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The first sentences in Polish rest on the verb być (“to be”), on a few verbs in -m such as mam and mieszkam, and on to jest, which points out a person or a thing. The ending of the verb shows the person, so the subject pronoun is usually left out, and a stranger is addressed as pan or pani, with the verb in the third person.
The present of być: jestem, jesteś, jest, jesteśmy, jesteście, są#
Formation
Być has a different form for each person of the present: jestem, jesteś, jest in the singular, jesteśmy, jesteście, są in the plural. Ty jesteś is said to one person addressed familiarly, wy jesteście to several people. Oni są refers to men or to a group with at least one man, one są to women, children, animals or things.
| być | |
|---|---|
| ja | jestem |
| ty | jesteś |
| on/ona/ono | jest |
| my | jesteśmy |
| wy | jesteście |
| oni/one | są |
Use
Być is followed by a place (jestem w domu), by an origin with z (jestem z Krakowa), by an adjective (jestem zmęczony, jestem zmęczona) or by a noun naming what someone is, which stands in the instrumental, as explained in The instrumental after być: jestem studentem, but to jest student. An adjective after być agrees with the subject, so it shows whether a man or a woman is meant: Adam jest głodny, Ola jest głodna. A name, and the question word kto (“who”), take the third person singular: Marek jest z Opola, Kto jest w domu?
- Jestem z Lublina, a ty?I’m from Lublin, and you?
- Marek jest dzisiaj bardzo zmęczony.Marek is very tired today.
- Jesteśmy w kawiarni obok szkoły.We’re in the café next to the school.
- Jesteście teraz w domu?Are you at home now? (to several people)
- Ola i Kasia są w Gdańsku.Ola and Kasia are in Gdańsk.
Difference from English
English has three forms, am, are and is, with one are for “we”, “you” and “they”; Polish has six, one for each person. An English statement always has a subject (“am tired” is not a sentence); in Polish Jestem zmęczona is the normal sentence, and ja is added only for a contrast: Ja jestem z Gdańska, a on z Torunia.
Common mistakes
Ja jest z Krakowa.→ Jestem z Krakowa.Jest is the third person; the first person is jestem.Oni jest w kinie.→ Oni są w kinie.The third person plural of być is są.
Practise
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The first verbs in -m and the subject left out: mam, mieszkam, nazywam się#
Formation
Mieć (“to have”), mieszkać (“to live”) and nazywać się (“to be called”) take -m in the first person singular, -sz in the second, and the third person ends in -a: mam, masz, ma; mieszkam, mieszkasz, mieszka; nazywam się, nazywasz się, nazywa się. Their plural is given in The present tense and its three conjugations: czytam, mówię, piszę.
| mieć | |
|---|---|
| ja | mam |
| ty | masz |
| on/ona/ono | ma |
| my | mamy |
| wy | macie |
| oni/one | mają |
Use
The ending of the verb shows the person, so the subject pronoun is usually left out: Mam dom w Toruniu (“I have a house in Toruń”). The pronoun is expressed for a contrast or a stress: Ja mieszkam w Krakowie, a ty? A name is given with nazywam się, word for word “I call myself”: Nazywam się Kasia Nowak. The question is formed with jak (“how”): Jak się nazywasz? The place of się is explained in Verbs with się and its place: myję się, uczę się.
- Mieszkam w Warszawie, ale jestem z Poznania.I live in Warsaw, but I’m from Poznań.
- Masz dzisiaj samochód?Have you got the car today?
- Nazywam się Piotr Kowalski.My name is Piotr Kowalski.
- Jak się nazywa twój pies?What’s your dog called?
- Tomek ma dom w Gdyni.Tomek has a house in Gdynia.
Difference from English
English “my name is” has no word-for-word equivalent: moje imię jest Ola is not Polish, and the usual sentence is Nazywam się Ola. In English “I” is repeated in every sentence; in Polish a pronoun repeated in every sentence sounds heavy.
