The -ę/-esz class is where Polish verbs get genuinely hard, and it is honest to say so up front. The endings themselves are simple and regular. The problem is the stem: in this class the infinitive frequently looks nothing like the present-tense forms. Pisać gives piszę; brać gives biorę; jechać gives jadę. You cannot reliably build the present from the infinitive here, so this is the class where learning each verb's 1sg and 2sg by heart matters most.
The endings
The endings are consistent across the whole class. What varies is the stem they attach to.
| Person | Ending | pisać → (stem pisz-) |
|---|---|---|
| ja | -ę | piszę |
| ty | -esz | piszesz |
| on / ona / ono | -e | pisze |
| my | -emy | piszemy |
| wy | -ecie | piszecie |
| oni / one | -ą | piszą |
As in Class II, the nasal vowels mark the edges: -ę in the 1sg, -ą in the 3pl. The middle four forms use the -e- vowel (piszesz, pisze, piszemy, piszecie) — that -e- is exactly what separates this class from the -i-/-y- of Class II. If you can hear piszesz versus robisz, you can tell the two classes apart.
The stem changes — this is the hard part
In pisać → piszę, the s of the stem becomes sz throughout the present. That much is a clean, single mutation. But other members go further, changing vowels and consonants in ways the infinitive does not warn you about. Here are the most common offenders, with their 1sg and 2sg — the two forms that reveal the stem:
| Infinitive | Meaning | ja (1sg) | ty (2sg) | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| pisać | write | piszę | piszesz | s → sz |
| brać | take | biorę | bierzesz | a → io / ie, r → rz |
| iść | go (on foot) | idę | idziesz | whole stem id- / idzi- |
| jechać | go (by vehicle) | jadę | jedziesz | ch → d, a → e |
| móc | can / be able | mogę | możesz | g ↔ ż |
| chcieć | want | chcę | chcesz | (stem chc-, no -ę vowel) |
| pić | drink | piję | pijesz | inserts -j- |
| myć | wash | myję | myjesz | inserts -j- |
There is no shortcut for most of these — jechać → jadę and brać → biorę simply have to be memorized. The pattern is real but not derivable: you meet the verb, you learn its 1sg and 2sg, and from those two forms you can build the rest. That is why the verb reference tables and the consonant-mutation reference earn their place here more than in any other class.
Full paradigms of the trickiest verbs
Because these forms are so unpredictable, it helps to see them laid out in full.
| Person | brać (take) | iść (go on foot) | jechać (go by vehicle) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ja | biorę | idę | jadę |
| ty | bierzesz | idziesz | jedziesz |
| on / ona / ono | bierze | idzie | jedzie |
| my | bierzemy | idziemy | jedziemy |
| wy | bierzecie | idziecie | jedziecie |
| oni / one | biorą | idą | jadą |
Notice a sub-pattern: in brać and jechać, the 1sg and 3pl share one stem vowel (bior-ę / bior-ą; jad-ę / jad-ą) while the middle four share another (bierz-; jedzi-). This "1sg + 3pl versus the rest" split echoes the softening you saw in Class II — the two nasal-vowel forms behave as a pair.
| Person | móc (can) | chcieć (want) | pić (drink) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ja | mogę | chcę | piję |
| ty | możesz | chcesz | pijesz |
| on / ona / ono | może | chce | pije |
| my | możemy | chcemy | pijemy |
| wy | możecie | chcecie | pijecie |
| oni / one | mogą | chcą | piją |
For móc, the g of mogę / mogą alternates with ż in możesz, może, możemy, możecie — again the 1sg/3pl pair stands apart. For chcieć, the stem is simply chc- with the endings attached directly (chcę, chcesz...). For pić and myć, a -j- appears between the short stem and the ending (pi-j-ę, my-j-ę).
Piszę do ciebie z pociągu, bo właśnie jadę do Wrocławia.
I'm writing to you from the train, because I'm on my way to Wrocław.
Bierzemy ślub w czerwcu — zapraszamy całą rodzinę.
We're getting married in June — we're inviting the whole family.
Możesz mi pomóc? Sam tego nie udźwignę.
Can you help me? I can't lift this on my own.
Idę po chleb, wrócę za pięć minut.
I'm going for bread, I'll be back in five minutes.
Piję tylko zieloną herbatę, kawa mnie rozstraja.
I only drink green tea; coffee makes me jittery.
Co chcesz na obiad? Mogę zrobić naleśniki.
What do you want for lunch? I can make pancakes.
Jedziesz dziś samochodem czy idziesz pieszo?
Are you driving today or walking?
A few of these verbs — móc and chcieć especially — are usually treated as irregular in their own right because their changes are so idiosyncratic; see the conjugation-patterns overview and the móc reference for the details.
Why the infinitive can't be trusted here
In the friendly -am/-asz class, the infinitive czytać gives you the stem czyt- directly. In this class, that strategy fails. Pisać does not contain pisz-; brać does not contain bior-; jechać does not contain jad-. The present stem and the infinitive stem have drifted apart over centuries of sound change, and modern Polish keeps both. The practical consequence: do not guess the present from the infinitive in Class I. Look the verb up, learn its 1sg and 2sg, and build outward from there.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ja pisę list do babci.
Incorrect — the stem mutates: 1sg is piszę (s → sz).
✅ Piszę list do babci.
I'm writing a letter to grandma.
❌ Ja brę parasol.
Incorrect — brać has a heavily altered present stem: 1sg is biorę.
✅ Biorę parasol.
I'm taking an umbrella.
❌ Ja możę ci pomóc.
Incorrect — the 1sg keeps the g: mogę; the ż appears only in możesz, może...
✅ Mogę ci pomóc.
I can help you.
❌ Ja jechę do pracy autobusem.
Incorrect — the present stem is jad-/jedzi-: 1sg jadę, 2sg jedziesz.
✅ Jadę do pracy autobusem.
I go to work by bus.
❌ Ja pię wodę cały dzień.
Incorrect — pić inserts -j-: 1sg piję.
✅ Piję wodę cały dzień.
I drink water all day.
Key Takeaways
- Endings: -ę, -esz, -e, -emy, -ecie, -ą — the -e- in the middle four forms is what distinguishes this class from the -i-/-y- of Class II.
- The stems mutate heavily and unpredictably: pisać → piszę, brać → biorę, jechać → jadę, móc → mogę/możesz.
- A 1sg/3pl pair often shares one stem (biorę/biorą, jadę/jadą, mogę/mogą) while the middle four share another (bierze-, jedzie-, może-).
- The infinitive cannot be trusted to reveal the present stem here — always learn the 1sg and 2sg of each new verb.
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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.
- Consonant Mutation Reference TableB1 — The master table of Polish consonant alternations (alternacje) — every hard-to-soft mutation, its trigger, and where it surfaces in cases, verbs, comparatives and word formation.
- pisać / napisać — to writeA2 — Full conjugation reference for the aspect pair pisać (impf) / napisać (pf), 'to write' — present with the s→sz mutation (piszę, not *pisam), perfective future, gendered past, imperative, participles — and the rich prefix family that one base spawns.
- 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.
- 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).