeś/-ł żeś -łaś/-ła żeś -łoś/-ło żeś -liście/-li żeście -łyście/-ły żeście
3rd -ł -ła -ło -li -ły

[14]

Pluperfect

The largely archaic or stylized pluperfect tense is formed analytically:[15]

  1. In the first person masculine singular, with bōłch, bōłech, or bōł żech and the third person masculine past form.
  2. In the first person feminine singular, with byłach or była żech and the third person feminine past form.
  3. In the first person neuter singular, with byłoch or było żech and the third person feminine past form.
  4. In the first person virile plural, with byli my orbylichmy and the third person virile plural past form.
  5. In the first person non-virile plural, with były my or byłychmy and the third person virile plural past form.
  6. In the second person masculine singular, with bōłś, bōłeś, or bōł żeś and the third person masculine past form.
  7. In the second person feminine singular, with byłaś or była żeś and the third person feminine past form.
  8. In the second person neuter singular, with byłoś or było żeś and the third person feminine past form.
  9. In the second person virile plural, with byliście or byli żeście and the third person virile plural past form.
  10. In the second person non-virile plural, with byłyście or były żeście and the third person virile plural past form.
  11. In the third person masculine singular, with bōł and the third person masculine past form.
  12. In the second person feminine singular, with była and the third person feminine past form.
  13. In the second person neuter singular, with było and the third person feminine past form.
  14. In the second person virile plural, with byliście and the third person virile plural past form.
  15. In the second person non-virile plural, with byłyście and the third person virile plural past form.

Future tense

The imperfective future tense is formed analytically using a future form of być and either the infinite or the appropriate third person past form.

czytać → bydã czytać/bydã czytoł

The perfective future is formed using a personal non-past form of a perfective form.[16]

przeczytać → przeczytōm

Conditional mood

The conditional is formed analytically or by attaching a declined form of the clitic by and the third person past tense.[17]

  1. In the first person singular, with bych and the appropriate third person past form.
  2. In the first person virile plural, with by my or bychmy and the third person virile plural past form.
  3. In the first person non-virile plural, with by my or bychmy and the third person virile plural past form.
  4. In the first person singular, with byś and the appropriate third person past form.
  5. In the second person virile plural, with byście and the third person virile plural past form.
  6. In the second person non-virile plural, with byście and the third person virile plural past form.
  7. In the third person, with by and the appropriate third person past form.

Imperative

The imperative is formed in various ways depending on the conjugation pattern. Sometimes only the stem is present with raising, as in robić → rōb, sometimes the suffixes -ej/-ij are added. Further suffixes -my and -cie are available for the first person plural and second person plural forms. To make third-person imperative sentences (including with the polite second-person pronouns pōn etc.) the particle niych is used at the start of the sentence (or at least before the verb), with the verb in the future tense (if być or perfective) or present tense (otherwise). There is a tendency to prefer imperfective verbs in imperative sentences for politeness; negative imperatives quite rarely use perfectives.[17]

Participles

  • present adverbial participle (imperfective verbs only) are formed with -ōnc such as śpiywajōnc (meaning "(when) singing", "by singing", etc.)
  • present adjectival participle (imperfective verbs only), formed from the present adverbial participle by adding adjectival endings with -ōncy as śpiywajōncy etc., meaning "singing" (as an attributive adjective), although such participles can be used to form extended adjectival phrases, which (usually unlike in English) can precede the noun.
  • passive participle (all transitive verbs), in -ny or -ty (conjugated as an adjective). This often corresponds to the English past participle, both in fully adjectival use and in passive voice.[18]

Verbal noun

The verbal noun is formed by adding either -ni(e) or -ci(e). It is a regular derivation of verbs.

Prepositions

Silesian uses prepositions, which form phrases by preceding a noun or noun phrase. Different prepositions take different cases (all cases are possible except nominative and vocative); some prepositions can take different cases depending on meaning.

The prepositions z and w are pronounced together with the following word, obeying the usual rules for consonant cluster voicing (so z tobōm "with you" is pronounced stobōm). Before some consonant clusters, particularly clusters beginning with a sibilant (in the case of z) or with f/w (in the case of w), the prepositions take the form zy and wy. These forms are also used before the first-person singular pronouns in mn-; several other prepositions also have longer forms before these pronouns, and these phrases are pronounced as single words, with the stress on the penultimate syllable (the -y). The prepositions po and do have the variations pō and dō when before nasal consonants.

