What are common mistakes with Czas teraźniejszy?

Learners mix up conjugation groups and apply wrong endings. The -ę/-isz and -ę/-esz groups are most confusing. English speakers: English has almost no conjugation — must memorize all six forms per verb. Russian speakers: Two conjugation groups in Russian vs four in Polish, but the concept transfers well. Czech speakers: Czech conjugation classes map closely to Polish; -ám/-áš ≈ -am/-asz, -ím/-íš ≈ -ę/-isz.

Czas teraźniejszy: zasady, przykłady i ćwiczenia | Polish Grammar A1

Czas teraźniejszy

A1 — Czasowniki

Present tense conjugation patterns in Polish

Can conjugate common verbs in present tense across all four patterns

Present tense conjugation patterns in Polish

Examples

Mówię po polsku. — I speak Polish.
Rozumiesz? — Do you understand?
Pracujemy każdego dnia. — We work every day.

CzasownikiA1

Present Tense

Present tense conjugation patterns in Polish

Learning Goal

I can conjugate common verbs in present tense

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

Mówię po polsku.

I speak Polish.

Rozumiesz?

Do you understand?

Pracujemy każdego dnia.

We work every day.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

Czas teraźniejszy — Present Tense

Polish verbs conjugate by person and number. There are 4 main patterns:

Pattern	ja	ty	on/ona	Example
-am/-asz	kocham	kochasz	kocha	kochać (to love)
-em/-esz	rozumiem	rozumiesz	rozumie	rozumieć (to understand)
-ę/-isz	robię	robisz	robi	robić (to do)
-ę/-esz	piszę	piszesz	pisze	pisać (to write)

Plural: my -my (robimy), wy -cie (robicie), oni/one -ą (robią). Subject pronouns are usually dropped — the ending tells you who.

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

Learners mix up the four conjugation groups and apply wrong endings.

Mówię po polsku.

I speak Polish.

mówić follows the -ę/-isz pattern: mówię, mówisz, mówi.

Rozumiesz?

Do you understand?

rozumieć follows the -em/-esz pattern: rozumiem, rozumiesz.

Pracujemy każdego dnia.

We work every day.

pracować follows -ę/-esz: pracuję, pracujesz, my → pracujemy.

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

A1 Course

← Back to topics

Put it into practice

Try a free exercise from the course

Frequently asked questions

When is Czas teraźniejszy used?: Polish verbs conjugate by person and number. There are 4 main patterns :
How is Czas teraźniejszy formed?: Plural: my -my (robimy), wy -cie (robicie), oni/one -ą (robią). Subject pronouns are usually dropped — the ending tells you who.
What are common mistakes with Czas teraźniejszy?: Learners mix up conjugation groups and apply wrong endings. The -ę/-isz and -ę/-esz groups are most confusing. English speakers: English has almost no conjugation — must memorize all six forms per verb. Russian speakers: Two conjugation groups in Russian vs four in Polish, but the concept transfers well. Czech speakers: Czech conjugation classes map closely to Polish; -ám/-áš ≈ -am/-asz, -ím/-íš ≈ -ę/-isz.