A1 · The present tense · about 7 minutes
The e-conjugation: piszę, piszesz, pracuję
verbs in -ę, -esz
-ę for “I”, -esz for “you” — and with -ować → -uję the biggest group of all.
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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 need5
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- razemtogether
- biurooffice
- piekarniabaker’s, bakery
- zaproszenieinvitation
- śniadaniebreakfast
Understand
Remember-ować always becomes -uję, -ujesz.
- When
- Before the past
- The past
- Past linked to the present
- The present
- The future
- Completed in the future
The present — What holds at the moment, what is under way, or what is always the case.
- Signal words
- -ę
- -esz
- -e
- -ą
- -uję
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 (regular) person ending
| I work | (ja) pracuję |
| you work (one person) | (ty) pracujesz |
| he, she, it works / you work (pan, pani) | (on, ona, ono) pracuje |
| we work | (my) pracujemy |
| you work (several people) | (wy) pracujecie |
| they work / you work (państwo) | (oni, one) pracują |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
“I” ends in -ę, “you” in -esz.
Piszę do ciebie z Krakowa.I am writing to you from Kraków.
-ować becomes -uj-.
Wieczorem gotujemy razem.In the evening we cook together.
The stem of “you” also serves “he”, “we” and “you” (plural).
Pijesz kawę? Marek też pije.Do you drink coffee? Marek drinks it too.
Some verbs have a stem of their own for “I” and “they”.
Jadę do pracy, a ty dokąd jedziesz?I am driving to work — and where are you going?
“They” ends in -ą.
Dzieci piszą list do babci.The children are writing a letter to Gran.
Example sentences
Pracuję w biurze.I work in an office.
Co pijecie?What are you drinking? (to several people)
Ania kupuje chleb w piekarni.Ania buys bread at the baker’s.
7 more example sentences
Idziemy na kawę?Shall we go for a coffee?
Mój brat studiuje medycynę.My brother is studying medicine.
Dziękuję za zaproszenie.Thank you for the invitation.
Myję ręce.I am washing my hands.
Kasia daje mi swój numer.Kasia is giving me her number.
Bierzesz parasol?Are you taking an umbrella?
Moi koledzy piją kawę bez cukru.My colleagues drink coffee without sugar.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
An infinitive in -ować looks as if it belonged to the a-conjugation, so pracowam suggests itself. That form does not exist. Every verb in -ować turns into -uj- with the endings of the e-conjugation: pracuję, pracujesz.
Quick check
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Practise
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Next on the path: 28 · The locative: w domu, w Krakowie, o mamieBack to the learning path
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
In the e-conjugation “I” ends in -ę and “you” in -esz: piszę, piszesz, pisze, piszemy, piszecie, piszą. The stem often differs from the infinitive, in every form: pisać → pisz-, pić → pij- (piję, pijesz), myć → myj-, dawać → daj- (daję, dajesz).
The biggest group are the verbs in -ować. With them -ować becomes -uj-, without exception: pracować → pracuję, pracujesz; kupować → kupuję; gotować → gotuję; studiować → studiuję; dziękować → dziękuję. This is also how many new words come into Polish, often from English: parkować, organizować, testować.
A few common verbs have one stem in “I” and “they” and another in the other forms: iść → idę, idziesz, idą; jechać → jadę, jedziesz, jadą; brać → biorę, bierzesz, biorą. Learn these with both forms.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
English verbs in Polish clothes
Many English verbs have a Polish relative in -ować: “study” — studiować, “organise” — organizować, “reserve” — rezerwować, “park” — parkować, “test” — testować. They all follow this pattern, so a large part of your vocabulary conjugates itself.
Rezerwuję stolik na dwie osoby.I am booking a table for two.
Worth knowing
dziękuję means “I thank”
dziękuję is the “I” form of dziękować (to thank) — so “thank you” is literally “I thank”. When several people thank, they say dziękujemy. What for is said with za and the accusative: dziękuję za kawę.
Dziękujemy za pomoc!Thank you for your help! (said by several people)
The verbs on this page, in every form: pić · jechać · pisać · pracować · kupować · gotować