Common mistakes
Ja mam dom. Ja mieszkam w Łodzi.→ Mam dom w Łodzi.Once the person is known, the ending of the verb is enough.Moje imię jest Ola.→ Nazywam się Ola.A name is given with nazywać się.Nazywam Ola.→ Nazywam się Ola.Without się, nazywam means “I call (someone something)”.
Practise
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Formal address: pan, pani, państwo with the third person#
Formation
Pan (to a man), pani (to a woman) and państwo (to a man and a woman, or to a group) are the polite “you”. Pan and pani take the third person singular, the form of on and ona: pan jest, pani ma, pan mieszka. Państwo takes the third person plural, the form of oni: państwo są, państwo mają. Ty takes the second person singular, wy the second person plural.
Use
Ty is used with family, friends and children, and among young people; pan, pani and państwo with a stranger, an older person, a customer, a teacher or a doctor. A polite question has the word order of a familiar one: Skąd pan jest? against Skąd jesteś? Before a first name, pan and pani are used as “Mr” and “Mrs”: pan Marek, pani Ewa. In the other cases, pan becomes pana (accusative and genitive) and panem (instrumental), pani becomes panią (accusative and instrumental): Czekam na pana, Rozmawiam z panią.
- Czy pan jest lekarzem?Are you a doctor? (to a man)
- Pani mieszka w Krakowie?Do you live in Kraków? (to a woman)
- Jak się pani nazywa?What’s your name? (to a woman)
- Państwo są z Polski?Are you from Poland? (to a couple or a group)
- Ola, gdzie mieszkasz?Ola, where do you live?
Difference from English
English has one “you”; in Polish ty or pan, pani is chosen before the first word, because the choice changes the verb: “Where do you live?” is Gdzie mieszkasz? to a friend, Gdzie pan mieszka? to a man addressed politely and Gdzie państwo mieszkają? to a couple.
Common mistakes
Skąd pan jesteś?→ Skąd pan jest?Pan takes the third person singular.Państwo jest z Gdańska?→ Państwo są z Gdańska?Państwo takes the third person plural.
Practise
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Pointing out and naming: to jest, to są, kto to jest?, co to jest?#
Formation
To jest (“this is, that is, it is”) points out a person or a thing, and the noun after it is in the nominative, its dictionary form: To jest Marek. To jest okno. With a plural noun the form is to są: To są klucze. To does not change with the gender or the number of the noun. The questions are Kto to jest? for a person and Co to jest? for a thing. In the negative, nie is placed before the verb: to nie jest, to nie są.
Use
To jest introduces someone or something; a sentence with a subject and jest says what someone is, and the noun after it takes the instrumental: To jest lekarz, but On jest lekarzem. Nouns used only in the plural, such as drzwi (“door”), okulary (“glasses”) and pieniądze (“money”), take to są.
- Kto to jest? — To jest pani Nowak.Who’s that? — That’s Mrs Nowak.
- Co to jest? — To jest stary zegar taty.What’s this? — It’s Dad’s old clock.
- To są drzwi do łazienki.This is the bathroom door.
- To nie jest mój pokój.This isn’t my room.
Difference from English
English “this”, “that”, “these” and “it” change with the distance and the number; to in to jest has one form for all of them: To jest kot (“It’s a cat”), To są koty (“These are cats”).
Common mistakes
Ta jest szkoła.→ To jest szkoła.In to jest, to does not agree with the noun.To jest lekarzem.→ To jest lekarz.After to jest, the noun is in the nominative.To jest okulary.→ To są okulary.Okulary is plural.
In short
| Point | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| być, singular | jestem, jesteś, jest | Jestem z Lublina. |
| być, plural | jesteśmy, jesteście, są | Ola i Kasia są w Gdańsku. |
| verbs in -m | mam, masz, ma; mieszkam; nazywam się | Nazywam się Piotr. |
| the subject pronoun | usually left out | Mam dom w Toruniu. |
| polite “you” | pan, pani + 3rd person singular; państwo + 3rd person plural | Skąd pan jest? |
| pointing out | to jest, to są + nominative | To jest ser. |
| a person, a thing | Kto to jest?, Co to jest? | Kto to jest? |
Practise
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