# Aleja/Aleje



## chrisedu12

_Dzień dobry!_
I would like to know the difference between _aleja_ and _aleje_
Ex:
_-Aleje Racławickie
-aleja Kraśnicka_
(from a book)


----------



## Thomas1

Hello,

It's the difference of grammatical number. "aleja" is singular (English: avenue, boulevar; Spanish: avenida, bulevar); "aleje" is plural (English: avenues, boulevards; Spanish: avenidas, bulevares). In Polish, certain (bigger) streets are referred to as "aleja/aleje". It's a bit of a mistery why in some cases it's "aleja" and in other "aleje".


EDIT: It's also worth mentnioning that, as also seen from your examples, in case of "aleja" (singular) you spell the "a" in the lower case in the name: _aleja Kraśnicka, al. Kraśnicka_; in case of "aleje" (plural) you spell the "a" in the upper case in the name: _Aleje Racławickie, Al. Racławickie_.


----------



## Ben Jamin

Thomas1 said:


> Hello,
> 
> It's the difference of grammatical number. "aleja" is singular (English: avenue, boulevar; Spanish: avenida, bulevar); "aleje" is plural (English: avenues, boulevards; Spanish: avenidas, bulevares). In Polish, certain (bigger) streets are referred to as "aleja/aleje". It's a bit of a mistery why in some cases it's "aleja" and in other "aleje".
> 
> 
> EDIT: It's also worth mentnioning that, as also seen from your examples, in case of "aleja" (singular) you spell the "a" in the lower case in the name: _aleja Kraśnicka, al. Kraśnicka_; in case of "aleje" (plural) you spell the "a" in the upper case in the name: _Aleje Racławickie, Al. Racławickie_.



I can think that the name "Aleje" was given to a very long street, being perceived as a series of sigle avenues. In fact all the "Aleje" I know are very long (Aleje Jerolizolimskie, Aleje Ujazdowskie).


----------



## jasio

Thomas1 said:


> It's a bit of a mistery why in some cases it's "aleja" and in other "aleje".


Even, if originally there was a distinction, over time as the streets are reconstructed, it behaves like a part of street the name.



Thomas1 said:


> EDIT: It's also worth mentnioning that, as also seen from your examples, in case of "aleja" (singular) you spell the "a" in the lower case in the name: _aleja Kraśnicka, al. Kraśnicka_; in case of "aleje" (plural) you spell the "a" in the upper case in the name: _Aleje Racławickie, Al. Racławickie_.


Not necessarily. For example in Warsaw there is both aleja Jana Pawła II, and Aleja Prymasa Tysiąclecia. 



Ben Jamin said:


> I can think that the name "Aleje" was given to a very long street, being perceived as a series of sigle avenues. In fact all the "Aleje" I know are very long (Aleje Jerolizolimskie, Aleje Ujazdowskie).


I would rather say "wide and representative". I am not aware though of any rules deciding whether particular avenue should be called "aleja" or "aleje". Once decided, it's fixed though, as the word behaves as if it was a fixed part of the name.


----------



## Thomas1

jasio said:


> Not necessarily. For example in Warsaw there is both aleja Jana Pawła II, and Aleja Prymasa Tysiąclecia.


 Is it the official spelling of the name? What I wrote is a rule given by dictionaries and you will see the name in question spelled this way in press articles, for example:

Zgodnie z podpisaną umową deweloperowi przysługuje prawo użytkowania wieczystego nieruchomości położonej w Warszawie przy al. Prymasa Tysiąclecia 79.
http://www.rp.pl/artykul/867036.html?print=tak&p=0

W mieszkaniu bloku przy al. Prymasa Tysiąclecia strażacy znaleźli zwęglone ciało ofiary.
http://warszawa.tvp.pl/19453706/ofiara-smiertelna-pozaru

Kierowców, którzy będą chcieli wjechać do Warszawy od strony Poznania, czeka przykra niespodzianka. Drogowcy zaczynają dziś budować kolejny odcinek drogi ekspresowej S8, która połączy aleję Prymasa Tysiąclecia z autostradą A2 w Konotopie. Około godz. 13 zamkną część ul. Poznańskiej w Morach, tuż za granicami stolicy. Utrudnienia potrwają do czerwca 2010 roku i dadzą się we znaki także mieszkańcom zachodnich dzielnic Warszawy. Od sierpnia trwają prace przy budowie innego odcinka trasy S8, w rejonie al. Prymasa Tysiąclecia.
http://warszawa.naszemiasto.pl/arch...kuje-trase-na-poznan,1798882,art,t,id,tm.html


EDIT: one more example from a book:
al. Prymasa Tysiąclecia
Karpowicz, Tomasz, _Kultura języka polskiego: wymowa, ortografia, interpunkcja_, Wydawn. Nauk. PWN, 2009
https://books.google.pl/books?hl=es&id=3lkpAQAAIAAJ&dq="al.+prymasa+tysiąclecia"+pisownia&focus=searchwithinvolume&q="al.+prymasa+tysiąclecia"

​


----------



## jasio

Thomas1 said:


> Is it the official spelling of the name?


The Hall says it is: http://www.ulice.um.warszawa.pl/wyszukiwanie/faces/obiekty.xhtml.


----------



## Agitato

jasio said:


> The Hall says it is: [...].



I don't think the office obeys the linguistic corectness rules. Actually I think they sometimes make their own rules... We shouldn't treat it as a source.


----------



## jasio

Agitato said:


> I don't think the office obeys the linguistic corectness rules.


So don't the journalists. The times when they thoroughly checked the official spelling prior to publishing something are gone a long time ago. Actually, I believe more the City Hall than media, at least when it comes to the official spelling of the street names. At least, it's them who give the streets their names.


----------



## musialmi

In fact we write aleja Kraśnicka, ulica Warszawska and Aleje Ujazdowskie (upper case).

In my city there are many "aleja"s which aren't big, so the size is not the rule.


----------



## Ben Jamin

musialmi said:


> In fact we write aleja Kraśnicka, ulica Warszawska and Aleje Ujazdowskie (upper case).
> 
> In my city there are many "aleja"s which aren't big, so the size is not the rule.



Read again #3 and #4. It was "Aleje" that supposedly should be large/long.


----------

