"To help" is pomagać (imperfective) / pomóc (perfective), and it hides two of the things English speakers most need to learn about Polish verbs. First, the case government is dative, not accusative: "I help you" is pomagam ci — literally "I-help to-you." This is one of the top case-government surprises in the language, because English "help" takes a plain object. Second, the perfective pomóc conjugates like móc ("to be able"), so it inherits that verb's g / ż mutation and its tricky past — pomogę, pomożesz, pomogą, past pomógł / pomogła. Master those two facts and the whole paradigm falls into place. This page lays it all out.
Present tense (imperfective pomagać)
| Person | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| ja | pomagam | I help / am helping |
| ty | pomagasz | you help |
| on / ona / ono | pomaga | he / she / it helps |
| my | pomagamy | we help |
| wy | pomagacie | you (pl.) help |
| oni / one | pomagają | they help |
The imperfective pomagać is a regular -am / -asz verb — stem pomaga- plus -m, -sz, (no ending in 3sg), -my, -cie, -ją, no mutations. This is the easy member: predictable from the infinitive throughout. It means ongoing or habitual helping: "I help (regularly), I'm helping."
Pomagam mamie w kuchni.
I'm helping Mum in the kitchen. (mamie = dative)
Sąsiedzi zawsze pomagają sobie nawzajem.
The neighbours always help each other. (3pl → pomagają; sobie = dative)
W czym ci pomagam najczęściej?
What do I help you with most often? (ci = dative)
Past tense (pomagać)
| Subject | Past form | English |
|---|---|---|
| ja (m. / f.) | pomagałem / pomagałam | I was helping / used to help |
| ty (m. / f.) | pomagałeś / pomagałaś | you were helping |
| on / ona / ono | pomagał / pomagała / pomagało | he / she / it was helping |
| my (vir. / non-vir.) | pomagaliśmy / pomagałyśmy | we were helping |
| wy (vir. / non-vir.) | pomagaliście / pomagałyście | you (pl.) were helping |
| oni / one | pomagali / pomagały | they were helping |
Past stem pomaga- + -ł-; virile pomagali, non-virile pomagały. The imperfective past means kept helping / used to help — repeated or ongoing assistance.
Jako dziecko pomagałem dziadkowi w ogrodzie.
As a child I used to help Grandpa in the garden. (man speaking; dziadkowi = dative)
Studenci pomagali powodzianom przez całe lato.
The students helped the flood victims all summer. (men/mixed → pomagali; powodzianom = dative)
The perfective partner: pomóc (conjugates like móc)
Pomóc is the perfective — a single, completed act of helping. Its infinitive carries ó (pomóc, like móc), and its present-shaped forms are the simple future, conjugating exactly like móc with the g / ż mutation: g before the back vowels of 1sg and 3pl, ż everywhere else.
| Person | pomóc — future | móc (for comparison) |
|---|---|---|
| ja | pomogę | mogę |
| ty | pomożesz | możesz |
| on / ona / ono | pomoże | może |
| my | pomożemy | możemy |
| wy | pomożecie | możecie |
| oni / one | pomogą | mogą |
Watch the alternation closely: g in pomogę (1sg) and pomogą (3pl), but ż in pomożesz, pomoże, pomożemy, pomożecie. This is the same g / ż swing as in móc → mogę / możesz, an old softening of g before front vowels. There is no separate vowel ó in these present-future forms — the ó lives in the infinitive (pomóc) and the masculine singular past (pomógł).
Pomogę ci z tymi walizkami.
I'll help you with these suitcases. (pomogę, 1sg with g; ci = dative)
Może ktoś mi pomoże to przetłumaczyć?
Could someone help me translate this? (pomoże with ż; mi = dative)
Oni nam pomogą się przeprowadzić w sobotę.
They'll help us move on Saturday. (pomogą, 3pl with g; nam = dative)
Past of pomóc — the tricky masculine singular
The perfective past is where the ó / o alternation shows up. The masculine singular is pomógł (with ó and a silent-feeling -gł); every other form drops to o: pomogła, pomogło, pomogli, pomogły.
| Subject | pomóc — past | English |
|---|---|---|
| ja (m. / f.) | pomogłem / pomogłam | I helped |
| ty (m. / f.) | pomogłeś / pomogłaś | you helped |
| on / ona / ono | pomógł / pomogła / pomogło | he / she / it helped |
| my (vir. / non-vir.) | pomogliśmy / pomogłyśmy | we helped |
| wy (vir. / non-vir.) | pomogliście / pomogłyście | you (pl.) helped |
| oni / one | pomogli / pomogły | they helped |
Note the asymmetry: only on → pomógł has the ó; the 1sg and 2sg masculine are pomogłem / pomogłeś (with o, because the -ł- is followed by a vowel ending). Virile pomogli, non-virile pomogły.
Brat pomógł mi naprawić samochód.
My brother helped me fix the car. (masc sg → pomógł, with ó)
Pomogłam jej znaleźć mieszkanie.
I helped her find a flat. (woman speaking → pomogłam, with o)
Sąsiedzi pomogli nam wnieść meble na trzecie piętro.
The neighbours helped us carry the furniture up to the third floor. (men/mixed → pomogli)
Imperative and participles
The perfective imperative is pomóż! — with ó — "help!", a high-frequency word. From the imperfective: pomagaj!. Note that pomóż keeps the ó (it is built on the perfective stem with the softened ż), while the past masculine has pomógł with gł.
| Form | pomagać (impf) | pomóc (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| imperative 2sg | pomagaj! | pomóż! |
| imperative 1pl | pomagajmy! | pomóżmy! |
| imperative 2pl | pomagajcie! | pomóżcie! |
| imperative 3rd | niech pomaga | niech pomoże |
| adverbial participle | pomagając | pomógłszy (anterior, literary) |
Pomóż mi to zrobić, sam nie dam rady.
