A2 · Aspect · about 7 minutes
How aspect pairs are built: pisać – napisać
aspect pairs (pary aspektowe)
With a prefix, with another stem, or as a different word altogether — three routes to the partner.
Do you know this already?
“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 3 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need7
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- zwykleusually
- notatkanote
- ugotowaćto cook (a dish)
- wypićto drink (up)
- powiedziećto say, to tell
- prawdatruth
- obejrzećto watch, to have a look at
Understand
RememberA Polish verb is learnt as a pair: the imperfective and its partner.
- Signal words
- z-
- na-
- prze-
- wy-
- po-
- u-
- -ywa-
- -owa-
The form
From the base form to the new form
Each row first says what the form expresses, then shows it in Polish: the base form before the arrow, the result after it.
| prefix z-, na-, prze- | robić → zrobić, pisać → napisać, czytać → przeczytać |
| prefix wy-, z-, u-, po- | pić → wypić, jeść → zjeść, gotować → ugotować, czekać → poczekać |
| imperfective with a longer stem | kupować – kupić, dawać – dać, wstawać – wstać |
| imperfective with a different vowel | otwierać – otworzyć, wracać – wrócić, zamykać – zamknąć |
| two different words | brać – wziąć, mówić – powiedzieć, oglądać – obejrzeć |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
Often a prefix makes the verb perfective.
Kasia napisała e-mail do szefa.Kasia has written an email to her boss.
Which prefix it is, you learn with the verb.
Czy już przeczytałeś tę książkę?Have you finished that book yet? (to a man)
Sometimes the imperfective is the longer verb.
Zawsze kupuję chleb w tej piekarni.I always buy bread at this bakery.
Some pairs are two different words.
Zwykle biorę parasol, ale dziś go nie wziąłem.I usually take an umbrella, but today I didn’t take it. (a man speaking)
A prefix can also change the meaning — then it is a new verb, not a partner.
Ania przepisała notatki od koleżanki.Ania copied the notes from a friend.
Example sentences
Muszę jeszcze ugotować obiad.I still have to cook lunch.
Kto wypił moją kawę?Who drank my coffee?
O której wracasz do domu?What time do you get home?
6 more example sentences
Powiedz mi prawdę.Tell me the truth.
Wczoraj obejrzeliśmy nowy film.Yesterday we watched a new film.
Poczekaj chwilę, zaraz wrócę.Wait a moment, I’ll be right back.
Kto otworzył okno?Who opened the window?
Rano wstaję o szóstej.In the morning I get up at six.
Daj mi, proszę, ten długopis.Give me that pen, please.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Once you have learnt one prefix, it is tempting to put it on every verb. But the prefix belongs to the pair: czytać goes with przeczytać, not with zczytać or naczytać. Always learn the two verbs together.
Quick check
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Practise
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Next on the path: 54 · Asking politely: proszę usiąść, niech pan wejdzieBack to the learning path
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
The partners of an aspect pair are related in three ways. Most often the imperfective verb takes a prefix and becomes perfective: robić → zrobić, pisać → napisać, czytać → przeczytać, pić → wypić, jeść → zjeść.
Which prefix it is cannot be guessed — z-, na-, prze-, wy-, po- and u- all occur, just as English “eat up”, “write down”, “read through” and “drink up” use different particles. Learn the partner with the verb.
The second route goes the other way: the perfective is the shorter verb, and the imperfective gets a longer stem, often with -wa-, -ywa- or -owa-: kupić – kupować, dać – dawać, wstać – wstawać, otworzyć – otwierać, wrócić – wracać.
A few very common pairs consist of two quite different words, like English “go” and “went”: brać – wziąć (to take), mówić – powiedzieć (to say), oglądać – obejrzeć (to watch). These simply have to be known by heart.
Worth knowing1
Worth knowing
Prefixes that add nothing — and ones that do
For each verb there is one prefix that changes only the aspect: napisać is simply “to write, until it is done”. Every other prefix makes a new verb, much as English particles do: przepisać“to copy out”zapisać“to write down”
Zapisz mój numer telefonu.Write down my phone number.
The verbs on this page, in every form: musieć · powiedzieć · wracać · wziąć · napisać · brać · przeczytać · obejrzeć