zapominać / zapomnieć — to forget | Polish Grammar

To forget is zapominać (imperfective) / zapomnieć (perfective). This pair is unusual among the verbs in this guide because the two members conjugate differently: the imperfective zapominać is a regular -am / -asz verb (zapominam, zapominają), but the perfective zapomnieć belongs to the -ę / -isz class (zapomnę, zapomnisz, zapomną) — so you cannot just slap a prefix on and reuse the same endings. The perfective future zapomnę ("I'll forget") and the negative imperative Nie zapomnij! ("don't forget!") are both extremely high-frequency, so they are worth drilling. The government is also meaning-dependent: o + locative for "forget about," a bare infinitive for "forget to," and a slightly old-fashioned genitive for "forget something." This page covers all of it.

Present tense (imperfective zapominać)

Person	Form	English
ja	zapominam	I forget / keep forgetting
ty	zapominasz	you forget
on / ona / ono	zapomina	he / she / it forgets
my	zapominamy	we forget
wy	zapominacie	you (pl.) forget
oni / one	zapominają	they forget

The imperfective zapominać is a model -am / -asz verb (Polish "conjugation III"): stem zapomina- plus -m, -sz, (nothing in 3sg), -my, -cie, -ją. Note the -i- in the stem — zapominać — and the 3pl zapominają. Being imperfective, this set describes habitual or repeated forgetting: "I keep forgetting, I always forget."

Ciągle zapominam, gdzie zostawiam okulary.

I'm always forgetting where I leave my glasses. (habit → imperfective)

Dlaczego zawsze zapominasz o moich urodzinach?

Why do you always forget about my birthday? (repeated → o + locative)

Z wiekiem ludzie częściej zapominają imiona.

With age people forget names more often. (3pl → zapominają)

💡

Use the imperfective zapominać for the pattern of forgetting — habits, tendencies, repeated lapses ("I always forget," "he keeps forgetting"). Use the perfective zapomnieć for a single completed lapse ("I forgot," "I'll forget"). Most concrete one-off sentences — "I forgot my keys," "don't forget!" — call for the perfective.

Past tense (zapominać / zapomnieć)

Both members form the past on a stem in -a- + the -ł- marker, and they look nearly identical apart from the imperfective -i-: imperfective zapominał ("kept forgetting") vs perfective zapomniał ("forgot, once"). The perfective is far more common in narrative.

Subject	zapomnieć (pf) past	English
ja (m. / f.)	zapomniałem / zapomniałam	I forgot
ty (m. / f.)	zapomniałeś / zapomniałaś	you forgot
on / ona / ono	zapomniał / zapomniała / zapomniało	he / she / it forgot
my (vir. / non-vir.)	zapomnieliśmy / zapomniałyśmy	we forgot
wy (vir. / non-vir.)	zapomnieliście / zapomniałyście	you (pl.) forgot
oni / one	zapomnieli / zapomniały	they forgot

Watch the masculine-personal (virile) plural zapomnieli — note the -e- before -li (zapomnieli, zapomnieliśmy) — against the non-virile zapomniały. This -eli / -ały alternation comes from the -eć infinitive type and is easy to mis-spell. The imperfective past runs in parallel: zapominałem, zapominali, zapominały.

Zapomniałam parasola i zmokłam na przystanku.

I forgot my umbrella and got soaked at the stop. (woman speaking; one event → perfective)

Goście zapomnieli zabrać prezent z szatni.

The guests forgot to take the gift from the cloakroom. (men/mixed → zapomnieli + infinitive)

Dziewczynki zapomniały, gdzie schowały klucz.

The little girls forgot where they'd hidden the key. (girls → zapomniały)

Future and imperative

Because the imperfective and perfective conjugate differently, their futures look completely different — this is the table to study hardest.

Imperfective zapominać has a compound future: będę zapominał / zapominała ("I'll keep forgetting") — rare in practice, used for an ongoing tendency.

Perfective zapomnieć has a simple future built on the -ę / -isz pattern — and these are the everyday "I'll forget" forms:

Person	zapomnieć — future (pf)	English
ja	zapomnę	I'll forget
ty	zapomnisz	you'll forget
on / ona / ono	zapomni	he / she / it will forget
my	zapomnimy	we'll forget
wy	zapomnicie	you (pl.) will forget
oni / one	zapomną	they'll forget

Note carefully: zapomnę (1sg, with the nasal ę) and zapomną (3pl, with the nasal ą) — the two nasal endings of the -ę / -isz class. The rest take -isz, -i, -imy, -icie. There is no -n-doubling and no -ie- here: zapomnę, not zapomnię.

The imperatives diverge too. The perfective imperative is zapomnij! (2sg), zapomnijmy! (1pl), zapomnijcie! (2pl). By far the most frequent use is negated: Nie zapomnij! "Don't forget!" — and Polish, unusually, keeps the perfective here (English "don't forget" maps onto perfective nie zapomnij, because you are warning against a single lapse).

Form	zapomnieć (pf)	zapominać (impf)
imperative 2sg	(nie) zapomnij!	nie zapominaj!
imperative 1pl	zapomnijmy!	nie zapominajmy!
imperative 2pl	(nie) zapomnijcie!	nie zapominajcie!
imperative 3rd	niech zapomni / zapomną	niech (nie) zapomina
adverbial participle	zapomniawszy (having forgotten, lit.)	zapominając (forgetting)

The negated imperfective Nie zapominaj o mnie! "Don't forget about me!" is also common — it asks someone not to let you slip from mind over time (a standing plea), where nie zapomnij warns against one specific lapse. The choice mirrors the general aspect logic of negated imperatives.

Nie zapomnij kupić chleba w drodze do domu.

Don't forget to buy bread on the way home. (one lapse warned against → perfective + infinitive)

Nie zapominaj o nas, jak już wyjedziesz.

