Polish present tense: -ę, -isz / -ysz verbs (robić, mówić)

Robię zakupy. Mówię po polsku. Lubię kawę.I am shopping. I speak Polish. I like coffee.

The third big group of Polish verbs also has -ę in the 1st person singular, like the -ę, -esz group, but the 2nd person ends in -isz or -ysz. It includes some of the most useful everyday verbs: robić (to do, to make), mówić (to speak, to say), lubić (to like), uczyć (to teach), chodzić (to walk, to go on foot), widzieć (to see) and spać (to sleep).

Quick shortcut: this group has the endings -ę, -isz / -ysz, -i / -y, -imy / -ymy, -icie / -ycie, -ą. The 2nd person singular is the best clue: robisz, mówisz, uczysz, with -isz or -ysz, not -esz.

In English the verb hardly changes (I speak, you speak, we speak) and the pronoun is required. In Polish each person has its own ending, so the pronoun is usually left out: Mówię. is already "I speak".

How the endings work

Here is robić (to do, to make). The stem rob- stays the same in every form:

Notice three things:

• The endings are -ę, -isz, -i, -imy, -icie, -ą, with y instead of i in some verbs (see the next section).
• Compared with the -ę, -esz group, the 2nd person singular ends in -isz (not -esz), the 3rd person singular ends in -i (not -e) and the plural endings have i: robimy, robicie and piszemy, piszecie.
• robi serves on, ona, ono and also polite address with pan and pani; robią serves oni, one and państwo (see Formal address: pan / pani / państwo).

-isz or -ysz?

Most verbs of this group take i: robisz, robi, robimy, robicie. After the letters cz, sz, ż, rz Polish spells this vowel y (not i), so the endings become -ysz, -y, -ymy, -ycie:

The group itself is the same; only the spelling of the vowel after cz and sz differs. The infinitive can end in -ić, -yć or -eć (robić, uczyć, słyszeć).

When the stem changes

As in the -ę, -esz group, the ja form and the oni form share one stem and the other four forms often share another. In this group the change is usually small: the consonant before the ending becomes harder in the ja and oni forms.

With prosić and nosić the change is visible in the spelling: s becomes sz in proszę, proszą and noszę, noszą. With chodzić and widzieć the letters stay dz, but the sound changes: in chodzę, widzę, chodzą, widzą it is the plain dz (as in bardzo), while in chodzisz, widzisz it is the softer dź written dzi. For spać the stem is śp- in every form, while the infinitive has sp-. That is why it helps to learn each verb together with its ja form: chodzić – chodzę, prosić – proszę, spać – śpię.

A few other very common verbs follow the same pattern: stać (to stand): stoję, stoisz, stoi; siedzieć (to sit): siedzę, siedzisz, siedzi; leżeć (to lie): leżę, leżysz, leży; bać się (to be afraid): boję się, boisz się, boi się.

The infinitive does not show the group

The ending of the infinitive is only a hint. Some verbs in -ić and -yć belong to the -ę, -esz group: pić (piję, pijesz), myć (myję, myjesz), żyć (żyję, żyjesz). Verbs in -ać can belong to any of the groups: czytać (czytam), pisać (piszę, piszesz), spać (śpię, śpisz). The ja form and the ty form say which pattern a verb follows.

A few examples in sentences:

• Co robisz? (What are you doing?)
• Anna mówi po angielsku. (Anna speaks English.)
• Lubimy kawę. (We like coffee.)
• Dzieci śpią. (The children are sleeping.)

One present tense for "now" and "usually"

Polish has no separate "be + -ing" form. The same present form says both what happens regularly and what is happening right now:

• Mówię po polsku. (I speak Polish. / I am speaking Polish.)
• Robię zakupy. (I do the shopping. / I am shopping.)
• Uczę dzieci. (I teach children. / I am teaching children.)

Words such as codziennie (every day), teraz (now) and zawsze (always) make the meaning clear when it matters.

Leaving out the pronoun

Because each person has its own ending, the pronoun is often left out: Lubię kawę., Mówimy po polsku., Co robicie? It can be added for contrast or emphasis: Ja mówię po polsku, a ty mówisz po angielsku. (I speak Polish, and you speak English.)

The 3rd person forms robi and robią do not show who is meant, so a noun or pronoun usually stays unless the previous sentence has made it clear: Anna mówi po polsku., Oni śpią. More about the subject pronouns is in Personal pronouns.

Negatives and questions

For a negative, nie stands before the verb, as a separate word:

• Nie mówię po rosyjsku. (I don't speak Russian.)
• Dzieci nie śpią. (The children are not sleeping.)
• Anna nie chodzi do szkoły. (Anna doesn't go to school.)

A yes/no question can start with czy, or simply rise in intonation at the end:

• Czy mówisz po angielsku? (Do you speak English?)
• Mówisz po angielsku? (Do you speak English?)

Polish has no word like English do here, so there is no extra helper in either the question or the negative. More about the two patterns is in Negation with "nie" and Questions: czy and question words.

Telling the groups apart

The ja form and the ty form together tell which group a verb belongs to:

• -am, -asz → the -am, -asz group: czytam, czytasz, czyta (see Present tense: -am, -asz verbs).
• -ę, -esz → the -ę, -esz group: piszę, piszesz, pisze (see Present tense: -ę, -esz verbs).
• -ę, -isz / -ysz → this group: robię, robisz, robi and uczę, uczysz, uczy.

A few very frequent verbs, such as mieć (to have) and jeść (to eat), do not fit these patterns neatly and are covered in Present tense: irregular verbs.

Common mistakes

• ❌ Ja robisz. → ✅ Ja robię. (-isz is only for ty)
• ❌ Anna robię. → ✅ Anna robi. (the 3rd person singular ends in -i, not -ę)
• ❌ Oni robiają. → ✅ Oni robią. (the 3rd person plural ends in -ą after the i)
• ❌ Ty uczisz. → ✅ Ty uczysz. (after cz the vowel is written y)
• ❌ Ja chodzię. → ✅ Ja chodzę. (the ja form is chodz-ę)
• ❌ Mówię nie. → ✅ Nie mówię. (nie goes before the verb)

Quick check

Which form fits each gap?

1. Ja ___ zadanie domowe. (robić)
2. Ty ___ po polsku. (mówić)
3. Anna ___ dzieci. (uczyć)
4. My ___ do pracy. (chodzić)
5. Wy ___ kawę. (lubić)
6. Dzieci ___. (spać)

Key takeaways

• The -ę, -isz / -ysz pattern: -ę, -isz / -ysz, -i / -y, -imy / -ymy, -icie / -ycie, -ą: robię, robisz, robi, robimy, robicie, robią.
• The vowel is written y after cz, sz, ż, rz: uczę, uczysz, uczy, słyszę, słyszysz.
• The ja and oni forms often have a harder consonant than the other persons (chodzę, chodzą against chodzisz, chodzi; proszę against prosisz), so it helps to learn each verb with its ja form.
• The infinitive does not show the group: pić and myć take -esz, while spać takes -isz.
• One present form means both "I speak" and "I am speaking"; the ending shows the person, so the pronoun is usually left out.
• Negative: nie before the verb. Question: czy at the start, or rising intonation.