Mieć (to Have) in Polish

In Brief

Polish mieć means “to have.” Its present-tense forms are mam, masz, ma, mamy, macie, mają, and the ending normally makes the subject clear: Mam psa means “I have a dog” without ja. Use mieć for possession, age, and expressions such as mieć czas (“to have time”) and mieć rację (“to be right”).

Overview

Mieć is one of the essential verbs introduced at A1. It lets you talk about what people possess, what is available to them, and what they experience: a family can have a car, a student can have a question, and a friend can have time. It is irregular enough that its six present forms should be learned as a set.

English speakers will recognize the basic idea of “have,” but Polish does not always match English word for word. Polish uses mieć to state age—Mam trzydzieści lat literally has the structure “I have thirty years”—and in expressions such as mieć rację (“to be right”) and mieć ochotę (“to feel like”). Conversely, English auxiliary “have” in “I have seen” is not translated with mieć in ordinary Polish.

Polish nouns can change their endings according to their role. This system is called case (different noun forms that show how a word functions in a sentence). After affirmative mieć, the thing possessed is normally a direct object (the person or thing directly affected by the verb) in the accusative case. Under negation, it normally changes to the genitive: Mam czas (“I have time”), but Nie mam czasu (“I do not have time”). Beginners can first learn these as complete phrases and study the case patterns gradually.

How It Works

Present-tense conjugation

The infinitive (the dictionary form of a verb) is mieć. In the present tense, use these forms:

Person	Polish pronoun	Form	Basic meaning
first-person singular	ja	mam	I have
second-person singular	ty	masz	you have, informal singular
third-person singular	on / ona / ono	ma	he / she / it has
first-person plural	my	mamy	we have
second-person plural	wy	macie	you have, plural
third-person plural	oni / one	mają	they have

Pay special attention to the spelling and sound of mają. The final ą is a Polish nasal vowel; it is not the same as plain a. Also distinguish masz (“you have,” singular) from macie (“you have,” plural).

Subject pronouns are often omitted

Because mam, masz, and the other forms already identify the grammatical person, Polish commonly leaves out the subject pronoun:

• Mam pytanie. — “I have a question.”
• Macie samochód? — “Do you have a car?” (speaking to more than one person)
• Mają dużo pracy. — “They have a lot of work.”

Include the pronoun when making a contrast or correcting someone:

• Ja mam bilet, ale ona nie ma biletu. — “I have a ticket, but she does not.”
• Ty masz klucz, nie ja. — “You have the key, not me.”

English normally requires “I,” “you,” or “they,” so dropping the pronoun may initially feel incomplete. In Polish it is neutral and natural.

Statements and questions

Polish does not use an equivalent of English auxiliary “do” to make a question. Intonation alone can turn a statement into a spoken question, or czy can introduce a neutral yes-or-no question:

• Masz czas. — “You have time.”
• Masz czas? — “Do you have time?”
• Czy masz czas? — “Do you have time?”

With a question word, do not add czy:

• Co masz? — “What do you have?”
• Ile macie czasu? — “How much time do you have?”
• Dlaczego ona ma mój telefon? — “Why does she have my phone?”

The object after affirmative mieć

The possessed item normally takes the accusative case. Some nouns look unchanged, while others visibly change:

Dictionary form	After mieć	Example	Meaning
telefon	telefon	Mam telefon.	I have a phone.
książka	książkę	Mam książkę.	I have a book.
pies	psa	Mam psa.	I have a dog.
dziecko	dziecko	Mają dziecko.	They have a child.

The exact ending depends on gender, number, and—especially for masculine nouns—whether the noun refers to a living being. At A1, memorize high-frequency combinations such as mam czas, mam pytanie, mam siostrę, and mam psa rather than trying to derive every ending at once.

Negation: nie plus the genitive

Put nie directly before the verb: nie mam, nie masz, nie ma, nie mamy, nie macie, nie mają. In standard Polish, an object that would be accusative in the affirmative normally becomes genitive (a case used after negated verbs, among other functions).

