Trzymam kubek mocno, żeby nie rozlać herbaty.

I hold the mug tightly so I don’t spill the tea.

Breakdown of Trzymam kubek mocno, żeby nie rozlać herbaty.

• ja: I
• herbata: the tea
• nie: not
• żeby: so that

Questions & Answers about Trzymam kubek mocno, żeby nie rozlać herbaty.

What does trzymam mean exactly, and what form is it?

Trzymam is the 1st person singular present tense of trzymać (to hold, to keep/keep holding).

So trzymam kubek means I am holding a mug or I hold the mug.

A useful thing to remember: Polish present tense often covers both English simple present and present continuous. So trzymam can mean I hold or I am holding, depending on context.

Why is there no ja in the sentence?

Because Polish usually drops subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear.

The ending -am in trzymam already tells you the subject is I, so ja is unnecessary.

You could say Ja trzymam kubek mocno..., but that would usually add emphasis, for example:

• Ja trzymam kubek, nie ty. — I’m holding the mug, not you.

Why is it kubek and not kubka or some other form?

Because kubek is the direct object of trzymam, so it is in the accusative case.

However, kubek is a masculine inanimate noun, and for many masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative singular looks the same as the nominative singular.

So:

• nominative: kubek
• accusative: kubek

That is why you do not see a change here.