This page covers the essential social verb pair zapraszać (imperfective) / zaprosić (perfective), "to invite". It is core hospitality vocabulary — Zapraszam! on its own is the standard Polish "Come in! / Be my guest! / This way, please!" The two grammar points to master are the ś → sz mutation in the perfective future (zaproszę) and the government pattern: you invite somebody (accusative) to an event (na + accusative) or to a place (do + genitive).
What the pair means
The imperfective zapraszać presents inviting as a habit, a process, or a general practice ("she always invites everyone", "we were inviting the guests"); the perfective zaprosić presents one completed act of inviting ("I invited them to dinner", "invite him over").
Proszę wejść, zapraszam!
Please come in, after you! / be my guest!
Zaprosiłem ich na kolację w sobotę.
I invited them to dinner on Saturday. (completed act → perfective)
Government: who, and where to
The pattern an English speaker most needs:
- invite somebody → person in the accusative (zaprosić kogoś)
- to an event / occasion → na + accusative (na kolację, na ślub, na kawę)
- to a place → do + genitive (do domu, do restauracji, do nas)
English uses "to" for both ("invite them to dinner", "invite them to my place"); Polish splits them by whether the destination is an event (na + acc.) or a place (do + gen.). See more on the accusative after prepositions.
| You invite to… | Construction | Example |
|---|---|---|
| an event/occasion | na + accusative | na kolację, na imprezę, na ślub |
| a place | do + genitive | do domu, do restauracji, do nas |
Zapraszamy was na wesele w czerwcu.
We invite you (pl) to the wedding in June. (event → na + accusative)
Zaprosili nas do siebie na obiad.
They invited us to their place for lunch. (place → do + genitive, event → na + accusative)
Imperfective: zapraszać (present, past, imperative)
zapraszać is a regular -am / -asz verb: zapraszam, zapraszasz… zapraszają. The imperfective root has sz throughout (zaprasz-); the perfective root has ś / s.
Present tense
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | zapraszam | zapraszamy |
| 2nd | zapraszasz | zapraszacie |
| 3rd | zaprasza | zapraszają |
Past tense (gendered)
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg | zapraszałem | zapraszałam | — |
| 2nd sg | zapraszałeś | zapraszałaś | — |
| 3rd sg | zapraszał | zapraszała | zapraszało |
| Masculine-personal pl | Other plural | ||
| 1st pl | zapraszaliśmy | zapraszałyśmy | |
| 2nd pl | zapraszaliście | zapraszałyście | |
| 3rd pl | zapraszali | zapraszały |
Imperative and participles
Imperative: zapraszaj! (sg), zapraszajmy!, zapraszajcie!. Contemporary adverbial participle: zapraszając. Active adjectival participle: zapraszający. Imperfective passive participle: zapraszany.
Co roku zapraszamy całą rodzinę na święta.
Every year we invite the whole family for the holidays. (habit → imperfective)
Zapraszając gości, pamiętaj o ich dietach.
When inviting guests, remember their diets.
Perfective: zaprosić (future, past, imperative)
The perfective zaprosić is an -ę / -isz verb. It has no present — its present-shaped forms are the simple future, and the stem-final ś mutates to sz before the -ę ending: zaproszę, then zaprosisz, zaprosi… zaproszą. (The sz surfaces only in the 1sg and 3pl; the rest keep soft si.) The imperative is zaproś! (with soft ś).
Simple future
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | zaproszę | zaprosimy |
| 2nd | zaprosisz | zaprosicie |
| 3rd | zaprosi | zaproszą |
Past tense (gendered)
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg | zaprosiłem | zaprosiłam | — |
| 2nd sg | zaprosiłeś | zaprosiłaś | — |
| 3rd sg | zaprosił | zaprosiła | zaprosiło |
| Masculine-personal pl | Other plural | ||
| 1st pl | zaprosiliśmy | zaprosiłyśmy | |
| 2nd pl | zaprosiliście | zaprosiłyście | |
| 3rd pl | zaprosili | zaprosiły |
Imperative
Imperative: zaproś! (sg), zaprośmy!, zaprosicie → command zaproście! (pl). Perfective passive participle: zaproszony ("invited") — note the sz here too, as in zaproszony gość "an invited guest".
Zaproszę cię na kawę, jak tylko skończę pracę.
I'll invite you out for coffee as soon as I finish work.
Zaproś koniecznie sąsiadów na grilla.
Be sure to invite the neighbours to the barbecue.
Aspect in context
Zawsze zaprasza nas na swoje urodziny.
She always invites us to her birthday. (habit → imperfective)
W końcu zaprosiła nas na swoje urodziny.
She finally invited us to her birthday. (one completed act → perfective)
Common Mistakes
❌ Zaprosiłem ich do kolacji.
Incorrect — an event takes na + accusative, not do.
✅ Zaprosiłem ich na kolację.
I invited them to dinner. (event → na + accusative)
❌ Zapraszam cię na mojego domu.
Incorrect — a place takes do + genitive.
✅ Zapraszam cię do mojego domu.
I invite you to my house. (place → do + genitive)
❌ Zaprosię cię jutro.
Spelling/mutation error — the 1sg future is zaproszę (ś → sz).
✅ Zaproszę cię jutro.
I'll invite you tomorrow.
❌ Zaprosz sąsiadów na grilla.
Incorrect — the imperative keeps the soft ś: zaproś!
✅ Zaproś sąsiadów na grilla.
Invite the neighbours to the barbecue.
❌ Jutro zapraszam ich na kolację (jednorazowo).
For a single planned future invitation, prefer the perfective.
✅ Jutro zaproszę ich na kolację.
Tomorrow I'll invite them to dinner. (one act → perfective)
Key Takeaways
- zapraszać (imperfective): present zapraszam / zapraszają; inviting as habit or process; Zapraszam! = "come in / be my guest".
- zaprosić (perfective): simple future zaproszę / zaproszą (ś → sz in 1sg & 3pl), imperative zaproś!; one completed invitation.
- Government: invite somebody (accusative) to an event (na + accusative) or to a place (do + genitive).
- Watch the ś → sz mutation and keep the soft ś in the imperative zaproś! and the participle zaproszony.
Now practice Polish
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