Verbs

Infinitive

Infinitive verbs are those verbs that appear in a dictionary. The infinitive verbs usually end in ć in the Polish language.

We use the infinitive verbs after:

  1. Modal verbs: Dziś mogę sprzątać. (Today I can clean.)
  2. Impersonal expressions: Warto pomyśleć! (It is worth thinking about it.)
  3. Polite imperative: Proszę wejść. (Please come in.) and more.

Imperative

  1. Imperative verbs have imperfective and perfective forms. We use the imperative:
  • Imperfective, to order someone to do something right at this moment
  • Perfective, to order someone to complete an action in future.

These orders are usually informally given to friends or acquaintances.

2. More formally, use polite imperative and the word proszę (please), for example:

  • Proszę usiądź. (Please sit down.)
  • Proszę wejdź. (Please come in.).

3. We can also use the infinitive form of the verb when we use proszę (please), for example:

  • Proszę wejść (Please come in.)
  • Proszę usiąść. (Please sit down.)

This form is usually chosen when we meet someone for the first time or when we address someone who is our senior. Further, we use the imperative in formal situations with the particle niech (let) and the conjugated verb in the third person, for example:

  • Niech Pani pisze. (Please write, madam.)
  • Niech Pan wejdzie. (Please come in, sir.)
Imperative
imperfectiveperfectiveimperfectiveperfectiveimperfectiveperfective
czytać (read)czytać (read)przeczytać (read)robić (do/make)zrobić (do/make)pisać (write)napisać (write)
Ijaczytam…………….……………….…………….……………….…………….……………….
youtyczytaszczytaj
…………….		przeczytaj
…………….		rób
…………….		zrób
…………….		pisz
…………….		napisz
…………….
he/ she/ iton/ ona/ onoczyta
wemyczytamyczytajmyprzeczytajmyróbmyzróbmypiszmynapiszmy
you plwyczytacieczytajcieprzeczytajcieróbciezróbciepiszcienapiszcie
theyoniczytają……………………………….……………………………….……………………………………

Modal auxiliary verbs

Modal auxiliary verbs: chcieć (to want), mieć (to have), musieć (to have to), potrafić (be capable of), móc (to be able to), powinienem (I should). These verbs help to express hypothetical conditions, things that we are able, must, should, want and can do. The verbs that follow the modal verbs are usually in the infinitive form, for example: Chcę posprzątać. (I want to clean.) Muszę iść na zakupy. (I have to go shopping.) Potrafię jeździć na rowerze. (I can ride a bike.)

  • 💡potrafić (to be capable of) – is the perfective equivalent of móc (to be able to), therefore, potrafić has no present tense. It is used as an imperfective verb where the future tense serves as present.
  • 💡powinienem (m)/ powinnam (f) (I should) – has no infinitive and only two tenses: present and past. To create a past tense we add the ending był/była, for example: Powinnam była przeczytać ten list. (I should have read this letter.)
musieć (to have to)chcieć (to want to)móc
(to be able to)		mieć (to have)
Ijamuszęchcęmogęmam
youtymusiszchceszmożeszmasz
he she iton ona onomusichcemożema
wemymusimychcemymożemymacie
you pl.wymusiciechceciemożeciemamy
theyonimusząchcąmogąmają
Conjugation of the modal auxiliary verbs.

Impersonal verbs

Impersonal verbs exist in the third person singular and are joined with the infinitive verbs, examples of impersonal verbs: trzeba (one needs to), można (one can), warto (it’s worth doing something), szkoda (its a shame), wolno (you are allowed).

  • Trzeba posprzątać dom. ( It’s necessary to clean the house.)
  • Można się tu zrelaksować. (One can relax here.)
  • Warto o tym pomyśleć. (It’s worth thinking about it.)
  • Szkoda tego zmarnować. (It’s a shame to waste it.)
  • Tu wolno palić. (One can smoke here.)
  • Nie wolno tu pić alkoholu. (One cannot drink alkohol here.)

Reflexive verbs (się)

Reflexive verbs (się) often express the action done to oneself. Się translates as: myself, yourself, themselves and so on, for example: Myję się. (I wash myself.)

  • some verbs are always reflexive: bać się (to be scared), śmiać się (to laugh), opiekować się (to care for someone)
  • some verbs have two forms: non-reflexive and reflexive, for example: uczyć (to teach) and uczyć się (to learn)

More information:

Reflexive Pronoun

Perfective and Imperfective Verbs

Conditional Tense Verbs