Lesson 2: Polish verbs in present tense

There are 3 groups of verb conjugation in the present tense in Polish language.

Group 1: verbs ending in –ować

For verbs from this group – cut off the ending – ować and add an appropriate ending:

Pracować – to work

All regular Polish verbs from this group will have these endings.

Group 2: verbs ending in -ić, -eć, -yć

All regular Polish verbs from this group will have the following endings:

Mówić – to speak

Tańczyć – to dance, Myśleć – to think

Group 3: verbs ending in –ać.

Regular Polish verbs of this group end in –am with the pronuon Ja.

Pytać – to ask

Also, we have to know how to use negation, i.e. to say for example “I don’t know”, and how to ask questions, like “do you know?”.

In Polish language the negation is formed by the particle NIE:

Ja nie czekam – I don’t wait

Ona nie studiuje – She doesn’t study

And in order to make a question form, add the particle CZY in front of question:

Czy mówisz po Polsku? – Do you speak Polish?

Czy ty nie pijesz wódki – Don’t you drink vodka?

And now, let’s consider some Polish irregular verbs:

Rozumieć – to understand, Ja rozumiem – I understand

Studiować – to study, this verb is conjugated as a verb fom 2^nd group: Ja studiuję instead of ja studiujam;

Jeść – to eat: Ja jem, ty jesz, on je, my jemy, wy jecie, oni jedzą;

Pić – to drink: Ja piję, ty pijesz, my pijemy, wy pijecie, oni/one piją

Memorize Polish question words:

Co? – what?

Kto? – who?

Gdzie?  –  where?

Dlaczego? – Why? What for?

Czemu – Why?

Ile? – How much/how many?

Kiedy? – When?

Examples

Dlaczego studiujesz Polski język? – Why do you study Polish language?

Kto co robi tutaj? – Who what does here?

Czy słuchacie mnie? – Do you(plural) hear me?

Gdzie Pan mieszka? – Where do you(formal, masculine) live?

Czy Pani podróżuje samolotem? – Do you(formal, feminine) travel by plane?

Ja zawsze czytam książki w podróży – I always read books in travel