pierwszego

Pierwszego is the genitive singular form of the Polish adjective pierwszy, meaning "first." It is used to modify masculine personal nouns and neuter nouns in the genitive singular, and it also appears in contexts where the noun is in the genitive case, such as after numerals or in time and date expressions.

In practice, pierwszego conveys the ordinal position “of the first.” The form changes with gender and case: for feminine nouns the genitive singular is pierwszej, while the nominative and other forms differ. The use of pierwszego is common in phrases where a noun is governed by the genitive, for example after liczebniki (numbers) or in temporal expressions.

Typical usages include phrases like pierwszego dnia (on the first day), pierwszego razu (for the first time), and pierwszego stycznia (on the first of January). It also appears in constructions such as od pierwszego dnia pracy (from the first day of work) or przed pierwszym dniem (before the first day). Because it is a declined form, pierwszego does not stand alone as a noun but serves as a descriptor within a larger noun phrase.

Etymology traces pierwszego to the base adjective pierwszy, meaning “first,” itself derived from Proto-Slavic roots meaning “first” or “foremost.” The form is a standard element of Polish grammar and is encountered in formal and everyday language alike.