prosić / poprosić — to ask, request

Proszę is, word for word, the most useful thing you can learn to say in Polish. The bare form means please, but it also covers here you are, you're welcome, go ahead, come in, and even pardon? — one verb form doing the pragmatic work that English splits across half a dozen phrases. Behind it sits the verb prosić (imperfective) / poprosić (perfective), "to ask, to request." This page gives you the full conjugation, the case pattern that governs requests — accusative of the person + o + accusative of the thing — and the crucial split English speakers must master: prosić ("ask FOR, request") versus pytać ("ask ABOUT, inquire"). Both translate as "ask," but they do completely different jobs.

Present tense (imperfective prosić)

Prosić is an -ić verb of the -ę / -isz class, but it carries a consonant mutation that catches everyone out. The stem is proś- (soft ś), and before the endings -ę and -ą that soft ś hardens into sz: hence proszę (1sg) and proszą (3pl), but prosisz, prosi, prosimy, prosicie keep the ś spelled with the softening i. This ś → sz alternation is regular — the same mutation gives nosić → noszę, wozić → wożę — and once you expect it, the odd-looking proszę makes perfect sense.

Past tense (prosić)

The past is built on the stem prosi- with the -ł- marker and the gendered endings, and here the ś → sz mutation does not apply — the past keeps the soft ś throughout (prosił, never proszył). Note the virile prosili (men or a mixed group) versus non-virile prosiły (women, children, things).

Future and imperative (prosić)

Prosić is imperfective, so its future is the compound będę prosił / prosiła — repeated or ongoing requesting:

The imperative comes from the present stem: proś! (2sg), prośmy! (1pl), proście! (2pl), and niech prosi (3rd). In practice the perfective imperative poproś! is far more common for a single request (see below). The contemporary adverbial participle is prosząc ("asking, while asking").

The perfective partner: poprosić

Poprosić (po- + prosić) is the perfective: a single, completed request. It is the polite default for asking for one specific thing — poprosić o coś "to ask for something (once)." Because it is perfective, its present-shaped forms are the simple future, and they carry the same ś → sz mutation in 1sg and 3pl.

The 1sg future poproszę is itself a politeness formula — in a shop or café it functions as "I'll have / I'd like": Poproszę kawę "A coffee, please." It is softer and more idiomatic than a bare chcę ("I want").

Government: accusative person + o + accusative thing

This is the structural core. Unlike dziękować (dative) or pomagać (dative), prosić takes the ACCUSATIVE of the person — proszę cię, poproszę pana — and the thing requested goes in o + accusative:

prosić + [person in the ACCUSATIVE] + o + [thing in the ACCUSATIVE]

So "I ask you for help" is Proszę cię o pomoc — cię (accusative "you") + o pomoc (o + accusative "for help"). You can drop either slot: Proszę o pomoc (no named person) or Proszę cię (no named thing), but the moment the thing appears it needs o.

To introduce a requested action (rather than a thing), Polish uses prosić, żeby… + a clause: Proszę, żebyś przyszedł "I'm asking you to come."

prosić vs pytać — the split English hides

English "ask" covers two different acts, and Polish keeps them apart:

• prosić / poprosić = ask FOR, request — you want to receive something. Government: o + accusative.
• pytać / zapytać = ask ABOUT, inquire — you want information. Government also often o + accusative, but the purpose is a question, not a request.

The trap is that both can take o + accusative, so the case won't save you — the meaning decides. Proszę o godzinę would mean "I request an hour (of your time)"; Pytam o godzinę means "I'm asking what time it is." See prosić vs pytać for the full contrast.

Common Mistakes

Key Takeaways

• Present: proszę, prosisz, prosi, prosimy, prosicie, proszą — the ś → sz mutation gives proszę (1sg) and proszą (3pl) only.
• Past: prosił / prosiła (stem prosi-, no mutation); virile prosili vs non-virile prosiły; future będę prosił / prosiła.
• Perfective poprosić = one completed request: future poproszę … poproszą, past poprosiłem, imperative poproś!. Poproszę alone = a polite "I'll have / I'd like."
• Government: accusative of the person + o + accusative of the thing — Proszę cię o pomoc, never proszę ci and never a bare object.
• prosić = ask FOR / request (you want to receive); pytać = ask ABOUT / inquire (you want to know). Same o + accusative, different purpose.
• Proszę alone is the all-purpose courtesy word: please, here you are, you're welcome, go ahead, come in, pardon?.