Polish Conjugation II (-ę, -isz/-ysz)

In Brief

Polish Conjugation II verbs use -ę for “I,” -isz or -ysz for informal singular “you,” and -ą for “they”: mówię, mówisz, mówią (“I speak, you speak, they speak”). The full endings are -ę, -isz/-ysz, -i/-y, -imy/-ymy, -icie/-ycie, -ą. Learn the present-tense stem with the verb, because spelling and consonants sometimes change from the infinitive.

Overview

Conjugation means changing a verb to show who performs the action. English makes only a few such changes—“I speak” but “she speaks”—whereas Polish gives every grammatical person its own ending. This pattern, traditionally called koniugacja II (“Conjugation II”), is one of the main present-tense patterns introduced at A1.

It covers many frequent verbs, including mówić (“to speak”), robić (“to do/make”), lubić (“to like”), uczyć się (“to learn/study”), and widzieć (“to see”). Their dictionary form is the infinitive (the basic “to…” form), but an infinitive ending alone does not always predict the conjugation safely. It is better to learn three forms together: mówić — mówię — mówisz.

Polish often leaves out the subject pronoun because the verb ending already identifies the subject. Mówię po polsku normally means “I speak Polish”; adding ja makes the subject explicit or contrastive: Ja mówię po polsku, a on po angielsku (“I speak Polish, while he speaks English”).

How It Works

The six present-tense endings

A stem is the part of the verb to which an ending is added. For mówić, the present stem is mów-.

Person	Polish pronoun	Ending after a hard consonant	Ending after a soft or softened consonant	mówić (“to speak”)
1st singular	ja	-ę	-ę	mówię
2nd singular	ty	-ysz	-isz	mówisz
3rd singular	on, ona, ono	-y	-i	mówi
1st plural	my	-ymy	-imy	mówimy
2nd plural	wy	-ycie	-icie	mówicie
3rd plural	oni, one	-ą	-ą	mówią

“First person” means the speaker (ja, my), “second person” the person addressed (ty, wy), and “third person” anyone or anything else. The choice between i and y follows Polish spelling and the shape of the stem; do not freely swap the two sets. After many soft consonants, including the sound represented by j, ś, ź, ć, dź, ń or softened consonant spellings, the forms contain -isz, -i, -imy, -icie. Other stems in this conjugation use -ysz, -y, -ymy, -ycie, as in uczyć.

Three useful model verbs

Person	robić — to do/make	mówić — to speak	uczyć się — to learn/study
ja	robię	mówię	uczę się
ty	robisz	mówisz	uczysz się
on/ona/ono	robi	mówi	uczy się
my	robimy	mówimy	uczymy się
wy	robicie	mówicie	uczycie się
oni/one	robią	mówią	uczą się

With uczyć się, się is a reflexive particle—a small word that is part of the verb expression. It does not change for person. Only uczyć changes: uczę się, uczysz się, uczą się. In a neutral sentence, się usually follows the verb or another early element; it is not normally placed at the very beginning or at the very end of a sentence.

Building a basic form

For a predictable verb such as robić:

1. Identify the present stem: rob-.
2. Choose the ending for the subject.
3. Combine them: rob- + -imy → robimy (“we do/we are doing”).

This process is useful once you know the stem. However, simply cutting -ić or -yć from every infinitive is not a complete rule. Compare prosić — proszę — prosisz (“ask”), chodzić — chodzę — chodzisz (“walk/go regularly”), and widzieć — widzę — widzisz (“see”). Their consonants or spelling differ across the forms.

One Polish present tense, several English translations

Polish does not contrast “I do” and “I am doing” through separate present-tense forms. Context decides the natural English translation:

• Robię kawę. — “I’m making coffee.”
• Codziennie robię kawę rano. — “I make coffee every morning.”
• Uczę się polskiego od roku. — “I have been learning Polish for a year.”

Do not look for an extra word equivalent to English “am/is/are” before a present-tense Polish verb.

Negation and questions

Put nie directly before the verb to negate it:

• Nie mówię dobrze po polsku. — “I don’t speak Polish well.”
• Ona nie lubi kawy. — “She doesn’t like coffee.”

Polish can form a yes/no question with czy, but intonation alone is also possible in conversation:

• Czy robisz obiad? — “Are you making dinner?”
• Robisz obiad? — “Are you making dinner?”

The conjugated form itself does not change in either a negative sentence or a question.

Examples in Context

Polish	English	Note
Mówię po polsku.	I speak Polish.	1st person singular; pronoun omitted
Robisz to dobrze.	You’re doing it well.	Informal singular “you”
Uczę się polskiego.	I’m learning Polish.	Reflexive verb with się
Ona lubi czarną kawę.	She likes black coffee.	3rd person singular
Widzimy teraz stację.	We can see the station now.	1st person plural
Czy mówicie po angielsku?	Do you speak English?	Plural or informal group “you”
Oni widzą nas.	They see us.	Masculine-personal oni
Dzieci uczą się w domu.	The children are studying at home.	one class, but the pronoun is omitted
Nie robię dziś obiadu.	I’m not making dinner today.	nie precedes the verb
Co robisz wieczorem?	What are you doing this evening?	Question word plus 2nd person singular
Codziennie chodzimy do pracy.	We walk/go to work every day.	Habitual present
Proszę o rachunek.	I’m asking for the bill.	Stem alternation: prosić — proszę
Ja mówię po polsku, a Marta mówi po niemiecku.	I speak Polish, while Marta speaks German.	ja marks contrast
Lubicie ten film?	Do you like this film?	2nd person plural

Common Mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a personal form

• Wrong: Ja mówić po polsku.
• Right: Mówię po polsku.
• Why: The infinitive mówić means “to speak.” A normal present-tense statement needs a form marked for person, here mówię.

