Grammar on the Polish B1 exam — cases, verbs, mistakes

The grammar module of the B1 exam (grammatical correctness, poprawność gramatyczna) usually lasts 45 minutes and is worth 30 points — the pass threshold is 50%. It checks whether you can use the right word forms: cases, verb conjugation, plurals and prepositions. It's the part that's easiest to improve through systematic practice, because the rules are predictable.

Below: exactly what is tested, what the task types are, and where people most often lose points.

The task types

• Gap-filling — you write in the correct form of the word given in brackets (e.g. Mieszkam w (Polska) → w Polsce).
• Choosing the form — you pick the correct option from several.
• Transformation — you rewrite a sentence as instructed (e.g. from singular to plural).
• Inflection in context — you match a preposition and a case to a sentence.

What to master

At B1 level, the most frequent topics are:

• Cases — especially the accusative (mam kota, lubię kawę — "I have a cat, I like coffee"), the genitive (nie ma czasu, pięć kotów — "there's no time, five cats"), the locative (w Polsce, na stole — "in Poland, on the table") and the instrumental (jestem nauczycielem, z bratem — "I am a teacher, with my brother").
• Verb conjugation — the three conjugation groups and the tenses: present, past (with gender: byłem / byłam) and future.
• Aspect — perfective and imperfective (robić / zrobić).
• Noun plurals and gender, plus adjective agreement (dobry pies, dobra kawa).

Full, colour-coded tables for all of these topics — with the traps and no-hints exercises — are in the grammar cards.

The most common mistakes

• The case after a preposition — z Polski (genitive, "from where") versus z bratem (instrumental, "with whom"). The same preposition z governs different cases.
• Negation changes the case — Mam kawę (accusative) → Nie mam kawy (genitive).
• Gender in the past tense — a man says byłem, a woman byłam; in the plural, byli (a group including men) vs były.
• The wrong aspect — Wczoraj czytałem książkę (a process) vs przeczytałem (finished).
• Forgotten consonant softening in the locative — w Polsce, not "w Polska"; w Krakowie, not "w Kraków".

How to practise grammar

Grammar is the part where revision and drills pay off fastest:

1. Start with one table (e.g. the accusative) in the grammar cards — understand the rule and the traps first.
2. Drill it with the no-hints exercises (every card has a "pick the correct form" set).
3. Solve sample tasks in the exam format in the exam module — that's where you test yourself on full packs.

Want to see how the grammar module fits into the whole exam? Read what the Polish B1 exam looks like.

In short: 45 minutes, 30 points, 50% threshold. Focus on cases, verb conjugation and aspect, learn one table at a time and practise immediately — this is the most "trainable" part of the whole exam.