This page collects the twenty verbs you will use most in your first months of Polish and puts them in one place, sorted by conjugation class. The point is not just lookup — it is to let you see the system. Once these verbs are grouped, the Polish present tense stops looking like twenty unrelated puzzles and starts looking like three patterns plus a handful of irregulars. Learn which group a verb belongs to and you can predict the rest of its forms.
How the Polish present tense is organized
Polish present-tense verbs fall into three main conjugation classes, named after the 1st-person singular and 2nd-person singular endings:
- -am / -asz — the friendliest group. The stem barely changes. Think czytam, czytasz.
- -ę / -isz (and -ę / -ysz) — the stem ends in a soft or hardened consonant; watch the 1sg, where a consonant often softens or shifts.
- -ę / -esz — the most varied group, home to most of the stem-changing irregulars (piszę, jadę, idę).
The endings themselves are remarkably consistent across all groups in the plural: -my (we), -cie (you pl.), and a 3rd-plural in -ą or -ją. The drama is almost always in the stem, not the endings. See the conjugation types page for the full theory; this page is the practical tour.
Group 1: the safe -am/-asz verbs
These are the verbs to lean on while speaking early, because almost nothing surprising happens. The stem stays put; you just add the endings. The 3rd plural is -ają.
| Verb | 1sg (ja) | 2sg (ty) | 3pl (oni/one) |
|---|---|---|---|
| czytać (to read) | czytam | czytasz | czytają |
| mieszkać (to live/reside) | mieszkam | mieszkasz | mieszkają |
| czekać (to wait) | czekam | czekasz | czekają |
| znać (to know — a person/thing) | znam | znasz | znają |
| mieć (to have) | mam | masz | mają |
Notice mieć sits here despite its short infinitive — its forms (mam, masz, mają) follow the -am/-asz pattern exactly.
Mieszkam w Warszawie od pięciu lat.
I've been living in Warsaw for five years.
Czytasz tę książkę? Ja ją już znam.
Are you reading this book? I already know it.
Czekają na autobus na przystanku.
They're waiting for the bus at the stop.
Group 2: the -ę/-isz verbs (watch the 1sg)
Here the 1st-person singular ends in -ę and the 2nd in -isz (or -ysz after a hardened consonant). The thing to watch is that the consonant before the ending is often soft in the 1sg — and in some verbs it visibly alternates. The 3rd plural is -ą.
| Verb | 1sg (ja) | 2sg (ty) | 3pl (oni/one) |
|---|---|---|---|
| robić (to do/make) | robię | robisz | robią |
| mówić (to speak/say) | mówię | mówisz | mówią |
| lubić (to like) | lubię | lubisz | lubią |
| widzieć (to see) | widzę | widzisz | widzą |
widzieć shows the classic alternation: the stem-final consonant hardens in the 1sg and 3pl (widzę, widzą) but is soft elsewhere (widzisz, widzimy). Compare robię / robią, where the soft bi is steady throughout.
Co robisz dziś wieczorem?
What are you doing this evening?
Mówię trochę po polsku, ale wolno.
I speak a little Polish, but slowly.
Widzę stąd całe miasto.
I can see the whole city from here.
Group 3: the -ę/-esz verbs (the stem-changers)
This is the group where the stem most often morphs, and it holds several of the highest-frequency irregular verbs. The 1sg ends in -ę, the 2sg in -esz, the 3pl in -ą.
| Verb | 1sg (ja) | 2sg (ty) | 3pl (oni/one) |
|---|---|---|---|
| pisać (to write) | piszę | piszesz | piszą |
| iść (to go — on foot) | idę | idziesz | idą |
| pić (to drink) | piję | pijesz | piją |
| kupować (to buy) | kupuję | kupujesz | kupują |
| móc (to be able / can) | mogę | możesz | mogą |
| chcieć (to want) | chcę | chcesz | chcą |
Look at how much the stem moves: pisać → pisz-, iść → idę / idziesz (with a d that softens to dzi before -esz), móc → mog- / moż- (the famous g/ż alternation: mogę but możesz). And kupować shows the very productive -ować → -uj- rule: any verb ending in -ować swaps that for -uj- in the present (pracować → pracuję, kupować → kupuję). That single rule unlocks hundreds of verbs.