Help me do it, I can't manage on my own. (perfective imperative pomóż + dative mi)
Pomagajcie sobie nawzajem, a będzie łatwiej.
Help each other and it'll be easier. (imperfective plural imperative)
Conditional
| Subject | pomóc — conditional | English |
|---|---|---|
| ja (m. / f.) | pomógłbym / pomogłabym | I would help |
| ty (m. / f.) | pomógłbyś / pomogłabyś | you would help |
| on / ona / ono | pomógłby / pomogłaby / pomogłoby | he / she / it would help |
| oni / one | pomogliby / pomogłyby | they would help |
The conditional is the polite way to offer or request help: Czy mógłbyś mi pomóc? "Could you help me?"
Czy mogłabyś mi pomóc z tym formularzem?
Could you help me with this form? (woman addressed — polite conditional)
Government: pomagać + dative (+ w + locative / infinitive)
The structural heart:
pomagać / pomóc + [person in the DATIVE] (+ w + [task in the LOCATIVE] or + infinitive)
The person helped is dative: pomagam ci, pomóż mu, pomagam mamie, pomogliśmy sąsiadom. To say what you help with, use either w + locative (pomagam ci w nauce "I help you with your studies") or a bare infinitive of the task (pomóż mi to zrobić "help me do it").
| "help…" | Polish (dative) |
|---|---|
| …you (informal) | pomagam ci |
| …you, sir/madam | pomagam panu / pani |
| …him / her | pomagam mu / jej |
| …us | pomóż nam |
| …with the studies | w nauce (w + locative) |
| …to do it | to zrobić (infinitive) |
Why dative? Because Slavic logic treats help as something directed toward a person — assistance given to someone, exactly like dziękować (thank), wierzyć (believe), ufać (trust). They all take the dative where English uses a plain object. See the dative as indirect object, the móc reference for the shared conjugation, and the verb government overview.
Pomagam ci w nauce do egzaminu.
I'm helping you study for the exam. (w + locative)
Nikt mu nie pomógł w trudnej chwili.
No one helped him in a difficult moment. (mu = dative)
Czy mogę w czymś pomóc?
Can I help with anything? (shop / service formula)
Common Mistakes
❌ Pomagam cię.
Incorrect — pomagać takes the dative ci, not the accusative cię.
✅ Pomagam ci.
I'm helping you.
❌ Pomóż mnie.
Incorrect — the dative of 'me' here is mi, not the accusative mnie.
✅ Pomóż mi.
Help me.
❌ Pomogłem ci wczoraj. — meaning a man saying 'I helped'
Spelling/form error if written 'pomógłem' — the 1sg masculine is pomogłem (with o); only on is pomógł (with ó).
✅ Pomogłem ci wczoraj.
I helped you yesterday. (man speaking)
❌ Pomożę ci jutro.
Spelling error — the 1sg future is pomogę (with g), not 'pomożę'.
✅ Pomogę ci jutro.
I'll help you tomorrow.
❌ Pomagam ci z nauką.
Wrong case after w — 'help with (a task)' is w + locative: w nauce.
✅ Pomagam ci w nauce.
I'm helping you with your studies.
Key Takeaways
- Imperfective pomagać (regular -am / -asz): present pomagam … pomagają, past pomagał, imperative pomagaj! — habitual / ongoing helping.
- Perfective pomóc (like móc): future pomogę, pomożesz, pomoże, pomożemy, pomożecie, pomogą (note g / ż); past pomógł / pomogła (only masc sg has ó; 1sg pomogłem has o); imperative pomóż!.
- Government: pomagać + DATIVE of the person — pomagam ci, pomóż mu, never pomagam cię; the task takes w + locative (w nauce) or a bare infinitive (pomóż mi to zrobić).
- The dative runs through a family of "directed-at-a-person" verbs: pomagać, dziękować, wierzyć, ufać — all dative where English uses a plain object.
- Pomogę (g) vs pomożesz (ż); pomógł (ó) vs pomogła / pomogłem (o) — the two alternations to spell correctly.
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Start learning Polish →Related Topics
- Dative: The Indirect ObjectA2 — The dative's core meaning — the recipient or beneficiary of giving, telling, showing, helping — and the surprise that Polish verbs like pomagać, dziękować, wierzyć and ufać take the dative where English uses a direct object.
- móc — can, be ableA2 — Full reference for the irregular verb móc ('can, be able, may'): present mogę/możesz…/mogą, past mógł/mogła/mogli/mogły, conditional mógłbym — with the g/ż split, the ó↔o vowel drop, and móc vs umieć.
- Verb Government: Cases and PrepositionsB1 — Every Polish verb comes with a 'government' — the case (and sometimes preposition) it forces on its object — and that frame rarely matches English; learn the case with the verb, like vocabulary.
- Dative: FormsA2 — How to build the Polish dative case (celownik) in every gender and number — the masculine -owi default with its small -u exception set, the feminine -e with consonant mutation, and the wonderfully regular plural -om.
- High-Frequency Aspect Pairs: A Reference ListA2 — A curated, cell-accurate list of the ~50 most common imperfective/perfective pairs every learner needs — grouped sensibly, with the suppletive and irregular ones flagged, made to be memorised as pairs from day one.