A1 · The present tense · about 7 minutes
Three present-tense patterns: czytam, robię, piszę
the conjugations at a glance
The first two forms — “I” and “you” — show which pattern a verb follows.
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 need21
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- mailemail
- listletter
- deserdessert, pudding
- móccan, may, to be able to
- rozmawiaćto talk, to chat
- wieczórevening
- szefboss
- rozumiećto understand
- zadanietask, exercise
- rodziceparents
- dużoa lot, much, many
- książkabook
- mówićto speak, to say
- polskiPolish
- niemieckiGerman
- weekendweekend
- anineither… nor; not even
- babciagrandmother, gran
- dobrzewell, fine
- bawić sięto play (children); to have fun
- ogródgarden
Practise as flashcards · 1Practise as flashcards · 2Practise as flashcards · 3
Understand
RememberLearn every verb with “I” and “you” — then you know its pattern.
- 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
- -am
- -asz
- -ę
- -isz
- -esz
- -ą
The form
The forms side by side
All the forms in one overview: first what each one stands for, then the form in Polish, so you can compare them directly.
| a-conjugation: -am, -asz | czytać — czytam, czytasz, czyta, czytamy, czytacie, czytają |
| i-conjugation: -ę, -isz (-ysz) | robić — robię, robisz, robi, robimy, robicie, robią |
| e-conjugation: -ę, -esz | pisać — piszę, piszesz, pisze, piszemy, piszecie, piszą |
| small group: -em, -esz | rozumieć — rozumiem, rozumiesz, rozumie, rozumiemy, rozumiecie, rozumieją |
| how to learn a verb | pisać, piszę, piszesz |
| the pronoun is usually dropped | Czytam. Robisz? Piszemy. |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
Each person has its own ending; you usually drop the pronoun.
Czytasz gazetę?Are you reading the paper?
The forms for “I” and “you” show the pattern.
Ja piszę e-maile, a ty piszesz listy.I write emails, and you write letters.
From the form for “you” you build “he”, “we” and “you” (plural).
Robimy obiad, a wy robicie deser.We are making lunch, and you are making pudding. (to several people)
The present also means “-ing” — right now.
Nie mogę rozmawiać, jem obiad.I can’t talk, I am having lunch.
The present also talks about the near future.
Jutro pracuję do szóstej.Tomorrow I am working until six.
Example sentences
Mieszkam w Lublinie.I live in Lublin.
Co robisz wieczorem?What are you doing this evening?
Piotr pisze e-mail do szefa.Piotr is writing an email to his boss.
7 more example sentences
Rozumiecie to zadanie?Do you understand this exercise? (to several people)
Moi rodzice czytają dużo książek.My parents read a lot of books.
Dzieci mówią po polsku i po niemiecku.The children speak Polish and German.
Gdzie pracujesz?Where do you work?
Kasia lubi tańczyć.Kasia likes dancing.
Rozumiem, dziękuję.I understand, thank you.
Studenci mieszkają w akademiku.The students live in a hall of residence.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
If you start from the infinitive, you build everything on the first pattern you learnt: pisać like czytać, so pisam. That form does not exist. The infinitive hides the pattern — the forms for “I” and “you” show it: piszę, piszesz.
Quick check
A warm-up: 2 questions, answered straight away. They do not count towards your progress.
Practise
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The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
In the present a Polish verb has six forms, one per person, and you can hear in each one who is acting. That is why you usually leave the pronoun out: czytam already means “I read”. The endings follow a small number of patterns. The three big ones are named after their first two forms: -am, -asz (czytam, czytasz), -ę, -isz (robię, robisz) and -ę, -esz (piszę, piszesz).
The infinitive does not tell you which pattern a verb has: czytać goes like czytam, but pisać like piszę. So learn each verb with three forms: the infinitive, “I” and “you” — pisać, piszę, piszesz. From “you” you then build “he”, “we” and “you” (plural): piszesz → pisze, piszemy, piszecie. In the patterns with -ę, “I” gives you the form for “they”: piszę → piszą, robię → robią.
Polish has only one present tense, and it covers both English ones: czytam is “I read” and “I am reading”. Do not look for a separate form for “-ing” — there is none. As in English, the present also talks about arrangements in the near future: Jutro pracuję, “I am working tomorrow”. Besides the three big patterns there is a small group in -em, -esz (rozumiem, umiem); it goes almost like the a-pattern.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
No “do”, no “-ing”
English needs “do” to ask and to negate, and “be … -ing” for what is going on now. Polish needs neither: Czytasz?“Do you read? / Are you reading?”Nie czytam“I don’t read / I’m not reading” One form, and the context decides.
Ja czytam, a ty gotujesz.I am reading, and you are cooking.
Worth knowing
Polite address takes the third person
When you address somebody as pan or pani, the verb takes the form for “he” or “she”: Czy pan mieszka w Warszawie? With państwo it takes the form for “they”: Czy państwo mówią po niemiecku? is “Do you speak German?”, said to a couple or a group.
Co pani robi w weekend?What are you doing at the weekend? (to a woman)
The verbs on this page, in every form: robić · pisać · czytać · mieszkać · móc · pracować · mówić · jeść