Piszę list do babci.
I'm writing a letter to my grandma.
Idę do sklepu, potrzebujesz czegoś?
I'm going to the shop, do you need anything?
Nie mogę dzisiaj przyjść.
I can't come today.
Chcę zamówić kawę i sernik.
I'd like to order a coffee and a cheesecake.
The genuine irregulars
A few essential verbs do not sit neatly in any group and must simply be learned as units. They are worth the effort because you cannot get through a day without them.
| Verb | 1sg (ja) | 2sg (ty) | 3pl (oni/one) |
|---|---|---|---|
| być (to be) | jestem | jesteś | są |
| jeść (to eat) | jem | jesz | jedzą |
| wiedzieć (to know — a fact) | wiem | wiesz | wiedzą |
jeść and wiedzieć are siblings: both have the -em / -esz singular of an old class, then a startling -dzą in the 3rd plural (jedzą, wiedzą). Learn them as a pair. być is in a class of its own — see the być and mieć page.
Nie wiem, gdzie są klucze.
I don't know where the keys are.
Co jecie na śniadanie?
What do you (pl.) eat for breakfast?
A note on wiedzieć vs znać
Both translate as "to know," but they are not interchangeable — and the survey above already gives you the forms (wiem irregular, znam the safe -am/-asz). Use wiedzieć for knowing facts (followed by a clause: wiem, że…) and znać for being acquainted with a person, place, or thing (followed by a direct object).
Znam tę piosenkę, ale nie wiem, kto ją śpiewa.
I know this song, but I don't know who sings it.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ja mogę nie przyjść jutro.
Incorrect placement/sense — for 'can't' the negation goes on the verb: nie mogę.
✅ Nie mogę jutro przyjść.
I can't come tomorrow.
❌ Pisam list.
Incorrect — pisać is a -ę/-esz stem-changer, not an -am verb. The stem is pisz-.
✅ Piszę list.
I'm writing a letter.
❌ Oni jeją zupę.
Incorrect — jeść has the irregular 3pl jedzą, not 'jeją'.
✅ Oni jedzą zupę.
They're eating soup.
❌ Ja mogesz przyjść.
Incorrect — mixing persons; mogę is 1sg, możesz is 2sg, and the g→ż change applies.
✅ Ja mogę przyjść, a ty możesz zostać.
I can come, and you can stay.
❌ Wiedzę, że masz rację.
Incorrect — the 1sg of wiedzieć is the irregular wiem, not 'wiedzę'.
✅ Wiem, że masz rację.
I know you're right.
Key Takeaways
- Three classes: -am/-asz (safe), -ę/-isz (soft 1sg), -ę/-esz (stem-changers).
- Lean on Group 1 (czytam, mieszkam, znam, mam) while you build fluency.
- The -ować → -uj- rule (pracować → pracuję) is the single most productive pattern.
- Memorize the true irregulars as blocks: jestem/są, jem/jedzą, wiem/wiedzą, idę/idą, mogę/mogą.
- The endings are stable; the stem is where the action is.
Now practice Polish
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Start learning Polish→Related Topics
- The Four Conjugation PatternsA2 — How Polish present-tense verbs sort into four ending-patterns (-ę/-esz, -ę/-isz, -am/-asz, -em/-esz), with model verbs and the stem mutations that trip up beginners.
- Present Tense: -am/-asz Verbs (Class III)A1 — The easiest, most regular Polish present-tense class — czytam, mieszkam, mam — with no stem mutation, and the one present tense that covers both 'I read' and 'I am reading'.
- 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).
- Present Tense: -ę/-esz Verbs (Class I)A2 — The -ę/-esz present class — the one with the heaviest stem changes (pisać → piszę, brać → biorę, jechać → jadę), where the infinitive often hides the present stem entirely.
- być and mieć Side by SideA1 — The two verbs Polish beginners use most — być 'to be' and mieć 'to have' — placed in parallel, with their forms and their very different completions.
- Personal Endings and Dropping the PronounA1 — Polish verb endings already encode who the subject is, so the subject pronoun (ja, ty, on...) is normally dropped — and supplying it the English way sounds emphatic.