Language/Polish/Grammar/Verbs-and-Tenses

Polish Grammar → Introduction to Polish Grammar → Verbs and Tenses

As a Polish language teacher with 20 years of experience, I am thrilled to introduce you to the world of Polish verbs and tenses. In this lesson, we will explore the conjugation of Polish verbs and the use of present and past tenses. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to form your own basic sentences and express yourself in Polish.

Verbs and Conjugation

In Polish, verbs change their form depending on the person, number, tense, aspect, and mood. Therefore, having a good understanding of verb conjugation is key to understanding Polish grammar. There are seven persons in Polish: ja (I), ty (you), on (he), ona (she), ono (it), my (we), and wy (you plural or they).

To conjugate a verb in the present tense, you need to add the following endings to the verb stem:

Person	Ending
ja	-ę
ty	-isz
on, ona, ono	-i
my	-imy
wy	-icie
oni, one	-ą

For example:

• Kochać (to love)

Polish	Pronunciation	English
Ja kocham	yah koh-HAM	I love
Ty kochasz	tih koh-HASH	You love
On, Ona, Ono kocha	on, OH-nah, OH-no KOH-ha	He, She, It loves
My kochamy	mih koh-HAH-mih	We love
Wy kochacie	vih koh-HAHT-she	You love (plural)
Oni, One kochają	OH-nee, OH-neh koh-HAH-y	They love

To conjugate a verb in the past tense, you need to change the endings according to the gender and number of the subject:

Gender/Number	Suffix
Masculine Singular	-ł, -łam, -łem, -łeś (depending on the person)
Feminine Singular	-łałam, -łam, -łaś (depending on the person)
Neuter Singular	-ło, -łoś (depending on the person)
Masculine Personal Plural	-li, -łam(y), -ście (depending on the person)
Feminine Personal Plural	-ły, -łyśmy, -ście (depending on the person)
Neuter Personal Plural	-ły, -łyśmy, -ście (depending on the person)
Non-personal Plural	-ły, -łyśmy, -łyście (depending on the person)

For example:

• Kochać (to love)

Polish	Pronunciation	English
Ja kochałem/kochałam	yah koh-HA-wem/koh-HA-wam	I loved
Ty kochałeś/kochałaś	tih koh-HAH-wesh/koh-HAH-wahsh	You loved
On, Ona, Ono kochał/kochała/kochało	on, OH-nah, OH-no KOH-haw/wah/wawoh	He, She, It loved
My kochaliśmy/kochałyśmy	mih koh-HAH-lee-shem/koh-HAH-wee-shem	We loved
Wy kochaliście/kochałyście	vih koh-HAH-leeshteh/koh-HAH-wee-shteh	You loved (plural)
Oni, One kochali/kochały	OH-nee, OH-neh koh-HAH-lee/koh-HAH-wee	They loved

Present Tense

The present tense in Polish is used to describe actions that are currently happening or are habitual. The present tense stem is formed by removing the -ć ending from the infinitive form of the verb, and the endings are added accordingly to the person and number.

For example:

• Pisać (to write)

Polish	Pronunciation	English
Ja piszę	yah PISH-shen	I write
Ty piszesz	tih PISH-esh	You write
On, Ona, Ono pisze	on, OH-nah, OH-no PISH-e	He, She, It writes
My piszemy	mih PISH-seh-mih	We write
Wy piszecie	vih PISH-eh-cheh	You write (plural)
Oni, One piszą	OH-nee, OH-neh PISH-oh-n	They write

Past Tense

The past tense in Polish is used to describe actions that happened in the past, and it has a complex conjugation system. It includes four tenses, two aspects, and three voices. The most commonly used past tense is the imperfective past tense, which indicates a past action that was in progress, interrupted, or repeated.

For example:

• Pisać (to write)

Polish	Pronunciation	English
Ja pisałem/pisałam	yah pee-SAH-wem/pee-SAH-wam	I wrote
Ty pisałeś/pisałaś	tih pee-SAH-wesh/pee-SAH-wahsh	You wrote
On, Ona, Ono pisał/pisała/pisało	on, OH-nah, OH-no pee-SAH-wahw/wah/wawoh	He, She, It wrote
My pisaliśmy/pisałyśmy	mih pee-SAH-leeshem/pee-SAH-wee-shehm	We wrote
Wy pisaliście/pisałyście	vih pee-SAH-leeshteh/pee-SAH-wee-shteh	You wrote (plural)
Oni, One pisali/pisały	OH-nee, OH-neh pee-SAH-lee/pee-SAH-wee	They wrote

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Sources

• Polish Tenses: Expressing the Past, Present, and Future
• Tenses in the Polish language | Mówić po polsku
• Polish grammar - Wikipedia

Table of Contents - Polish Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Alphabet and Pronunciation

• Polish Alphabet
• Pronunciation Rules

  ---

Greetings and Introductions

• Basic Greetings
• Introducing Yourself

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Basic Sentence Structure

• Subject-Verb-Object
• Questions and Negations

  ---

Numbers and Time

• Numbers 1-100
• Telling Time

  ---

Nouns and Articles

• Noun Gender
• Definite and Indefinite Articles

  ---

Family and Relationships

• Family Members
• Relationship Status

  ---

Adjectives and Adverbs

• Adjective Agreement
• Comparative and Superlative

  ---

Food and Dining

• Common Foods
• Eating Out

  ---

Verbs and Tenses

• Present Tense
• Past Tense

  ---

Travel and Transportation

• Modes of Transportation
• Travel Phrases

  ---

Polish Customs and Traditions

• Holidays and Celebrations
• Polish Cuisine

Related Lessons

• Adverbs in Polish
• być to be
• Past Tense
• mieć to have
• The Imperative Mood
• Nouns and Gender
• Future Tense
• Personal pronouns
• Future and Conditional Tenses
• How to Use be