Ja idę na zakupy.

I am going shopping.

Breakdown of Ja idę na zakupy.

• ja: I
• iść: to go
• na: for
• zakupy: the shopping

Questions & Answers about Ja idę na zakupy.

Why is Ja included at the beginning of the sentence? Is it necessary?

In Polish, the verb ending -ę in idę already tells you the subject is “I.” You can safely omit Ja and say Idę na zakupy. Native speakers often drop subject pronouns unless they want to emphasize or contrast the subject. For example:
Ja idę na zakupy, a ty zostajesz w domu.
(“I am going shopping, and you are staying home.”)

What exactly does idę mean, and how is it different from chodzę?

Both come from the verb “to go,” but they express different aspects:

• idę (from iść, imperfective) is a one-time, ongoing action: “I am going (right now).”
• chodzę (from chodzić, also imperfective) expresses habitual or repeated action: “I go” as in “I regularly go.”
  So Idę na zakupy means “I’m (right now) going shopping,” while Chodzę na zakupy would mean “I go shopping (regularly).”

Why is the preposition na used before zakupy, and what case does zakupy take here?

Na in this context means “for” or “to” when talking about going somewhere for a purpose (here: shopping). It requires the accusative case. Zakupy is plural, and its accusative form is identical to the nominative: zakupy.

Why is zakupy in the plural form? Wouldn’t singular zakup or zakupka work?

Zakupy (plural) is the standard noun meaning “shopping” or “purchases.” Singular zakup exists but means “a purchase” (one item). Zakupka is not a word. If you said idę na zakup, it would imply you’re going to buy exactly one thing, which isn’t how Polish usually talks about shopping trips.

Could you use a different verb instead of iść, like robić zakupy?

Yes. Robić zakupy literally means “to do shopping” and is very common:
Idę na zakupy. → “I’m going shopping.”
Idę robić zakupy. → “I’m going to do some shopping.”
Both are correct; robić zakupy emphasizes the activity itself.

What is the difference between idę and pójdę in this sentence?

• Idę (present tense) describes going right now: “I am going.”
• Pójdę (future, perfective) describes a one-time, completed future action: “I will go.”
  So Pójdę na zakupy means “I will go [later] shopping,” focusing on the fact you will complete the action.

How do you pronounce idę na zakupy? Where is the stress?

Polish stress is almost always on the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable. So you stress i-DE and ZA-ku-py:
/ˈi.dɛ na ˈza.ku.pɨ/

Can the word order be changed to emphasize something, for example Na zakupy idę?

Yes. Polish has relatively free word order. By moving na zakupy to the front, you emphasize the purpose:
Na zakupy idę. → “It’s (for) shopping that I’m going.”
The meaning stays the same, but the focus shifts to na zakupy.

How does the verb iść conjugate for other persons?

Here’s the present-tense conjugation of iść:
ja idę (I go)
ty idziesz (you go)
on/ona/ono idzie (he/she/it goes)
my idziemy (we go)
wy idziecie (you pl. go)
oni/one idą (they go)