A1 · The simple sentence · about 7 minutes
być: jestem, jesteś, jest
“to be” in the present
The verb “to be” in the present — and why a job after it takes a different ending.
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“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 need1
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- zmęczonytired
Understand
RememberA noun after być goes into the instrumental, an adjective stays in the nominative.
- Signal words
- jestem
- jesteś
- jest
- są
- pan
- pani
The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Polish. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (irregular) person ending
| I am | (ja) jestem |
| you are (one person) | (ty) jesteś |
| he, she, it is / you are (pan, pani) | (on, ona, ono) jest |
| we are | (my) jesteśmy |
| you are (several people) | (wy) jesteście |
| they are / you are (państwo) | (oni, one) są |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
You usually drop the pronoun; the form gives the person.
Jestem z Niemiec.I come from Germany.
With an adjective everything stays in the nominative, and the adjective agrees.
Ania jest zmęczona i Piotr też jest zmęczony.Ania is tired, and Piotr is tired too.
A noun after być goes into the instrumental.
Marek jest lekarzem.Marek is a doctor.
With pan and pani you use the third person singular.
Czy Pan jest z Warszawy?Are you from Warsaw? (to a man)
With państwo you use są.
Czy Państwo są z Polski?Are you from Poland? (to a couple or a group)
Example sentences
Jesteś w domu?Are you at home?
Jesteśmy w Gdańsku.We are in Gdańsk.
Kasia jest nauczycielką.Kasia is a teacher.
7 more example sentences
Dzieci są w szkole.The children are at school.
Jesteście głodni?Are you hungry? (to several people)
Pani Nowak jest bardzo miła.Mrs Nowak is very nice.
Jestem Niemką, a mój mąż jest Polakiem.I am German, and my husband is Polish. (a woman speaking)
Gdzie są moje klucze?Where are my keys?
Czy pani jest studentką?Are you a student? (to a woman)
Jesteśmy bardzo zadowoleni.We are very pleased.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
In English the noun after “to be” stays as it is, and it needs an article: “I am a student.” Copied word for word into Polish, the article falls away — Polish has none — but so must the bare form. After być a noun takes the instrumental: jestem studentem, jestem studentką. Only an adjective stays in the nominative: jestem zmęczony.
Quick check
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Practise
9 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
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Next on the path: 13 · Numbers from nought to a thousand: jeden, dwa, pięćBack to the learning path
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
być (to be) is irregular but small: jestem, jesteś, jest, jesteśmy, jesteście, są. Each form carries its person, so the pronoun is usually left out: Jestem z Niemiec is “I am from Germany”. There is also no article to add: “I am a teacher” has no word for “a”.
With an adjective everything stays in the nominative (mianownik), and the adjective matches the person it describes: Ania says jestem zmęczona, Piotr says jestem zmęczony (I am tired). English never shows who is speaking in “I am tired”; Polish does. With a noun — a job, a role, a nationality — it is different: the noun goes into the instrumental (narzędnik). Marek jest lekarzem(Marek is a doctor)Kasia jest nauczycielką(Kasia is a teacher) The full endings come in the section on cases; for now, -em for men and -ą for women.
To address somebody politely you use pan (sir) or pani (madam), and the verb goes into the third person: Czy pan jest z Warszawy? (Are you from Warsaw?) — literally “Is the gentleman from Warsaw?”. Several people together are państwo, with są.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
Age with “have”
Polish does not say “I am thirty”. You “have” your years, with mieć: Mam trzydzieści lat. The same verb gives mam rację, “I am right” — literally “I have rightness”.
Mam trzydzieści lat.I am thirty years old.
Worth knowing
“I am cold” is not być
For feeling hot or cold Polish says “it is cold to me”: jest mi zimno. Jestem zimny would describe your personality, not the temperature.
Jest mi zimno, zamknij okno.I am cold, close the window.
The verbs on this page, in every form: być