Wkładam nasiona do małych doniczek, a potem podlewam je konewką.

I put the seeds into small flowerpots, and then I water them with a watering can.

Breakdown of Wkładam nasiona do małych doniczek, a potem podlewam je konewką.

• ja: I
• mały: small
• je: them
• a: and

Questions & Answers about Wkładam nasiona do małych doniczek, a potem podlewam je konewką.

Why is there no ja in the sentence?

Because Polish usually leaves the subject pronoun out when the verb already makes the person clear.

• wkładam = I put / I am putting
• podlewam = I water / I am watering

The ending -am shows 1st person singular, so ja is not necessary. You can add ja for emphasis, contrast, or clarity, but the neutral version usually omits it.

What form is wkładam?

Wkładam is the 1st person singular present tense form of wkładać.

So it means:

• I put
• I am putting

It is also imperfective, which means it focuses on the action as ongoing, repeated, or not viewed as a single completed whole.

Its perfective partner is włożyć, for example włożę = I will put in / I will place in.

Why are the verbs in the present tense even though the sentence describes one action and then another?

Because Polish present tense can describe:

• what someone is doing right now
• a habitual action
• a sequence of steps in a process

So Wkładam nasiona..., a potem podlewam je... can mean either:

• I’m putting the seeds in..., and then I water them...
• I put the seeds in..., and then I water them... as a regular procedure

In English, we often choose between simple present and present continuous more explicitly. Polish present tense is more flexible here.