uczniom

uczniom is the dative plural form of the Polish noun uczeń, which means pupil or student. It is used when referring to multiple pupils in contexts that require the dative case, such as the recipient of an action or the object of certain prepositions and verbs.

In Polish, uczeń has several inflected forms. The nominative plural is uczniowie, the genitive plural is uczniów, the dative plural is uczniom, the instrumental plural is uczniami, and the locative plural is uczniach. The form uczniom thus signals “to/for the pupils” in standard, formal, or written Polish.

Typical usage includes verbs that govern the dative case, as in dziękuję uczniom (I thank the pupils) or zwrócić uwagę uczniom na problem (to draw the pupils’ attention to a problem). It can also function after prepositions that require dative in specific constructions, though many common phrases with to/for the pupils appear in other cases depending on the verb and syntactic role.

Etymology and scope: uczniom derives from uczeń, the general term for a student or pupil, especially in school contexts. The form uczeń encompasses learners of various ages in educational settings, and uczniowie (nominative plural) refers to the group as a whole, while uczniom specifies the indirect object or beneficiary in plural.

See also: uczeń, uczniowie, other Polish case forms for uczeń.