A1 · The present tense · about 7 minutes
The i-conjugation: robię, robisz
verbs in -ę, -isz
-ę for “I”, -isz or -ysz for “you” — and often a different sound before the -ę.
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 need11
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- uczyć sięto learn, to study
- zawszealways
- płacićto pay
- kartacard (bank card)
- chodzićto go, to walk (regularly, back and forth)
- okularyglasses
- niedzielaSunday
- kawiarniacafé
- gotówkacash
- codziennieevery day, daily
- rachunekbill, check
Understand
Remember-ę, -isz, -i, -imy, -icie, -ą — and often a new sound before the -ę.
- 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
- -isz
- -ysz
- -ą
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 do | (ja) robię |
| you do (one person) | (ty) robisz |
| he, she, it does / you do (pan, pani) | (on, ona, ono) robi |
| we do | (my) robimy |
| you do (several people) | (wy) robicie |
| they do / you do (państwo) | (oni, one) robią |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
“I” ends in -ę, “you” in -isz.
Lubię kawę. A ty, co lubisz?I like coffee. And you, what do you like?
After cz, sz, ż and rz you write y.
Uczysz się polskiego?Are you learning Polish?
In “I” and “they” the last sound often changes.
Zawsze płacę kartą.I always pay by card.
“They” ends in -ą.
Dzieci chodzą do szkoły.The children go to school.
Many verbs in -eć belong here too.
Nie widzę moich okularów.I can’t see my glasses.
Example sentences
Mówisz po niemiecku?Do you speak German?
Co robicie w niedzielę?What are you doing on Sunday? (to several people)
Marek siedzi w kawiarni.Marek is sitting in a café.
7 more example sentences
Myślę, że masz rację.I think you are right.
Często chodzimy do kina.We often go to the cinema.
Ci studenci uczą się niemieckiego.These students are learning German.
Słyszysz tę muzykę?Can you hear that music?
Kot leży na kanapie.The cat is lying on the sofa.
Proszę o rachunek.The bill, please.
Moi rodzice mówią tylko po polsku.My parents speak only Polish.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Once you know the form for “you” — płacisz — it is tempting to carry on in the same way for “I”: płacię. With many verbs, though, the sound before the -ę changes: płacę, proszę, chodzę. So always learn the form for “I” as well.
Quick check
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Practise
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The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
In the i-conjugation the form for “I” ends in -ę and the form for “you” in -isz: robię, robisz, robi, robimy, robicie, robią. Most verbs in -ić go this way — mówić (to speak), lubić (to like), płacić (to pay), chodzić (to walk, go), prosić (to ask for) — and many in -eć too: widzieć(to see)siedzieć(to sit)myśleć(to think)
After cz, sz, ż and rz you write y instead of i: uczyć się → uczę się, uczysz się; słyszeć → słyszę, słyszysz; leżeć → leżę, leżysz. The endings are the same; only the letter adapts.
Often the last sound of the stem changes in the forms for “I” and “they”: s becomes sz (prosić → proszę, proszą), ć becomes c (płacić → płacę, płacą), dź becomes dz (chodzić → chodzę, chodzą). All the other forms keep the sound of the infinitive: prosisz, płacisz, chodzisz.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
Two verbs for “go”
chodzić means “to go” on foot, but only repeatedly or with no particular goal: Chodzę do pracy — I go to work (every day). For going somewhere right now Polish uses iść (idę). English “I go” and “I am going” are a rough guide; the topic on verbs of motion has the details.
Codziennie chodzę na basen.I go to the swimming pool every day.
Worth knowing
proszę: one word for many things
proszę is the “I” form of prosić (to ask for) and the busiest word of politeness: “please” when asking, “here you are” when handing something over, and Proszę? for “Pardon?”.
Proszę, to dla pani.Here you are, this is for you. (to a woman)
The verbs on this page, in every form: lubić · chodzić · uczyć · mówić · robić · siedzieć · widzieć · płacić