pierwszym

Pierwszym is the instrumental singular form of the Polish adjective pierwszy, which means first. It is used to modify masculine and neuter nouns in the instrumental case or as a predicative complement after certain verbs, indicating a role or status as the first.

Grammatical notes: pierwszym belongs to the set of ordinal adjectives. Its feminine counterpart in instrumental is pierwszą, while the base forms are pierwszy (masculine), pierwsza (feminine), and pierwsze (neuter). The plural instrumental form is pierwszymi. In sentences, the form depends on the gender and number of the noun it describes or on its syntactic position as a predicate.

Typical usage:

- Zostałem pierwszym. (I became the first.)

- Dotarłem pierwszym pociągiem. (I arrived by the first train.)

- Zostałem pierwszym w konkursie. (I became the first in the competition.)

These examples show how pierwszym marks a status or means in contexts involving becoming, arrival by a first item, or achieving a first-place position.

Etymology and cognates: pierwszy and its forms derive from the Slavic root meaning "first." Cognates appear in other Slavic languages, such as Russian pervyy, Czech první, and Polish hasici forms like pierwszy, pierwsza, pierwsze. This family connection reflects a common ancient root for ordinal numbers across the languages.

In summary, pierwszym is a specific grammatical form used to express “the first” in instrumental contexts for masculine and neuter nouns, with clear patterns shared across related languages.