Don't forget about us once you've gone. (standing plea → imperfective + o + locative)

Spokojnie, nie zapomnę o twojej prośbie.

Don't worry, I won't forget your request. (perfective future zapomnę)

Aspect partner overview

	zapominać (impf)	zapomnieć (pf)
class	-am / -asz	-ę / -isz
present / future	zapominam (present)	zapomnę (future)
past (m. 1sg)	zapominałem	zapomniałem
imperative	nie zapominaj!	nie zapomnij!
meaning	keep / habitually forget	forget once, completely

Government: o + locative, infinitive, and the genitive trap

The complement of "forget" depends on what you forgot:

1. zapomnieć + o + LOCATIVE — "forget about [a thing/person]": Zapomniałem o spotkaniu. 2. zapomnieć + INFINITIVE — "forget to [do]": Zapomniałem zamknąć drzwi. 3. zapomnieć + GENITIVE — "forget [a thing]" (more formal/literary): Nie zapomnę tej chwili.

Pattern 1, o + locative, is the everyday default for "forget about" — meetings, names, dates, people: zapomnieć o czymś. Pattern 2, the bare infinitive, handles "forget to do something." Pattern 3, the bare genitive, exists — zapomnieć czegoś — but it feels more literary or fixed; in modern speech o + locative often replaces it. There is also a colloquial zapomnieć coś (accusative) for physical objects you left behind ("I forgot my keys"), though careful speakers prefer zostawić ("leave behind") there.

Meaning	Construction	Example
forget about something	o + locative	zapomnieć o spotkaniu
forget to do something	infinitive	zapomnieć zadzwonić
forget something (formal)	genitive	nie zapomnę tej chwili
forget that…	, że + clause	zapomniałem, że…

Zupełnie zapomniałem o twoich imieninach, wybacz.

I completely forgot about your name day, sorry. (o + locative)

Zapomniałem wyłączyć żelazko.

I forgot to turn off the iron. (+ infinitive)

Nigdy nie zapomnę tego widoku.

I'll never forget that view. (+ genitive — fixed, elevated)

Zapomniałam, że dzisiaj jest twoje urodziny.

I forgot that today is your birthday. (że-clause)

💡

The genitive zapomnieć czegoś (nie zapomnę tej chwili) is correct but feels literary or set-phrase-like; in ordinary speech Poles mostly say zapomnieć o czymś (o + locative). When in doubt, default to o + locative — it is always safe for "forget about." Reserve the bare genitive for elevated lines like Nie zapomnę twojej dobroci "I won't forget your kindness."

zapomnieć vs zostawić — "forget" vs "leave behind"

English "I forgot my phone at home" really means "I left it behind." Polish prefers zostawić ("leave behind, + accusative") for the physical object: Zostawiłem telefon w domu "I left my phone at home." You can hear colloquial Zapomniałem telefonu (genitive) or Zapomniałem telefon, but the cleaner, more standard sentence uses zostawić. Keep zapomnieć for forgetting facts, appointments, and to-dos; use zostawić for objects left in a place. See zostawiać / zostawić for that verb.

Zostawiłem klucze w pracy, a myślałem, że je zapomniałem w domu.

I left my keys at work, though I thought I'd forgotten them at home. (zostawić = leave a thing behind)

pamiętać — the antonym

The opposite of zapomnieć is pamiętać ("to remember, keep in mind"), and it shares the o + locative frame: Zapomniałem o spotkaniu "I forgot about the meeting" ↔ Pamiętaj o spotkaniu "Remember the meeting." Learn one and you have the other. See pamiętać / zapamiętać.

Najpierw pamiętałam o wszystkim, a potem zapomniałam o najważniejszym.

At first I remembered everything, and then I forgot the most important thing. (both with o + locative)

Common Mistakes

❌ Zapomnę o spotkanie.

Incorrect — zapomnieć o takes the LOCATIVE (o spotkaniu), not the accusative.

✅ Zapomnę o spotkaniu.

I'll forget about the meeting.

❌ Zapomnię zadzwonić.

Incorrect — the perfective 1sg future is zapomnę (no -i-), an -ę/-isz form; 'zapomnię' is not standard.

✅ Zapomnę zadzwonić.

I'll forget to call.

❌ Nie zapomnieć kwiatów!

Incorrect for a command — use the imperative form: Nie zapomnij! (perfective 2sg).

✅ Nie zapomnij o kwiatach!

Don't forget the flowers!

❌ Zapomniałem mój telefon w domu.

Awkward — for a physical object left in a place Polish prefers zostawić; or, if zapomnieć, the genitive/o + locative.

✅ Zostawiłem telefon w domu.

I left my phone at home.

❌ Oni zapomniały o terminie.

Incorrect for a male/mixed group — the virile plural is zapomnieli, not zapomniały.

✅ Oni zapomnieli o terminie.

They forgot about the deadline.

Key Takeaways

The pair conjugates in two different classes: imperfective zapominać (-am/-asz: zapominam … zapominają) vs perfective zapomnieć (-ę/-isz: zapomnę, zapomnisz … zapomną).
Everyday forms to drill: perfective future zapomnę ("I'll forget") and the negative imperative Nie zapomnij! ("don't forget!").
Past: perfective zapomniał / zapomniała; virile zapomnieli (note -e-) vs non-virile zapomniały.
Government: o + locative for "forget about" (zapomnieć o spotkaniu), infinitive for "forget to" (zapomnieć zamknąć), genitive for "forget [a thing]" (literary: nie zapomnę tej chwili).
For a physical object left in a place, prefer zostawić ("leave behind") over zapomnieć.
The antonym pamiętać shares the o + locative frame — learn the pattern once.

Now practice Polish

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Polish→