The Polish verb być (to be) in the present: jestem, jesteś, jest

Jestem Anna. Jestem z Polski. Jestem w domu. Jestem zmęczona.I am Anna. I am from Poland. I am at home. I am tired.

Być (to be) is the most useful Polish verb, and in the present tense it is short and irregular, so it is worth learning by heart. You use it to say who someone is, where they are, where they come from and what they are like.

Quick shortcut: jestem, jesteś, jest, jesteśmy, jesteście, są. The form tells you the person, so the pronoun (ja, ty, …) is usually left out: Jestem w domu.

The present tense of być

Notice two things:

• jest is the same for on, ona, ono and also for polite address with pan and pani (Pan jest Polakiem?), and są is the same for oni and one and for państwo (see Formal address: pan / pani / państwo).
• The present tense of być has the same forms for men and women. The gender only appears with an adjective or in the past tense (byłem, byłam, see Past tense: -ł, -ła, -ło).

For the pronouns themselves, see Polish personal pronouns.

Leaving out the pronoun

The form of być already shows the person in the first and second person, so the pronoun is usually left out. You add it for contrast or emphasis, or in a short answer:

• Jestem w domu. (I am at home.)
• Jesteście zmęczeni? (Are you tired?)
• Ja jestem z Polski, a ty jesteś z Niemiec. (I am from Poland, and you are from Germany.)
• Kto jest lekarzem? — Ja jestem. (Who is a doctor? — I am.)

The third-person forms jest and są do not show who is meant, so a noun or pronoun usually stays (Anna jest w domu., Oni są w domu.) unless the previous sentence has already made it clear.

Where someone is and where they are from

For a place, być is followed by a preposition such as w (in), na (on, at) or z (from):

• Jestem w domu. (I am at home.)
• Anna jest na uniwersytecie. (Anna is at the university.)
• Jesteśmy z Polski. (We are from Poland.)

When w and na say where something is, the noun takes a special form, the locative (w domu, w Warszawie), which has its own article: The locative case: location. At this stage it is enough to recognise and use these phrases as fixed expressions.

What someone is like: być with an adjective

With an adjective, the adjective stays in the nominative and agrees with the subject in gender and number:

• Piotr jest zmęczony. (Piotr is tired.)
• Anna jest zmęczona. (Anna is tired.)
• Dziecko jest zmęczone. (The child is tired.)
• Studenci są zmęczeni. (The students are tired.)

So the gender of the speaker shows in the adjective: a man says Jestem zmęczony, a woman says Jestem zmęczona. The agreement rules have their own article: Adjective agreement in the nominative.

Saying who or what someone is: być with a noun

To say what someone's job or role is, Polish uses być followed by a noun in the instrumental case, not the nominative:

• Jestem studentem. (I am a student, said by a man.)
• Jestem studentką. (I am a student, said by a woman.)
• Anna jest nauczycielką. (Anna is a teacher.)

This is the reason that Jestem student sounds wrong in Polish. The endings are covered in The instrumental case: professions and "z".

To name or identify something, there is a simpler pattern with to (this/that), and the noun stays in the nominative:

• To jest Anna. (This is Anna.)
• To jest mój brat. (This is my brother.)
• Piotr to nauczyciel. (Piotr is a teacher.)

Use to jest when you point at someone or something and say what it is, and być plus the instrumental when you describe what someone does or is by profession. See also The nominative case.

Negatives and questions

For a negative, put nie before the verb, and write it as a separate word:

• Nie jestem w domu. (I am not at home.)
• Anna nie jest lekarką. (Anna is not a doctor.)
• Nie jesteśmy zmęczeni. (We are not tired.)

For a yes/no question you can add czy at the start, or simply raise your voice at the end:

• Czy jesteś z Polski? (Are you from Poland?)
• Jesteś z Polski? (Are you from Poland?)

More about negation is in Negation with "nie" and about questions in Questions: czy and question words.

Jest for "there is" and nie ma

Jest and są also say that something exists or is present: W pokoju jest stół. (There is a table in the room.) W domu są dzieci. (There are children at home.) The negative of this meaning is not nie jest but nie ma with a different case: The genitive case: absence with "nie ma".

Common mistakes

• ❌ Jestem student. → ✅ Jestem studentem. (a noun after być takes the instrumental)
• ❌ Ja jest w domu. → ✅ Ja jestem w domu. (jest is for the third person; ja goes with jestem)
• ❌ Oni jest w domu. → ✅ Oni są w domu. (plural są)
• ❌ Piotr jest zmęczona. → ✅ Piotr jest zmęczony. (the adjective follows the gender of the subject)
• ❌ Nie jestem lekarz. → ✅ Nie jestem lekarzem. (the instrumental stays in the negative)
• ❌ Jestem nie w domu. → ✅ Nie jestem w domu. (nie goes before the verb)

Quick check

Choose the correct form of być.

1. Ja ___ z Polski.
2. Anna ___ w domu.
3. My ___ studentami.
4. Wy ___ zmęczeni.
5. Oni ___ w kuchni.
6. Ty ___ lekarką.

Key takeaways

• The present tense of być is jestem, jesteś, jest, jesteśmy, jesteście, są.
• Jest serves on, ona, ono, and są serves oni, one.
• The verb form shows the person, so ja, ty, my, wy are usually left out and added for contrast or emphasis.
• With an adjective, the adjective is in the nominative and agrees with the subject: Jestem zmęczony / zmęczona.
• With a noun for a profession or role, być takes the instrumental (Jestem studentem); to name or point at something, use to jest with the nominative.
• Negative: nie before the verb. For "there is no …" Polish uses nie ma, not nie jest.