site map

How to plan your grammar learning

When it comes to learning grammar, the problem is often not a lack of materials, but a lack of a defined plan. In textbook-based learning, this is less of an issue, but when you study on your own, you run into various materials like videos, reels, blog posts etc. and they do explain specific topics, but don't always suggest what to do with them next, what is essential, what can be safely postponed, and so on.

Well, if such system works for you - then it works ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I'm not gonna interfere. But I'm humbly presenting this section in case if you're looking for a structure for your self-study process, and you think it might help you track progress, identify gaps in basic concepts, and prepare for B1.

This section won't contain actual learning materials (for theory and exercises, see the tabs on the left). Instead, I'm listing a few approaches I recommend to students (though in the Minimal approach section, I'll also include exam tasks in interactive version so you can check where you actually stand).

Jump to:
Minimal approach · Integrated beginner approach · Advanced grammar-focused approach

Minimal approach

This approach is suggested as a final revision before the exam, or as a fallback option if you are short on time. It's based on the Poprawność gramatyczna section of the standard B1 exam. Keep in mind that grammatical accuracy is also assessed in other parts of the exam - namely Pisanie and Mówienie - where you are expected to give longer, self-constructed answers. To pass the B1 exam, you need to score at least 50% in each of those sections (so, minimum 15 points per section).

Here are the tasks types from Poprawność gramatyczna (in the order that, realistically, makes the most sense in approaching the material). Click to expand and see what skills each of these tasks requires.

1. Tenses: present and past OR future - open task, you need to write the correct forms of given verbs (5 points)

What you need to know:

  • the 3 conjugation patterns in the present tense and future perfective tense [ LINK ]
  • past tense [ LINK ]
  • future imperfective tense [ LINK ]
sample exam task
2. Conjunctions - gap-filling task (2,5 points)

Conjunctions like: i, ale, a, więc ... [ LINK ]

They're indeclinable parts of speech, there is no inflection to learn - only meaning and usage in context.

sample exam task
3. Aspect and moods (conditional and imperative) - multiple choice task (5 points)

You select the correct form from three options.

You're already familiar with perfective vs. imperfective aspect through learning verb conjugation (if not, here's a summary about aspects). And in fact, this task can often be solved even without explicitly analyzing the aspect, instead you can just rely on the context and agreement between verb forms and the subject.

So what is new here:

  • conditional mood (morphologically based on the past tense, so it is best learned after it) [ LINK ]
  • imperative mood (relatively simple; once you understand conjugation patterns, formation is mostly mechanical) [ LINK ]
sample exam task
4. Declension of nouns, adjectives and pronouns - multiple choice task (5 points)

You choose the correct form from three options.

Grammatical cases to master:

  • Nominative - the basic case, but make sure you know the patterns of creating plural (masculine personal forms, which involve alternations, are usually introduced later, after the locative) [ LINK ]

  • Instrumental [ LINK ]
  • Accusative [ LINK ]
  • Genitive [ LINK ]

  • Locative [ LINK ]
  • Dative [ LINK ]
  • Vocative [ LINK ]
The last three cases involve more alternations, which makes them slightly more complex than instrumental, accusative, and genitive.

So - you learn the cases are sequentially, each with declension patterns for nouns, adjectives, and pronouns. Fortunately, pronouns (except numeral pronouns) generally follow either noun-like or adjective-like declension patterns. [ LINK ]
sample exam task
5. Prepositions - gap-filling task (2,5 points)

Prepositions such as: w, z, od, do, przed ... [ LINK ]

Learning cases normally also includes prepositions that govern each case. For example, z meaning with takes the instrumental case, but when z means from, it takes the genitive.

While it's possible to solve this task based purely on semantics, preposition-case combinations are still worth learning properly, given of the ambiguity of some of the prepositions.

sample exam task
6. Comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs - multiple choice task (2,5 points)

The options are given in the correct cases, you just need to decide whether it should be an adjective or an adverb and what the appropriate form will be: positive, comparative or superlative.
What you need to know:

  • distinction between adjectives and adverbs (functionally and morphologically) [ LINK ]
  • adjective gradation patterns [ LINK ]
  • adverb gradation patterns (similar, but simpler) [ LINK ]

But in practice, to solve this task, it's enough to just understand:

  • adjectives describe nouns (and people and objects expressed by pronouns); adverbs describe verbs (and verb-derived forms such as participles)
  • adjectives decline, so forms vary depending on case; however, gradation markers remain recognizable:
    wysoki - wyższy - najwyższy
    (-sz- for the comparative degree, naj-___-sz- for the superlative)
  • adverbs do not decline, the forms are always the same; gradation markers are as follows:
    wysoko - wyżej - najwyżej (-o or -e ending for the positive form, -ej for the comparative, naj-___-ej for the superlative)
sample exam task
7. Question formation - open task (2,5 points)

You form questions targeting a specific parts of given sentences.

