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Questions & Answers about Ja robię herbatę teraz.
Why is ja included? Can’t we drop it?
Polish is a pro-drop language. The verb ending -ę in robię already tells you it’s first person singular (“I”). So you can simply say Robię herbatę teraz. Including ja adds emphasis or clarity, but it isn’t required.
Why is herbatę and not herbata?
Because herbata (tea) is the direct object of robić (to make). In Polish, direct objects take the accusative case. Feminine nouns ending in -a change to -ę in the accusative, so herbata → herbatę.
What does the -ę ending on robię tell us?
The ending -ę on present-tense verbs indicates first person singular (I). Most imperfective verbs in 1st person singular end in -ę (e.g., czytam, piję, robię).
Why is the verb robię and not zrobię?
robię comes from the imperfective verb robić, which focuses on an ongoing or habitual action (“making”). zrobię is perfective (from zrobić) and indicates a completed action or a single future event: “I will make tea.”
Why isn’t there an auxiliary verb like am in Polish to say “I am making tea”?
Polish doesn’t distinguish present simple vs. present continuous. You use the present tense of an imperfective verb (robię) for both “I make tea” and “I am making tea.”
Where can we place teraz in the sentence, and does the meaning change?
Polish word order is flexible. You can say:
- Teraz robię herbatę.
- Robię herbatę teraz.
- Robię teraz herbatę.
All mean “I am making tea now,” though shifting teraz can subtly shift the emphasis between the time and the action.
What kind of word is teraz, and does it change form?
teraz is an adverb meaning “now.” It’s indeclinable, so it stays the same in every context.