Common prepositions include:

  • na, with the locative with basic meaning "on", and with the accusative with basic meaning "onto" (also metaphorical meanings)
  • w, with the locative with basic meaning "in"
  • z, with the instrumental comitative meaning "with" (in accompaniment of); with the genitive meaning "from, out of"
  • do/ôd, with genitive, meaning "to, into/from"
  • dlŏ, with genitive, meaning "for"
  • ô, with locative meaning "about", also with the accusative in some constructions
  • przed/za/nad/pod with instrumental meaning "before, in front of/behind/over/under", also with the accusative in some meanings (and genitive in the case of za); there are also compound prepositions sprzed/zza/znad/spod ("from in front of" etc.) taking the genitive
  • przez/bez with the accusative, meaning "through" etc.
  • przeciwko with dative, meaning "against"
  • po, with locative meaning "after", also with the accusative in some meanings
  • przi, with locative, meaning "near" etc.
  • bez, with genitive, meaning "without"

Conjunctions

Common Silesian conjunctions include:

  • i meaning "and"
  • lub and a(l)bo meaning "or"
  • ale meaning "but"
  • że meaning "that"
  • jeśli/eźli/ejźli/jeli/eli/jeźli/jesi meaning "if" (for real conditionals) or gdyby and keby (where by is the conditional particle)
  • czy meaning "whether" (also an interrogative particle)
  • kedy or gdy meaning "when"
  • wiync and beztōż/bezto meaning "so" and "therefore"
  • bo meaning "because"
  • choć/chociŏż meaning "although"
  • aby/żeby meaning "in order to/that" (can be followed by an infinitive phrase, or by a sentence in the past tense; in the latter case, the by of the conjunction is in fact the conditional particle and takes personal endings as appropriate)

References

  1. ^ Jaroszewicz 2022, pp. 173–174.
  2. ^ Jaroszewicz 2022, pp. 174.
  3. ^ a b c Jaroszewicz 2022, pp. 175.
  4. ^ a b c Jaroszewicz 2022, pp. 176.
  5. ^ a b Jaroszewicz 2022, pp. 177.
  6. ^ Jaroszewicz 2022, pp. 178.
  7. ^ a b Jaroszewicz 2022, pp. 179.
  8. ^ a b Jaroszewicz 2022, pp. 180.
  9. ^ Jaroszewicz 2022, pp. 180–181.
  10. ^ a b Jaroszewicz 2022, pp. 181.
  11. ^ a b Jaroszewicz 2022, pp. 182.
  12. ^ Jaroszewicz 2022, pp. 182–183.
  13. ^ Jaroszewicz 2022, pp. 189–190.
  14. ^ Jaroszewicz 2022, pp. 186.
  15. ^ Jaroszewicz 2022, pp. 188.
  16. ^ Jaroszewicz 2022, pp. 184.
  17. ^ a b Jaroszewicz 2022, pp. 187.
  18. ^ Jaroszewicz 2022, pp. 185.

Bibliography

  • Jaroszewicz, Henryk (2022). Zasady pisowni języka śląskiego (in Silesian). pp. 173–190.
  • Henryk Jaroszewicz (19 March 2021). "Formy czasownikowe języka śląskiego. Próba klasyfikacji". Wachtyrz.eu (in Silesian). Kotórz Mały, Poland: Silesia Progress.
  • Henryk Jaroszewicz (11 January 2021). "System koniugacji języka śląskiego. Próba klasyfikacji". Wachtyrz.eu (in Silesian). Kotórz Mały, Poland: Silesia Progress.
  • Henryk Jaroszewicz (27 February 2021). "System deklinacji rzeczowników języka śląskiego. Próba klasyfikacji". Wachtyrz.eu (in Silesian). Kotórz Mały, Poland: Silesia Progress.

External links

Silesian edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: Silesian
Silesian edition of Wikisource, the free library
  • silling, an online Silesian-Polish dictionary
  • dykcjonorz, an online grammatical dictionary of Silesian
Retrieved from "https://mdwiki.org/wiki/Silesian_grammar"