Interrogative pronouns are divided into:

  • invariable forms (gdzie, kiedy, jak ...)
  • inflected forms (kto, co, który, jaki ... - declined by grammar cases)

The latter are learned alongside case declension.

I'll upload a summary of interrogative pronouns at this link: [ LINK ]

sample exam task
8. Sentence transformations - open task (5 points)

Sentence transformations using an indicated word. This one is quite random, as there's no fixed set of structures for this task, it can be anything from levels A1-B1. Often, more than one correct answer is possible. As long as your answers are grammatically correct, actually synonymous with the given phrase, and you used the required word in unchanged form, you're fine.

Example:

VI. Proszę – zgodnie z przykładem – użyć wyrazu w nawiasie i przekształcić
zdanie tak, by miało ten sam sens. _____ / 5 p. (5 x 1 p.)

PRZYKŁAD
Nie wiem, kim jest ten pan. (znam)
Nie znam tego pana.

1. W lecie często noszę krótkie spodnie. (chodzę)
e.g. W lecie często chodzę w krótkich spodniach.

2. Ludwik przepada za lodami czekoladowymi. (uwielbia)
e.g. Ludwik uwielbia lody czekoladowe.

3. Krzysiek zawsze zapomina o moich urodzinach. (pamięta)
e.g. Krzysiek nigdy nie pamięta o moich urodzinach.

4. Jakiego koloru jest twój samochód? (kolor)
e.g. Jaki kolor ma twój samochód?

5. Niestety, nie było ich na tym koncercie. (nie przyszli)
e.g. Niestety, nie przyszli na ten koncert.

źródło: https://certyfikatpolski.pl/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2022.11.5-6_B1_Arkusz_egzaminacyjny.pdf

So, to put it shortly:

Perhaps you're REALLY short on time and wondering how you could shorten this list even more. Then imo the most skippable are imperatives and the conditional mood - although you should theoretically know them at B1, you don't have to create them from infinitives on the exam, but only recognize their forms in Poprawność gramatyczna. Imperatives can be replaced with "proszę" + infinitive in formal situations, or "możesz" + infinitive + "?" in informal situations. In Pisanie and Mówienie, there may be texts and statements where it's good to use the conditional mood - for expressing assumptions or talking about potential events - but this isn't a strict requirement.
If you decided to skip learning the subjunctive mood, then learn at least:
"mógłbyś / mogłabyś / mógłby pan / mogłaby pani" + infinitive for making a polite request;
"chciałbym / chciałabym" + infinitive for dialogues at service points or monologues about plans or motivations;
"gdyby" + past tense (for talking about an event being a condition of a potential situation) or "gdybym" + a verb in the 3rd person singular past tense (when your action or state is a condition in which you would take another action or change your state) + a verb in the 3rd person singular past tense again + "bym" (for talking about what you would do in this situation), e.g.:
Gdyby mój autobus odjechał, pojechałbym taksówką. If my bus had left, I would have taken a taxi.
Gdybym dostała premię, pojechałabym na krótkie wakacje. If I had received a bonus, I would have gone on a short vacation.

Another skippable thing is the gradation of adjectives and adverbs. For Poprawność gramatyczna, it's enough to recognize the correct form. But I must say, it's very useful for making comparisosns, which is often a part of essays or expressing opinions in monologues.

Next - cases. Vocative is relatively rare. In the exam, you'll most likely only use it when addressing the recepient of a letter, invitation, thank-you note, etc. It's good to simply have a go-to list of possible addressees in vocative: "Droga Aniu, Najdroższy Pawle, Szanowna Pani Dyrektor, Panie Profesorze, Szanowni Państwo, Kochani moi..." etc., it should suffice. The dative case is also rarely used. It's quite simple and doesn't take long to learn, but it's good to keep in mind that in practice, we most often use it with personal pronouns (Pomóż mi, Nie jest ci zimno?, Kupiła jej prezent).

Conjunctions, prepositions and interrogative pronouns - short, simple, useful as damn, I don't recommend skipping.

As for verbs in the present, past, and future tenses - if you're deciding what to prioritize, noun declension or verb conjugation, I definitely recommend learning the verbs first. Not only for exams, verb conjugation is just very useful in life. If you make some errors in the noun declension, there's a good chance you'll still be understood. However, when you don't know what you're doing with verbs, it's easy to make mistakes that change the meaning of the entire sentence.