Questions & Answers about Czy ty używasz długopisu w szkole?
What is the function of the particle Czy at the beginning of the sentence? Must I always use it to ask a yes/no question?
Czy is a yes/no question particle in Polish. It signals that the speaker expects a yes/no answer. You don’t always have to use Czy—you can also ask a yes/no question by using rising intonation alone or by fronting another element (e.g., Długopisu używasz w szkole?), but Czy makes the question explicitly marked.
Why is the subject pronoun ty included? Isn’t Polish a pro-drop language where you can omit pronouns?
Polish is indeed pro-drop, so ty is not necessary because the verb ending -asz already marks second person singular. Including ty adds emphasis, contrast, or extra clarity—especially if you want to stress that you’re asking you in particular.
How can I tell that używasz means you use (second person singular present tense), and not some other person or tense?
Polish verbs conjugate with specific endings. The ending -asz on the stem używ- indicates present tense, second person singular, imperfective aspect. For comparison: ja używam (I use), on/ona używa (he/she uses).
Why is używać used here instead of the perfective verb użyć?