The grammar of the Kashubian 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 are no articles. Distinctive features include the different treatment of masculine personal nouns in the plural, and the complex grammar of numerals and quantifiers.
Morphology Kashubian has a rich system of inflectional morphology, akin to that of other Slavic languages, including case, number, gender, tense, aspect, and mood.
Nouns Kashubian displays seven cases inherited from Proto-Slavic. They are nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, locative, and vocative case, but the vocative is very often replaced by the nominative.
Gender is usually reflected by the ending of a given noun stem. Nouns ending in a soft consonant, -a, and -ô are feminine. Masculine nouns end in a consonant and sometimes -a.
Some nouns are both masculine and feminine depending on the gender of the referent, e.g., (crippled person).
Kashubian has a singular and a plural number, with traces of an old dual remaining in some plurals (), the instrumental plural ending -ama, and the now-plural pronoun , with the old plural becoming a polite pronoun.
The ending -ama is preferred standardly, and -ami appears dialectally.
Masculine nouns Masculine personal Singular Plural Nominative (nazéwôcz ) chłop∅, pòeta chłopi/chłopë, pòecë Genitive (rodzôcz) chłopa, pòetë chłopów, pòetów Dative (dôwôcz) chłopù, pòece chłopóm, pòetóm Accusative (winowôcz) chłopa, pòetã chłopów, pòecë Instrumental (narzãdzôcz) chłopã, pòetą chłopama/chłopami, pòetama, pòetami Locative (môlnik) chłopie, pòece chłopach, pòetach Vocative (wòłiwôcz) chłopie, pòeto chłopi/chłopë, pòecë Masculine animal Singular Plural Hard Soft Hard Soft Nominative (nazéwôcz ) lës∅ kóń∅ lësë kònie Genitive (rodzôcz) lësa kònia lësów kònii/kòniów Dative (dôwôcz) lësowi kòniowi/kòniewi/kòniu lësom kòniom Accusative (winowôcz) lësa kònia lëse kònie Instrumental (narzãdzôcz) lësã kòniã/kòniem lësama/lësami kòniama/kòniami Locative (môlnik) lësu kòniu lësach kòniach Vocative (wòłiwôcz) lësu kòniu lëse kònie Masculine inanimate Singular Plural Hard Soft Hard Soft Nominative (nazéwôcz ) brzég∅ kosz∅ brzedżi kosze Genitive (rodzôcz) brzega/brzegù kosza brzegów koszi/koszów Dative (dôwôcz) brzegòwi koszowi brzegóm koszóm Accusative (winowôcz) brzég∅ kosz∅ brzedżi kosze Instrumental (narzãdzôcz) brzegã koszã/koszem brzegama/brzegami koszama/koszami Locative (môlnik) brzegù koszu brzegach koszach Vocative (wòłiwôcz)brzegù koszu brzedżi kosze
Comments about the singular: Masculine nouns that end in a voiced consonant show regular vowel alternations of: ô:a, ó:o, é:e, ą:ã, i/u:ë. Mobile e (e:∅) also appears in some stems. Like in Polish, there is irregularity with genitive singular -u/-a, where animal/personal nouns always get -a, but inanimate nouns may get both. In northern dialects, -u may be replaced with -ë. Dative singular shows two endings, -ewi (for soft nouns)/-owi (for hard nouns) and -u. It has been suggested (BY LORENTZ gram 872) that personal/animal nouns have a preference for -ewi/-owi. Rarely an ending -owiu has been used by combining both endings (compare Masurian -oziu). An ending -ë (from a short /u/) exists in North-East Kashubia. Finally, the adjectival ending -omù (hard)/-emù (soft) is also used in the North-East. The instrumental singular ending -ã is used in the North-West for stylistic reasons or for rhymes. The locative singular ending -(i)e is for hard stems and -(i)u is for soft stems or nouns whose stems end with -k/-g/-ch, as well as -s/-z. An ending -ë (from a short /u/) exists in North-East Kashubia. Masculine nouns ending in -a decline femininely in the singular and masculinely in the plural.
Comments about the plural: The nominative plural has multiple endings, including -owie, -ë, -e, -i. The dative plural ending -ama may occasionally be seen. The instrumental plural endings -mi (without -a-) and -i are rare. The locative plural ending -ech can be seen in some names of countries, but is falling out of use and being replaced by -ach.
