B1 · Commands, requests and conditions · about 7 minutes
Żeby: wishes, requests and aims
clauses with żeby
After “want somebody to” and for “so that” you use żeby with the -ł form — or, for the same person, the infinitive.
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 need3
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- punktualnieon time, punctually
- szczęśliwyhappy
- oszczędzaćto save (money)
Understand
Rememberże says what is, żeby what ought to be.
- Signal words
- chcę, żeby
- proszę, żeby
- powiedz, żeby
- żeby
- aby
- po to, żeby
The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in Polish.
negation
| I want you to come | Chcę, żebyś przyszedł. |
| … want you (several people) to come | Chcę, żebyście przyszli. |
| tell him to … | Powiedz Markowi, żeby zadzwonił. |
| in order to (the same person) | Uczę się polskiego, żeby rozmawiać z babcią. |
| so that (another person) | Mówię wolno, żebyś mnie rozumiał. |
| so that … not | Uważaj, żebyś nie spadł. |
| formal | aby, abyś, abyśmy |
| the same pattern | przyjść, zadzwonić, wrócić, być, zrobić, kupić |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
After verbs of wanting and asking, żeby takes the -ł form.
Mama chce, żebym wróciła przed dziesiątą.Mum wants me to be back before ten. (a woman speaking)
The personal ending sits on żeby.
Proszę, żebyście byli punktualni.I am asking you to be on time. (to several people)
Same person: żeby with the infinitive.
Przyszłam, żeby ci pomóc.I have come to help you. (a woman speaking)
Another person: żeby with the -ł form.
Daję ci klucz, żebyś mógł wejść.I am giving you the key so that you can get in. (to a man)
What somebody should do is passed on with żeby.
Powiedz Kasi, żeby zadzwoniła do mnie.Tell Kasia to ring me.
Example sentences
Chcemy, żeby dzieci były szczęśliwe.We want the children to be happy.
Zrobię wszystko, żebyś był zadowolony.I’ll do anything to make you happy. (to a man)
Szef prosi, żebyśmy przyszli wcześniej.The boss is asking us to come in earlier.
6 more example sentences
Oszczędzam, żeby kupić mieszkanie.I am saving to buy a flat.
Zamknij okno, żeby nie było zimno.Close the window so that it doesn’t get cold.
Lekarz radzi, żebym więcej spał.The doctor advises me to sleep more. (a man speaking)
Nie chcę, żebyś się martwiła.I don’t want you to worry. (to a woman)
Pojechaliśmy do Krakowa, żeby zobaczyć Wawel.We went to Kraków to see the Wawel.
Mówię głośno, żeby wszyscy słyszeli.I am speaking loudly so that everybody can hear.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English “I want you to come” tempts you into an object and an infinitive, or into że with the present: Chcę, że przychodzisz. To a Polish ear that sounds as if you were stating that somebody is already coming. What ought to be needs żeby with the -ł form.
Quick check
A warm-up: 2 questions, answered straight away. They do not count towards your progress.
Practise
9 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: 84 · Three verbs for one trip: iść, chodzić, pójśćBack to the learning path
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
When you want, ask or advise somebody else to do something, English uses an object and an infinitive: “I want you to come”. Polish cannot do that. It uses a clause with żeby, and the verb goes into its -ł form: Chcę, żebyś przyszedł — literally “I want that you came”. As with gdyby, the personal ending sits on żeby: żebym, żebyś, żeby, żebyśmy, żebyście, żeby.
Do not use że with the present here: żereports what is the caseżebysays what ought to be “I want that you come” with że sounds as if you were stating that the person is already on the way.
For an aim — English “to”, “in order to”, “so that” — you also use żeby. If it is the same person as in the main clause, the infinitive follows: Uczę się polskiego, żeby rozmawiać z babcią “I am learning Polish to talk to my gran”. If it is another person, the -ł form: Mówię wolno, żebyś mnie rozumiał “I am speaking slowly so that you understand me”.
In texts and forms you will often read aby instead of żeby. It works in exactly the same way, with the same endings: abyś, abyśmy.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
One word for “to”, “in order to” and “so that”
English has several ways: “I want you to come”, “so that you come”, “in order to come”. Polish uses żeby for all three. You only have to decide whether the same person acts — then the infinitive — or another — then the -ł form.
Dzwonię, żeby zapytać o drogę.I am ringing to ask the way.
Worth knowing
Żeby as a wish
On its own at the start of a sentence żeby expresses a wish, like English “if only”: Żeby tylko nie padało “if only it doesn’t rain”.
Żeby tylko zdążyć na pociąg!If only we make the train!
The verbs on this page, in every form: być · chcieć · przyjść · móc · kupić · zrobić · zadzwonić · pomóc