Adding an English-style form of “be”

• Wrong: Jestem robię obiad.
• Right: Robię obiad.
• Why: Robię can mean either “I do/make” or “I am doing/making.” Polish does not build the present progressive with być (“to be”).

Mixing singular and plural “you”

• Wrong: Wy robisz kawę?
• Right: Wy robicie kawę?
• Why: ty takes robisz, while wy takes robicie. English uses “you” for both, so this distinction needs deliberate practice.

Guessing the first-person form from the infinitive

• Wrong: Ja prosę o pomoc.
• Right: Proszę o pomoc.
• Why: Some verbs change the stem consonant: prosić — proszę — prosisz. Memorize the “I” and “you” forms with the infinitive.

Changing or dropping się

• Wrong: Uczę polskiego when you mean “I am learning Polish.”
• Right: Uczę się polskiego.
• Why: uczyć się means “to learn/study,” while uczyć without się means “to teach”: Uczę polskiego can mean “I teach Polish.” The particle stays się in every person.

Using i and y endings interchangeably

• Wrong: uczicie się or mówycie
• Right: uczycie się; mówicie
• Why: Each verb follows one spelling pattern: uczysz, uczy, uczymy, uczycie but mówisz, mówi, mówimy, mówicie.

Usage Notes

Pronouns are often optional

Because robię, robisz, and robią already identify the person, neutral Polish usually omits ja, ty, my, or wy. Pronouns appear naturally for contrast, correction, or emphasis:

• Ja robię obiad, a ty zmywasz. — “I’m making dinner, and you’re washing up.”
• Nie, to ona mówi po francusku. — “No, she is the one who speaks French.”

Repeated pronouns in every sentence can sound heavier than natural Polish, even though they may remain grammatically possible.

Wy and polite address are not the same thing

Wy is the ordinary plural “you.” Polite singular address commonly uses pan for a man and pani for a woman with a third-person singular verb: Czy pani mówi po angielsku? (“Do you speak English, ma’am?”). Polite plural forms such as państwo take a third-person plural verb: Czy państwo mówią po angielsku? This is more than an ending choice, but it explains why English “you” does not always map to ty or wy.

Oni and one share the same verb form

Polish distinguishes oni (a group containing at least one male person) from one (women only, or non-personal plurals), but both use the same Conjugation II ending:

• Oni mówią. — “They speak.”
• One mówią. — “They speak.”

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master all the details below at A1, but they explain forms you will encounter.

Stem alternations form recurring families

Some Conjugation II verbs alternate consonants between the first-person singular or third-person plural and the other forms:

Infinitive	“I” form	“you” form	“they” form	Meaning
prosić	proszę	prosisz	proszą	ask/request
nosić	noszę	nosisz	noszą	carry/wear habitually
chodzić	chodzę	chodzisz	chodzą	walk/go habitually
widzieć	widzę	widzisz	widzą	see
płacić	płacę	płacisz	płacą	pay

These are not random errors in spelling; they reflect regular sound patterns in Polish word formation. For practical learning, the three-part entry prosić — proszę — prosisz is more reliable than trying to derive every form from the written infinitive.

Aspect affects present-time meaning

Polish verbs come in aspects, forms that present an action as ongoing/repeated or as a complete whole. The verbs in this article are imperfective, so their present forms describe actual present or habitual actions. A formally present-tense form of a perfective partner normally refers to the future instead. For example, robię means “I do/I am doing,” but zrobię normally means “I will do/finish.” Aspect deserves its own lesson; for now, do not assume that every verb with a familiar personal ending has present-time meaning.

The classification describes forms, not just infinitive endings

Many verbs in this group end in -ić or -yć, but those letters are a clue rather than an absolute membership test. Polish conjugation classes are identified most securely by their present forms, especially the 1st- and 2nd-person singular. Dictionaries and learning materials therefore often give principal parts such as widzieć, widzę, widzisz.

Practice Tips

1. Learn verbs in threes. Say or write mówić — mówię — mówisz, uczyć się — uczę się — uczysz się, and widzieć — widzę — widzisz. The rest of the paradigm then becomes much easier to predict.
2. Rotate one sentence through all six persons. Start with Robię kawę, then produce Robisz kawę, Robi kawę, Robimy kawę, Robicie kawę, Robią kawę. Remove the pronouns once the endings feel secure.
3. Sort what you hear. While listening to Polish, collect forms ending in -ę, -isz/-ysz, and -ą. Mark whether they mean “I,” informal singular “you,” or “they,” and note any stem alternation.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Personal Pronouns — identifies the six persons represented by the verb endings.
• Next step: Modal Verbs — combines conjugated modal forms with infinitives to express ability, desire, and necessity.
• Next step: Expressing Likes — develops the use of lubić and contrasts it with podobać się.