Feminine nouns Hard -a declension Singular Plural Nominative (nazéwôcz ) gãba, noga gãbë, nodżi Genitive (rodzôcz) gãbë, nodżi gãbów, nogów/nóg∅ Dative (dôwôcz) gãbie, nodze gãbóm, nogóm Accusative (winowôcz) gãbã, nogã gãbë, nodżi Instrumental (narzãdzôcz) gãbą, nogą gãbama/gãbami, nogama/nogami Locative (môlnik) gãbie, nodze gãbach, nogach Vocative (wòłiwôcz) gãbò, nogò gãbë, nodżi Soft -a declension Singular Plural Nominative (nazéwôcz ) zemia, òwca zemie, òwce Genitive (rodzôcz) zemi/zemie, òwcë zemi/zemiów, owiec∅/òwców Dative (dôwôcz) zemi, òwcë zemióm, òwcóm Accusative (winowôcz) zemiã, òwcã zemie, òwce Instrumental (narzãdzôcz) zemią, òwcą zemiama/zemiami, òwcama/òwcami Locative (môlnik) zemi, òwcë zemiach, òwcach Vocative (wòłiwôcz) zemia/zemio, òwco zemie, òwce
Comments: Northern Kashubian dialects sometimes have -i in the locative singular for nouns ending in -ła, so instead of .
Soft -ô declension Singular Plural Nominative (nazéwôcz ) rolô, stëdniô role/rolé, stëdnie/stëdnié Genitive (rodzôcz) rolë/roli/rolé/role, stëdni/stëdnié/stëdnie roli/rolów, stëdni/stëdniów Dative (dôwôcz) roli/rolë/rolé, stëdnié rolóm, stëdnióm Accusative (winowôcz) rolã, stëdniã role/rolé, stëdnie/stëdnié Instrumental (narzãdzôcz) rolą, stëdnią rolama/rolami, stëdniama/stëdniami Locative (môlnik) roli/rolë/rolé, stëdnié rolach, stëdniach Vocative (wòłiwôcz) rolô, stëdniô role/rolé, stëdnie/stëdnié
Comments: Northern dialects sometimes show syncretism in the accusative singular with the nominative singular, so alongside . The -∅ ending in the genitive plural is largely replaced with -ów except in common words.
Latinate feminine -(i/ë)jô (soft) Singular Plural Nominative (nazéwôcz ) Genitive (rodzôcz) Dative (dôwôcz) Accusative (winowôcz) Instrumental (narzãdzôcz) Locative (môlnik) Vocative (wòłiwôcz)
Feminine nouns ending in a consonant Singular Plural Nominative (nazéwôcz ) chëcz∅, noc∅ chëcze, noce Genitive (rodzôcz) chëczë, nocë chëczów, noców Dative (dôwôcz) chëczë, nocë chëczóm, nocóm Accusative (winowôcz) chëcz∅, noc∅ chëcze, noce Instrumental (narzãdzôcz) chëczą, nocą chëczama/chëczami, nocama/nocami Locative (môlnik) chëczë, nocë chëczach, nocach Vocative (wòłiwôcz) chëczë, nocë chëcze, noce
Neuter nouns Hard -o declension Singular Plural Nominative (nazéwôcz ) pismò, biczëskò pisma, biczëska Genitive (rodzôcz) pisma, biczëska pismów, biczësków Dative (dôwôcz) pismu, biczëskù pismóm, biczëskóm Accusative (winowôcz) pismò, biczëskò pisma, biczëska Instrumental (narzãdzôcz) pismã, biczëskã pismama/pismami, biczëskama/biczëskami Locative (môlnik) pismie, biczëskù pismach, biczëskach Vocative (wòłiwôcz) pismò, biczëskò gãba, biczëska Soft -e declension Singular Plural Nominative (nazéwôcz ) serce serca Genitive (rodzôcz) serca serców Dative (dôwôcz) sercu sercóm Accusative (winowôcz) serce serca Instrumental (narzãdzôcz) sercã sercama/sercami Locative (môlnik) sercu sercach Vocative (wòłiwôcz) serce serca Soft -é declension Singular Plural Nominative (nazéwôcz ) kôzanié kôzania Genitive (rodzôcz) kôzaniô/kôzaniégò/kôzania/kôzaniu/kôzanii kôzaniów Dative (dôwôcz) kôzaniu/kôzaniémù/kôzaniowi kôzanióm Accusative (winowôcz) kôzanié kôzania Instrumental (narzãdzôcz) kôzaniã kôzaniama/kôzaniami Locative (môlnik) kôzaniu/kôzanim kôzaniach Vocative (wòłiwôcz) kôzanié kôzania Soft -ã declension with an -n- stem Singular Plural Nominative (nazéwôcz ) semiã semiona Genitive (rodzôcz) semienia semión∅/semionów Dative (dôwôcz) semieniu/semieniowi semionóm Accusative (winowôcz) semiã semiona Instrumental (narzãdzôcz) semieniã semionama/semionami Locative (môlnik) semieniu semionach Vocative (wòłiwôcz) semiã semiona Soft -ã declension with a -t- stem Singular Plural Nominative (nazéwôcz ) celã celãta Genitive (rodzôcz) celãca celãt∅/celąt∅ Dative (dôwôcz) celãcu celãtóm Accusative (winowôcz) celã celãta Instrumental (narzãdzôcz) celãcã celãtama/celãtami Locative (môlnik) celãcu celãtach Vocative (wòłiwôcz) celã celãta
Comments: Nouns ending in -é (chiefly gerunds) take adjectival endings in northern and central dialects. Nouns ending in -ã with -n- stems occasionally have a hard -n- in the singular. A few neuter nouns show ∅''' in the genitive plural, and if the given noun's stem ends with a voiced consonant, regular vowel alternation can be observed, e.g. -> . In some cases a mobile e is also inserted.