Affirmative	Negative	English
Mam czas.	Nie mam czasu.	I have time. / I do not have time.
Ma samochód.	Nie ma samochodu.	He or she has a car. / does not have a car.
Mamy kawę.	Nie mamy kawy.	We have coffee. / We do not have coffee.
Mają dzieci.	Nie mają dzieci.	They have children. / They do not have children.

This change is one of the biggest differences from English. Learn the positive and negative versions together: mam pieniądze / nie mam pieniędzy, mam pracę / nie mam pracy.

Formal “you”

For polite singular address, Polish commonly uses pan for a man and pani for a woman with the third-person singular form ma. For a group addressed politely, państwo takes mają.

• Czy ma pan chwilę? — “Do you have a moment, sir?”
• Czy pani ma rezerwację? — “Do you have a reservation, ma’am?”
• Czy mają państwo dzieci? — “Do you have children?” (formal plural or a politely addressed couple)

Do not combine pan or pani with masz. Grammatically, these polite forms behave like “the gentleman has” or “the lady has,” even though their practical meaning is “you have.”

Talking about age

Polish asks and states age with mieć, not być (“to be”):

• Ile masz lat? — “How old are you?”
• Mam dwadzieścia lat. — “I am twenty years old.”
• Ona ma osiem lat. — “She is eight.”

The form of rok (“year”) depends on the number: jeden rok, dwa lata, pięć lat, dwadzieścia dwa lata. Number forms are a separate topic, so an A1 learner can safely memorize Ile masz lat? and their own answer as fixed phrases.

Examples in Context

Polish	English	Note
Mam psa.	I have a dog.	Basic possession; pies changes to psa.
Czy masz czas?	Do you have time?	Neutral yes-or-no question.
Mamy problem.	We have a problem.	First-person plural.
On ma rację.	He is right.	Literally, “He has right.”
Mam dwie siostry.	I have two sisters.	Family relationship.
Ona ma nowy telefon.	She has a new phone.	The adjective and noun are accusative.
Nie mam dziś czasu.	I do not have time today.	Negation requires czasu.
Macie jakieś pytania?	Do you have any questions?	Informal plural “you.”
Czy pani ma rezerwację?	Do you have a reservation?	Polite address to a woman.
Mają dużo pracy.	They have a lot of work.	Dużo is followed by the genitive.
Ile lat ma twój brat?	How old is your brother?	Age question about another person.
Mam ochotę na kawę.	I feel like having coffee.	Common expression with ochotę na.
Nie mamy pojęcia.	We have no idea.	Fixed everyday expression.
Masz szczęście!	You are lucky!	Literally, “You have luck.”
Dzisiaj mam lekcję polskiego.	I have a Polish lesson today.	An event on one’s schedule.

Common Mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

• Wrong: Ja mieć pytanie.
• Right: Mam pytanie.
• Why: Mieć is the dictionary form. A present-tense sentence needs mam with “I.” The pronoun ja is normally unnecessary.

Copying English “do” into questions

• Wrong: Robisz mieć czas?
• Right: Masz czas? or Czy masz czas?
• Why: Polish forms this question with intonation or czy. It does not add a verb meaning “do.”

Keeping the accusative after negation

• Wrong: Nie mam czas.
• Right: Nie mam czasu.
• Why: The object of a negated Polish verb normally takes the genitive. Here czas changes to czasu.

Using być for age

• Wrong: Jestem dwadzieścia lat.
• Right: Mam dwadzieścia lat.
• Why: English says “I am twenty,” but Polish uses mieć: literally, “I have twenty years.”

Matching polite address with the informal verb form

• Wrong: Czy pani masz rezerwację?
• Right: Czy pani ma rezerwację?
• Why: Pan and pani take third-person singular ma, not second-person masz.

Translating every English “have” as mieć

• Wrong: Mam widział ten film. for “I have seen this film.”
• Right: Widziałem ten film. (male speaker) or Widziałam ten film. (female speaker)
• Why: English uses “have” to build the present perfect. Polish normally expresses the completed past with a past-tense verb, not with mieć plus another verb.

