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Contents 1 Introduction to verbs and conjugation 1.1 Perfective vs Imperfective 1.2 czytać 1.2.1 Exercises 1.3 kupować 1.3.1 Exercises 2 Introduction to declension 2.1 Exercises

[edit] Introduction to verbs and conjugation

[edit] Perfective vs Imperfective

Each Polish verb is either perfective or imperfective. Basically, perfective verbs imply completion, while imperfective verbs imply an ongoing action with no sense of completion.

Perfective verbs tend to have a prefix (do, na, od, po, prze, przy, s, u, wy, z, za) but there are many that don't.
Imperfective verbs tend not to have a prefix (but beware, some do!).

[edit] czytać

Here is a very typical verb conjugation. You can use this to conjugate many (but not all) verbs ending in -ać.

czytać, meaning "to read", is an imperfective verb so when you conjugate it, you get the present tense:

Subject	Pronoun (optional)	Conjugate verb	Translation
1st person	Ja	czytam	I am reading
2nd person	Ty	czytasz	You (singular) are reading
3rd person	On / Ona / Ono	czyta	He/she/it is reading
1st person, plural	My	czytamy	We are reading
2nd person, plural	Wy	czytacie	You (plural) are reading
3rd person, plural	Oni / One	czytają	They are reading

[edit] Exercises

Main article: Exercises - Introductory conjugation

Przeczytać also means "to read" but it's a perfective verb, so when you conjugate it, you will get the future.

Remember that perfective verbs imply completion so Przeczytam książkę means "I will read the book (and finish)." In other words, "I will read the entire book."

Note that, like in Spanish and Italian, subject pronouns (Ja, Ty, On, My, Wy, Oni) are not necessary.

Ok, let's try conjugating this verb (Click "▼" to check your answer):

[edit] kupować

Other ować verbs will follow this pattern.

kupować (to buy) is an imperfective verb,

This is how you conjugate it:

Subject	Pronoun	Conjugated verb	Translation
1st person	Ja	kupuję	I am buying
2nd person	Ty	kupujesz	You (singular) are buying
3rd person	On / Ona / Ono	kupuje	He/she/it is buying
1st person, plural	My	kupujemy	We are buying
2nd person, plural	Wy	kupujecie	You (plural) are buying
3rd person, plural	Oni / One	kupują	They are buying

As you can see, it's quite similar to what you learned previously.

[edit] Exercises

Main article: Exercises - Introductory conjugation

Let's try conjugating a verb of this same type. However, our chosen verb narysować (to draw a picture) happens to be a perfective verb which implies completion. When you conjugate it,

Ok, let's start conjugating.

[edit] Introduction to declension

Polish has seven cases. Here's the basic idea:

• The nominative case indicates the subject of a verb:

  The man went to the store.

• The genitive case indicates the possessor of another noun, which in English is indicated by 's or of.
  The genitive is also used for the direct object in negatives sentences:

  A country's citizens must defend its honour.

  I did not buy the car.

• The dative case indicates the indirect object of a verb (To whom? or For whom?):

  We told her the truth.

  The man gave his daughter a book.

  I made them dinner.

• The accusative case indicates the direct object of a verb:

  I bought the car.

• The instrumental case indicates a tool/means with which an action is performed:

  He shot it with the gun.

• The locative case indicates a location:

  I live in China.

• The vocative case indicates the person you are addressing:

  Professor, are you O.K.?

[edit] Exercises

Main article: Exercises - What case should I use?

Which case should we use for the word or words in red?