Learn Hardcore Polish: Czy mogę zabrać długopis z biura?

It marks the sentence as a yes/no question. Polish often drops question words if intonation is clear, but placing czy at the start makes the question explicit and more formal or polite.

Why is mogę used instead of może?

mogę is the first-person singular form of the verb móc (to be able). It means “I can.” może would be third-person singular (“he/she/it can”), so it wouldn’t make sense here.

Why isn’t there a subject pronoun like ja (I)?

Polish verbs are conjugated to show the subject. Since mogę already indicates “I,” you omit ja unless you want to add emphasis.

Why use the infinitive zabrać after mogę?

When you use a modal verb like móc, it must be followed by an infinitive. So mogę (“I can”) pairs with zabrać (“to take away”), giving “I can take away.”

What case does długopis take here?

It’s the direct object of zabrać, so it’s in the accusative case. For masculine inanimate nouns like długopis, the accusative form is identical to the nominative, hence .