agresywne/agresywnym; Confused about when to use nominative and instrumental

Hi everyone,

First post on here...

I'm just starting learning polish and getting grips with the various cases.

I'm a little stuck with the following instrumental sentence:

Why is it:

To dziecko nie jest ani sfrustrowane, ani agresywne, ani zestrowane

and not:

To dziecko nie jest ani sfrustrowanym, ani agresywnym, ani zestrowanym

Because these adjectives describe *how* the child is and so should be instrumental, no?

Thanks,
Martin

Martin,

I too am learning the language. My initial take is that the ending of the adjective must correspond to the gender of the noun it is modifying. Dziecko is neuter; that is why I believe you see the neuter endings on the adjectives. As for the case, I see nie. For me, the Genitive case spring to mind.

To dziecko nie jest ani sfrustrowane, ani agresywne, ani zestresowane

In this sentence you describe the child.

To dziecko nie jest ani sfrustrowanym, ani agresywnym, ani zestresowanym

You use this when all adjectives are connected with some other noun which also describe the child, e.g.:

To dziecko nie jest ani sfrustrowanym, ani agresywnym, ani zestresowanym człowiekiem

człowiek - human/man.