Advice and obligation (powinien)

To express what someone "should" or "ought to" do, Polish uses the word powinien followed directly by an infinitive verb (such as chronić - to protect, or segregować - to sort).

Unlike a standard verb, powinien behaves much like an adjective. It must agree with the subject's gender and number, and it takes personal endings exactly like verbs do in the past tense.

Singular Forms

In the singular, the base forms are powinien (masculine), powinna (feminine), and powinno (neuter). To say "I should" or "you should," we add the endings -m and -ś. Notice the extra -e- that appears in the masculine "I" and "you" forms (powinienem, powinieneś).

Remember that formal pronouns like Pan (Sir) and Pani (Ma'am) always take the third-person forms (He/She/It).

Plural Forms

In the plural, powinien splits into two gender categories:

• Masculine personal: For groups that include at least one man. The base is powinni.
• All others: For groups of women, children, animals, or objects. The base is powinny.

To say "we should" or "you all should," simply attach -śmy or -ście to the appropriate base.

To say someone should not do something, place the word nie directly before the powinien form.