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  What it means

  Literally “to this point,” this phrase is a temporal expression meaning “until now,” “so far,” “up to this point,” or “until then” (when referring to the past). It marks a boundary in time up to which something was true or in effect: Do tej pory nie rozumiałem. (“Up to now I didn’t understand.”) It can refer to the present moment or to a reference point in the past, depending on context. It is the natural Polish equivalent of English “up to now,” “so far,” or “until this point.”

  Vocabulary

  • do — to, up to (preposition governing genitive)
  • ta — this (feminine demonstrative pronoun, nominative)
  • tej — this (genitive/dative singular feminine of *ta*)
  • pora — time, point in time (nominative); pory (genitive)

  Grammar note

  The preposition *do* governs the genitive case, so *ta pora* (nominative) becomes *tej pory* (genitive): *do tej pory* = up to this time. *Pora* (time, period) is a feminine noun, which is why the demonstrative *ta* → *tej* rather than *tego* (masculine/neuter). This construction is fully regular and serves as a model for similar phrases like *do tej chwili* (up to this moment) or *do tej daty* (up to this date).

  Cultural context

  This is a neutral, high-frequency phrase appropriate in all registers from casual speech to formal writing. It often appears at the start of a sentence or clause to signal a shift: something was true *do tej pory* but is about to change. Compare with *dotąd* (a more literary single-word synonym) and *jak dotąd* (so far, as yet).

  Beginner

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