Usage Notes

Useful expressions that do not translate word for word

Many common combinations with mieć correspond to English expressions with “be” or “feel”:

Polish expression	Natural English equivalent
mieć rację	to be right
mieć szczęście	to be lucky
mieć pecha	to be unlucky
mieć czas	to have time
mieć ochotę na coś	to feel like something
mieć nadzieję	to hope
mieć na imię...	to be called... / one’s name is...
mieć dość	to have had enough
mieć pojęcie	to have an idea / know about something

Treat these as whole expressions. For example, Mam na imię Anna is the standard way to say “My name is Anna,” while Mam ochotę na pizzę means “I feel like pizza.”

Nie ma can mean “there is no” or “is not here”

The third-person form ma appears in the very common impersonal pattern nie ma:

• Nie ma problemu. — “No problem” or “There is no problem.”
• Nie ma mleka. — “There is no milk.”
• Ani nie ma w domu. — “Ania is not at home.”

The last example is especially different from English: Polish can use nie ma to say that a person is absent from a place. The absent person or thing appears in the genitive: Ania becomes Ani.

Possession is broader than ownership

Mieć does not always mean legal ownership. Mam klucz may mean that the key is currently in your possession; Mam spotkanie o trzeciej means that a meeting is on your schedule. Context supplies the exact relationship.

The verb posiadać can also mean “possess” or “own,” but it is more formal and is common in official, legal, or commercial language. In everyday conversation, mieć is usually the natural choice.

Beyond the Basics

You do not need to master these forms at A1, but they show how the same verb develops in later study.

Past tense agrees with gender and number

In the past, mieć changes according to the speaker’s or subject’s gender as well as person:

• Miałem dużo pracy. — “I had a lot of work.” (male speaker)
• Miałam dużo pracy. — “I had a lot of work.” (female speaker)
• Ona miała rację. — “She was right.”
• Mieliśmy mały problem. — “We had a small problem.” (a masculine-personal or mixed group)
• Miałyśmy mały problem. — “We had a small problem.” (an all-female group)

These endings belong to the wider Polish past-tense system rather than the A1 present-tense rule.

Future and conditional forms

The future of this imperfective verb is built with a future form of być plus a past-like form or the infinitive:

• Będę miał czas jutro. — “I will have time tomorrow.” (male speaker)
• Będę miała czas jutro. — “I will have time tomorrow.” (female speaker)
• Będziemy mieć więcej czasu. — “We will have more time.”

The conditional (a form used for hypothetical situations or polite wishes) includes forms such as miałbym and miałabym:

• Chciałbym mieć więcej czasu. — “I would like to have more time.” (male speaker)
• Gdybym miała samochód, pojechałabym nad morze. — “If I had a car, I would go to the seaside.” (female speaker)

Mieć plus an infinitive

At higher levels, mieć followed by an infinitive can express an arrangement, expectation, instruction, or something reported rather than directly confirmed:

• Mam zadzwonić o szóstej. — “I am supposed to call at six.”
• Pociąg ma przyjechać za dziesięć minut. — “The train is expected to arrive in ten minutes.”
• On ma być bardzo bogaty. — “He is said to be very rich.”

This is not simple possession. Its meaning depends on context, so beginners should first secure the six present forms and the everyday expressions above.

Practice Tips

1. Build six-line mini-paradigms. Choose one useful phrase, such as mieć czas, and say it with every form: mam czas, masz czas, ma czas, mamy czas, macie czas, mają czas. Then repeat with problem, pytanie, or bilet.
2. Learn positive and negative pairs. Make cards with Mam kawę / Nie mam kawy and Mamy samochód / Nie mamy samochodu. This trains both the verb and the case change instead of leaving negation for later.
3. Personalize five expressions. Say your age, what you have with you, what you have planned, whether you have time, and what you feel like: Mam trzydzieści lat. Mam telefon. Mam spotkanie. Nie mam czasu. Mam ochotę na herbatę. Personal facts are easier to recall than isolated forms.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Personal Pronouns — learn ja, ty, on, ona, my, wy, oni, and one so you can connect each person with the correct form of mieć.