The everyday "I'm going to…" is two verbs in Polish, not one. Which you pick depends on how you travel: on your own feet, or by some vehicle. This is the single biggest surprise for English speakers, who use "go" for both. This page recaps the two determinate (single-direction, "right now / this trip") motion verbs you need first — iść (on foot) and jechać (by vehicle) — together with their perfective partners pójść and pojechać. Both presents are irregular, so they reward careful drilling.
iść — to go (on foot), imperfective
iść describes going on foot, in one direction, at the time spoken about ("I'm walking there now / I'm on my way"). The present is irregular: the stem is idzie-, but the "I" and "they" forms reduce to id-.
| Person | Present |
|---|---|
| ja | idę |
| ty | idziesz |
| on / ona / ono | idzie |
| my | idziemy |
| wy | idziecie |
| oni / one | idą |
The past of iść is suppletive — it switches to a completely different stem, sz-:
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular (on / ona / ono) | szedł | szła | szło |
| Plural — men/mixed | szli | ||
| Plural — other | szły | ||
So "I was walking" is szedłem (male) / szłam (female), "we were going" szliśmy / szłyśmy. The imperative is idź! ("go!"), plural idźcie! Note the everyday word for "come (here)!" is chodź!, a different (indeterminate) verb you'll meet in iść / chodzić. The contemporary verbal adverb is idąc ("while walking").
Idę teraz do pracy.
I'm walking to work now.
Dokąd idziesz?
Where are you going (on foot)?
Szłam ulicą, kiedy zaczęło padać.
I was walking down the street when it started to rain. (female speaker)
pójść — to go (on foot), perfective
pójść is the perfective partner: a single, completed (or planned-as-completed) trip on foot. With no present tense, its present-shaped forms are the perfective future ("I will go"). Note the ó.
| Person | Perfective future |
|---|---|
| ja | pójdę |
| ty | pójdziesz |
| on / ona / ono | pójdzie |
| my | pójdziemy |
| wy | pójdziecie |
| oni / one | pójdą |
Its past again uses the sz- stem, with the po- prefix: poszedł / poszła / poszło, plural poszli / poszły. The imperative pójdź! exists but is rare; in speech you'll hear chodź! for "come on, let's go". The verbal adverb is poszedłszy ("having gone").
Jutro pójdę do lekarza.
Tomorrow I'll go to the doctor. (one planned trip)
Poszedł do sklepu i wrócił z chlebem.
He went to the shop and came back with bread. (completed)
Może pójdziemy na spacer?
Maybe we'll go for a walk? (suggestion)
jechać — to go (by vehicle), imperfective
jechać is "go" by any vehicle — car, bus, train, bike. The present is irregular and you must not let it drift toward jecham: the "I"/"they" forms are jadę / jadą (note the a), while the middle forms have jedzie-.
| Person | Present |
|---|---|
| ja | jadę |
| ty | jedziesz |
| on / ona / ono | jedzie |
| my | jedziemy |
| wy | jedziecie |
| oni / one | jadą |
The past is regular off the stem jechał-: jechał / jechała / jechało, plural jechali / jechały. The imperative is jedź! ("go! / drive!"), plural jedźcie! The verbal adverb is jadąc ("while riding/driving").
Jadę do Krakowa pociągiem.
I'm going to Kraków by train.
Czym jedziesz — autobusem czy samochodem?
How are you travelling — by bus or by car?
Jechaliśmy całą noc.
We were driving all night.
pojechać — to go (by vehicle), perfective
The perfective partner is pojechać, for one completed (or planned) vehicle trip. Its present-shaped forms are the future; mind the a in pojadę / pojadą.
| Person | Perfective future |
|---|---|
| ja | pojadę |
| ty | pojedziesz |
| on / ona / ono | pojedzie |
| my | pojedziemy |
| wy | pojedziecie |
| oni / one | pojadą |
Past: pojechał / pojechała / pojechało, plural pojechali / pojechały. Imperative pojedź! The verbal adverb is pojechawszy ("having driven/ridden").
W lecie pojedziemy nad morze.
In the summer we'll go to the seaside. (one planned trip)
Pojechała do rodziców na weekend.
She went to her parents' for the weekend. (completed, by vehicle)
Government — where you're going to
Both verbs share the same destination-marking. The thing that changes is on foot vs by vehicle, not the preposition:
- do + genitive for an enclosed place or a place treated as "into": do pracy, do sklepu, do Krakowa, do domu.
- na + accusative for events, open areas, and certain nouns by convention: na uniwersytet, na koncert, na pocztę, na dworzec.
Idę do apteki, a potem na pocztę.
I'm going to the pharmacy and then to the post office. (on foot, do + na)
Jadę na lotnisko, mam samolot o ósmej.
I'm going to the airport, I have a flight at eight. (by vehicle, na + accusative)
For the do-vs-na choice in full, see do vs na vs w (motion).
Common Mistakes
❌ Jutro idę do Krakowa pociągiem.
Incorrect — a train trip needs the vehicle verb.
✅ Jutro jadę do Krakowa pociągiem.
Tomorrow I'm going to Kraków by train.
❌ Ja jecham do pracy.
Incorrect — the 1sg of jechać is jadę, not *jecham.
✅ Jadę do pracy.
I'm going to work (by vehicle).
❌ Idę do sklep.
Incorrect — 'do' requires the genitive (sklepu), not the bare noun.
✅ Idę do sklepu.
I'm going to the shop.
❌ Ona szedł do domu.
Incorrect — past of iść agrees with gender; 'ona' needs szła.
✅ Ona szła do domu.
She was walking home.
❌ Idź! (to mean 'come here!')
Misleading — idź! means 'go away/off', not 'come'.
✅ Chodź!
Come here! / Come on!
Key Takeaways
- iść (idę, idą) = go on foot; jechać (jadę, jadą) = go by vehicle. Both are determinate (this trip, now).
- Perfectives pójść (pójdę) and pojechać (pojadę) cover a single completed/planned trip; their present-shaped forms are future.
- The past of iść/pójść is suppletive: szedł / szła, poszedł / poszła.
- Destination is the same for both: do + genitive or na + accusative.
- Imperatives: idź!, jedź! — and use chodź! for "come here!".
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- iść versus chodzić (Going on Foot)B1 — The most important motion pair: determinate iść (one trip on foot, now) versus indeterminate chodzić (habitual going, walking around, the ability to walk, and 'attend').
- jechać versus jeździć (Going by Vehicle)B1 — The by-vehicle motion pair: determinate jechać (one journey, now) versus indeterminate jeździć (commuting, round trips, and the skill of driving or riding) — with the vehicle in the bare instrumental.
- Going To: do, na, w, and the Direction PrepositionsB1 — How to say 'to / into a place' in Polish — do + genitive for enclosed destinations and people, na + accusative for events and open spaces — and how each pairs with its 'at' and 'from' counterparts.
- iść vs chodzić vs jechać vs jeździć: Which 'Go'?B1 — Polish splits 'go' into a 2×2 grid — foot vs vehicle and single-trip-now vs habitual — and these four verbs fill the cells. Here's how to choose.