A1 · The present tense · about 7 minutes
Irregular: mam, chcę, jem, wiem, mogę
five irregular verbs
Five verbs you need every day and learn one by one: have, want, eat, know, can.
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 need4
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- wejśćto go in, to come in, to enter
- morzesea
- pójśćto go, to set off (once, on foot)
- przyjechaćto arrive, to come (by vehicle)
Understand
RememberFive verbs to learn one by one: mam, chcę, jem, wiem, mogę.
- 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
- mam
- chcę
- jem
- wiem
- mogę
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.
| mieć — to have | mam, masz, ma, mamy, macie, mają |
| chcieć — to want | chcę, chcesz, chce, chcemy, chcecie, chcą |
| jeść — to eat | jem, jesz, je, jemy, jecie, jedzą |
| wiedzieć — to know | wiem, wiesz, wie, wiemy, wiecie, wiedzą |
| móc — can, may | mogę, możesz, może, możemy, możecie, mogą |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
mieć has the endings of the a-conjugation: mam, masz, ma.
Mamy mały ogród.We have a small garden.
chcieć goes like the e-conjugation: chcę, chcesz.
Chcesz herbaty?Would you like some tea?
jeść and wiedzieć have a dz in “they”.
Dzieci jedzą obiad.The children are having lunch.
móc alternates between g and ż.
Mogę wejść?May I come in?
After chcieć and móc comes the infinitive.
Chcemy jechać nad morze.We want to go to the seaside.
Example sentences
Nie wiem, gdzie jest dworzec.I don’t know where the station is.
Co jesz na śniadanie?What do you have for breakfast?
Możecie mi pomóc?Can you help me? (to several people)
7 more example sentences
Kasia ma nowy rower.Kasia has a new bike.
Moi rodzice wiedzą o wszystkim.My parents know about everything.
Chcę spać.I want to sleep.
Wiesz, która jest godzina?Do you know what time it is?
Oni chcą mieszkać na wsi.They want to live in the countryside.
Jemy kolację o siódmej.We have supper at seven.
Mogą państwo usiąść tutaj.You can sit down here. (to a group)
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
You hear może and możesz most often, so możę suggests itself for “I”. In “I” and “they”, though, it is the g: mogę, mogą.
Quick check
A warm-up: 2 questions, answered straight away. They do not count towards your progress.
Practise
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
Now write it yourself9 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
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Next on the path: 35 · The genitive: dom Piotra, szklanka wodyBack to the learning path
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
Five of the most common verbs follow no pattern completely. mieć (to have) has the endings of the a-conjugation but a short stem: mam, masz, ma, mamy, macie, mają. chcieć (to want) follows the e-conjugation, with a stem without -ie-: chcę, chcesz, chce, chcemy, chcecie, chcą.
jeść (to eat) and wiedzieć (to know) have short endings like mam: jem, jesz, je, jemy, jecie and wiem, wiesz, wie, wiemy, wiecie. Only in the form for “they” does a dz come back: jedzą, wiedzą.
móc (can, may) alternates between g and ż: mogę, możesz, może, możemy, możecie, mogą. The g is in “I” and “they”, the ż everywhere else — the same game as idę and idziesz. After chcieć and móc comes an infinitive, with no “to”: Chcę spać“I want to sleep”Możesz przyjść?“Can you come?”
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
Two words for “can”
English “can” covers two things: that something is possible or allowed — and that you have learnt how. Polish separates them. móc means “can, may” in the sense of “it is possible”; for a skill you use umieć: umiem pływać“I can swim”umiem gotować“I can cook”
Umiem pływać, ale dzisiaj nie mogę, bo jestem chory.I can swim, but I can’t today because I am ill. (a man speaking)
Worth knowing
chcieć with the genitive
When you want some of something, it often goes into the genitive after chcieć, much like English “some”: Chcesz herbaty? — would you like some tea? For one particular thing it is the accusative: Chcę ten sweter.
Chcesz jeszcze kawy?Would you like some more coffee?
The verbs on this page, in every form: chcieć · mieć · móc · jechać · jeść · spać · pomóc · wiedzieć