This is the part that scares people. Relax: you already use cases in English pronouns. 'I' becomes 'me', 'he' becomes 'him', 'who' becomes 'whom'. Polish does that to every noun, in 7 situations called cases. You do not need to memorize the tables now; you need to know what each case is for.
| Case | Answers | Its job | kawa becomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | who / what? | the subject | kawa |
| Genitive | of what? | possession, and after 'no' / negation | kawy |
| Dative | to / for whom? | the receiver | kawie |
| Accusative | whom / what? | the direct object | kawę |
| Instrumental | with what? | by means of, and 'I am a ___' | kawą |
| Locative | about / at what? | after in, on, about | kawie |
| Vocative | (addressing) | calling out to someone | kawo |
The one you'll use first
Accusative is the object you want. 'Kawa' turns into 'kawę' after 'poproszę'. That is why it is 'Poproszę kawę', never 'Poproszę kawa'.
Tip: Feminine -a words follow a steady pattern: -a, -y, -ie, -ę, -ą, -ie, -o. You will absorb it by hearing it, not by drilling it.
Watch out: Do not try to learn all seven tables in week one. Learn phrases, notice the endings, and the system clicks later.
Poproszę kawę i wodę
/ poh-PROH-sheh KAH-veh ee VOH-deh /
I'll have a coffee and a water
kawa becomes kawę, woda becomes wodę (accusative, the thing you want).