Robić / zrobić ("to do, to make") is the verb you'll use to ask and answer Co robisz? ("What are you doing?"), and it is the single best model for the whole Polish aspect system. The two members are a textbook pair: imperfective robić for an action as a process or habit, and perfective zrobić — formed simply by prefixing z- — for an action seen as a completed whole with a result. Once you can feel the difference between robię ("I'm doing / I do"), zrobię ("I'll get done"), and zrobiłem ("I did / I finished"), you understand the engine that drives every Polish verb. Neither member is morphologically irregular; the difficulty is entirely conceptual.
Present tense (imperfective robić)
Robić is a clean -ę / -isz (second-conjugation) verb. Only the imperfective member has a present tense — a perfective verb's "present" forms are future in meaning (see below).
| Person | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ja | robię | I'm doing / I do |
| ty | robisz | you're doing / you do |
| on / ona / ono | robi | he / she / it does |
| my | robimy | we're doing / we do |
| wy | robicie | you're doing / you do (pl) |
| oni / one | robią | they're doing / they do |
The nasals robię (1sg) and robią (3pl) frame the row. Because Polish has no separate continuous tense, robię covers both "I do" and "I am doing" — context decides.
Co robisz dziś wieczorem? Masz ochotę na kino?
What are you doing tonight? Do you feel like the cinema?
Codziennie robię to samo i już mnie to nudzi.
I do the same thing every day and I'm already bored of it.
Past tense
Regular throughout, built on the stem robi-. The perfective zrobić takes exactly the same endings.
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ja | robiłem | robiłam | — |
| ty | robiłeś | robiłaś | — |
| on / ona / ono | robił | robiła | robiło |
| plural | |||
| my | robiliśmy (masc-pers.) | robiłyśmy (other) | |
| wy | robiliście (masc-pers.) | robiłyście (other) | |
| oni / one | robili (masc-pers.) | robiły (other) | |
The aspect difference lives in the past: imperfective robiłem ("I was doing / used to do / did [unbounded]") versus perfective zrobiłem ("I did and finished — there's a result"). Robiłem zadanie = "I was doing the assignment"; Zrobiłem zadanie = "I did (completed) the assignment."
Wczoraj cały dzień robiłem porządki w garażu.
Yesterday I spent the whole day tidying the garage. (process)
Zrobiłem już wszystko, co miałem na liście.
I've already done everything that was on my list. (result)
Future tense — where aspect shows itself most clearly
This is the cleanest illustration of the whole system. The imperfective robić takes the compound future (będę + infinitive / participle): "I'll be doing." The perfective zrobić takes the simple future — its present-looking forms (zrobię, zrobisz…) are already future: "I'll get (it) done."
| Person | Imperfective: będę robić / robił | Perfective: simple future |
|---|---|---|
| ja | będę robić / robił(a) | zrobię |
| ty | będziesz robić / robił(a) | zrobisz |
| on / ona / ono | będzie robić / robił(a/o) | zrobi |
| my | będziemy robić / robili(ły) | zrobimy |
| wy | będziecie robić / robili(ły) | zrobicie |
| oni / one | będą robić / robili(ły) | zrobią |
So Będę to robił means "I'll be working on it" (ongoing), while Zrobię to means "I'll get it done" (a single completed future act). This contrast — compound future for imperfective, simple future for perfective — is the heartbeat of Polish tense.
Jutro będę robić zakupy na cały tydzień.
Tomorrow I'll be doing the shopping for the whole week.
Nie martw się, zrobię to do końca dnia.
Don't worry, I'll get it done by the end of the day.
Imperative
The imperative shows a stem-vowel change: the o lengthens historically to ó before the soft -j that drops out, giving rób!, róbmy!, róbcie! The perfective gives zrób! — and aspect matters here too: Rób to powoli ("Keep doing it slowly," process) versus Zrób to teraz ("Get it done now," one completed result).
| Person | robić (impf) | zrobić (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| ty | rób | zrób |
| my | róbmy | zróbmy |
| wy | róbcie | zróbcie |
| 3rd | niech robi | niech zrobi |
Zrób mi przysługę i zadzwoń do mamy.