Adjectives and adverbs Kashubian adjectives agree in number, gender, and case with nouns. The vocative is syncretic with the nominative.
Kashubian retains many short form adjectives, whose base form may be used for all genders, but may also change their ending to agree in gender. They may be used as a predicative or as a possessive adjective or through German borrowings.
Short forms show regular vowel alternations.
The comparative degree is formed by adding -szi or sometimes -ejszi/-észi if the stem ends with two consonants, however -szy can also appear in the same conditions.
The superlative degree is formed nô-.
An analytic comparative may be formed with and an analytic superlative with .
Hard declension Singular Plural Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter Nominative,Vocative personal młodi młodô młodé młodi młodé non-personal młodé Genitive młodégò młodi młodégò młodëch/młodich Dative młodémù młodi młodémù młodim Accusative personal młodégò młodą młodé młodëch/młodich młodé non-personalanimate młodé inanimate młodi Instrumental młodim młodą młodim młodima/młodëma/młodimi/młodëmi Locative młodim młodi młodim młodëch/młodich Soft declension Singular Plural Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter Nominative,Vocative personal snôżi snôżô snôżé snôżi snôżé non-personal snôżé Genitive snôżégò snôżi snôżégò snôżich Dative snôżémù snôżi snôżémù snôżim Accusative personal snôżégò snôżą snôżé snôżich snôżé non-personalanimate snôżé inanimate snôżi Instrumental snôżim snôżą snôżim snôżima/snôżimi Locative snôżim snôżi snôżim snôżich Possessive declension (-ów) Singular Plural Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter Nominative,Vocative personal bratów∅ bratowa bratowò/bratowé bratowi bratowé non-personal bratowé Genitive bratowégò bratowi bratowégò bratowëch Dative bratowémù bratowi bratowémù bratowim Accusative personal bratowégò bratową bratowò/bratowé bratowëch bratowé non-personalanimate bratowé inanimate bratów∅ Instrumental bratowim bratową bratowim bratowima Locative bratowim bratowi bratowim bratowëch Possessive declension (-in) Singular Plural Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter Nominative,Vocative personal Anin∅ Anina Anino/Aniné Aniny Aniné non-personal Aniné Genitive Aninégò Aniny Aninégò Aninëch Dative Aninémù Aniny Aninémù Aninym Accusative personal Aninégò Aniną Anino/Aniné Aninëch Aniné non-personalanimate Aniné inanimate Anin∅ Instrumental Aninym Aniną Aninym Aninyma Locative Aninym Aniny Aninym Aninëch Deadjectival adverbs can be formed with either -e or -o and occasionally with -∅ as in . The synthetic comparative is formed with -i, and the superlative with nô-, and the analytic comparative and superlative are formed the same way as the analytic comparative and superlatives of adjectives.
Verbs Kashubian verbs agree for person, tense, aspect, and have participle forms as well as gerunds.
The formal pronoun has special marking different from forms that agree with .
Kashubian has 4 conjugation patterns.
Class I +Conjugation I (-ã, -esz) infinitive (wiezc) Singular Plural Polite1st jô wiezã më wiezemëWë wiezece2nd të wiezesz wa wiezeta3rd òn, òna, òno wieze òni, òne wiozą
Class II +Conjugation II (-ã, -isz) infinitive (robic) Singular Plural Polite1st jô robiã më robimëWë robice2nd të robisz wa robita3rd òn, òna, òno robi òni, òne robią
Class III