Do me a favour and call Mum.
Nie róbcie hałasu, dziecko śpi.
Don't make noise, the baby's sleeping.
Participles
The contemporary adverbial participle (imperfective only) is robiąc ("while doing"): Robiąc obiad, słuchałem radia ("While making lunch, I listened to the radio"). The passive participles are robiony (impf, "being done / made") and zrobiony (pf, "done / made / finished"), which decline like adjectives: zrobione zdjęcia ("the photos taken"), dobrze zrobiony ("well made"). The perfective verbal noun is zrobienie, seen in mieć coś do zrobienia ("to have something to do").
Mam jeszcze dużo do zrobienia przed wyjazdem.
I still have a lot to do before the trip.
Government and collocations
Robić / zrobić takes a direct object in the accusative (robić obiad, zrobić zdjęcie), and the genitive under negation (Nie robię nic → Nie robię niczego). It anchors many fixed collocations where English also uses do or make — or sometimes take:
| Polish | English |
|---|---|
| robić zakupy | to do the shopping |
| robić zdjęcia | to take photos |
| robić obiad / kolację | to make lunch / dinner |
| robić błędy | to make mistakes |
| robić porządki | to tidy up / do the cleaning |
| nic nie robić | to do nothing |
Robiliśmy zdjęcia przez całe wakacje.
We took photos throughout the whole holiday.
W weekend nic nie robię — odpoczywam.
At the weekend I do nothing — I rest.
Common mistakes
❌ Co zrobisz teraz? (asking about an ongoing activity)
Incorrect — for 'what are you doing right now' use the imperfective.
✅ Co robisz teraz?
What are you doing right now?
❌ Będę zrobić to jutro.
Incorrect — perfectives can't take the compound future; the simple form is already future.
✅ Zrobię to jutro.
I'll do it tomorrow.
❌ Robię ten test wczoraj.
Incorrect — a finished past result needs the perfective past.
✅ Zrobiłem ten test wczoraj.
I did that test yesterday.
❌ Rob to teraz!
Incorrect — the imperative has ó: rób / zrób.
✅ Zrób to teraz!
Do it now!
❌ Robiłam zdjęcie i wysłałam (but never finished the photo).
Mismatch — if the photo was actually taken and sent, use the perfective.
✅ Zrobiłam zdjęcie i wysłałam.
I took a photo and sent it.
Key takeaways
- Robić (impf) / zrobić (pf, z- prefix) is the model aspect pair — learn it as the template.
- Present (imperfective only): robię, robisz, robi, robimy, robicie, robią.
- Future: imperfective compound (będę robić) vs perfective simple (zrobię).
- Past: robiłem (process / unbounded) vs zrobiłem (completed, with result).
- Imperative: rób / zrób (with ó); passive participles robiony / zrobiony.
- Object in the accusative; rich collocations (robić zakupy, robić zdjęcia).
Now practice Polish
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Polish→Related Topics
- Verbal Aspect: The Big PictureA2 — Aspect is the central, pervasive feature of the Polish verb — almost every verb is one of an imperfective/perfective pair, and you choose between process and completed whole before you even pick a tense.
- Present Tense: -ę/-isz Verbs (Class II)A1 — The -ę/-isz/-ysz present class (robię, mówię, lubię) — its nasal-vowel 1sg and 3pl, and the consonant softening that makes the 'I' form look different (prosić → proszę).
- Choosing Aspect in the PastB1 — In the Polish past tense the imperfective paints the process, the habit, and the background scene, while the perfective reports a single completed result and moves a story forward — the choice English bundles into one tense.
- Expressions with robić / zrobićB1 — How Polish robić/zrobić ('do/make') absorbs the English do/make/take distinction — robić zdjęcia, robić zakupy, zrobić sobie kawę, robić wrażenie, robić z igły widły — plus the dative-reflexive sobie.
- być — to beA1 — Complete reference for być ('to be') — the most essential and most irregular Polish verb: full present, past (by gender), future, imperative, conditional and verbal-adverb tables, plus its three predicate patterns.