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### Frequentative Verbs: "Used To"

When describing old routines, English relies on phrases like "used to" or "would." While standard imperfective Polish verbs can describe repeated past actions, Polish also has a special class of verbs dedicated entirely to long-term habits: **frequentative verbs**.

You can recognize them by their suffixes: **-ywać** or **-iwać**. You will often see them paired with words like **dawniej** (formerly / in the past) or when reminiscing about childhood memories.

Take the verb *czytać* (to read). With the suffix, it becomes **czytywać** (to read habitually).

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### Conjugating Frequentatives

Frequentative verbs conjugate exactly like standard *-ać* verbs in the past tense. You simply attach the standard past tense endings to the new frequentative stem. For example, *grać* (to play) becomes **grywać**.

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### Vowel Shifts

Sometimes the root of the verb changes slightly when the frequentative suffix is added. For instance, the verb *jeść* (to eat) transforms into **jadywać**.

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Similarly, *widzieć* (to see) becomes **widywać**, and *pisać* (to write) becomes **pisywać**.

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### Nostalgia and Carefree Days

Naturally, frequentative verbs go hand in hand with reminiscing about a **beztroski** (carefree) past. When discussing your favorite childhood **zabawa** (game, play, or party), it is common to feel a sense of **tęsknota** (nostalgia or longing).

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Frequentative past habits (-ywać, -iwać)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

predicative

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

This is (to jest)

The verb to be, singular (być)

Formal address (Pan, Pani)

Demonstrative pronouns (ten, ta, to)

Adjective agreement

Negation (nie)

Basic questions (czy, kto, co, gdzie, jak)

The verb to be, plural (być)

Present tense -m/-sz verbs

Reflexive verbs (się)

Coordinating conjunctions (i, a, ale)

Feminine direct objects (Accusative)

Inanimate direct objects (Accusative)

Animate masculine direct objects (Accusative)

Present tense verbs 2 (-ę, -isz / -ysz)

Expressing location (w, na)

Locative adjective agreement

Professions and nationalities (Instrumental)

Accompaniment (z + Instrumental)

Present tense verbs 3 (-ę, -esz)

Plural possessives (nasz, wasz)

Numbers 1 to 10

Genitive of possession

Genitive of negation

Lack or absence (nie ma)

Basic quantifiers (dużo, mało, trochę)

Liking things (podoba mi się)

Modal verbs (móc, musieć)

Subordinating conjunctions (bo, że)

Unidirectional motion verbs (iść, jechać)

Expressing age (mieć... lat)

Habitual motion (chodzić, jeździć)

Expressing destination (do)

Days of the week (poniedziałek, wtorek...)

Plural nouns for objects and animals

Plural nouns for people

Plural adjective agreement

Accusative object pronouns (go, ją, je...)

The past tense of to be (był)

Singular past tense (-łem, -łam...)

Expressing age (mieć + lata / lat)

Plural past tense (-li / -ły)

Perfective past tense

Future tense (będę + infinitive)

Age: one year (mieć rok)

Prices and currency (złoty, grosz)

Destination (na + accusative)

Non-masculine plurals (-e, -y, -i)

Instrumental pronouns (ze mną, z tobą)

To know (znać vs wiedzieć)

The future perfective tense

The imperative mood

Months of the year (styczeń, luty)

Greetings and farewells (dzień dobry, cześć)

Introducing yourself (mam na imię)

Thank you and sorry (dziękuję, przepraszam)

Left, right, up and down (po lewej stronie)

Parts of the body (ręka, noga)

Parts of the day (dzień, noc, południe)

What is it like? (jaki, jaka, jakie)

Speaking Polish (mówić po polsku)

Instrumental for adjectives (dobrym, dobrą)

Please do... (proszę + infinitive)

Interests (interesować się + Instrumental)

Can one? (można, trzeba, nie wolno)

By bus or by train (jechać autobusem)

Where are you from? (jestem z Polski)

Where exactly? (obok, przy, przed, za, pod, nad)

What time is it? (Która godzina?)

Not seeing her (go, jej, ich; niego, niej, nich)

When I have time (kiedy as a conjunction)

Irregular past stems (miał, mieli)

The verb 'iść' in the past (szedł, szli)

Imperfective future (będę odpoczywał)

Past aspect (robił vs zrobił)

Future aspect (będzie malował vs pomaluje)

Perfective motion with po- (pójść, pojechać)

Arrival verbs with przy- (przyjść, przyjechać)

Departure verbs with wy- (wyjść, wyjechać)

The Vocative case (Panie, Mamo)

Plural possessives (moi, moje)

Reflexive possessive pronouns (swój)

Genitive plural of masculine nouns (-ów, -y, -i)

Genitive plural of feminine and neuter nouns

Genitive plural of adjectives (-ych, -ich)

Accusative plural of masculine personal nouns

Question	Answer
formerly / in the past	dawniej
to read (habitually)	czytywać
Formerly I used to read a lot, but now I don't have time.	Dawniej czytywałem bardzo dużo, ale teraz nie mam czasu.
fairytale	bajka
My grandfather used to read fairytales to me when I was little.	Mój dziadek czytywał mi bajki, kiedy byłem mały.
This old fairytale is my best memory.	Ta stara bajka to moje najlepsze wspomnienie.
carefree	beztroski
Our childhood was carefree until we went to school.	Nasze dzieciństwo było beztroskie, dopóki nie poszliśmy do szkoły.
to play (habitually)	grywać
Formerly we used to play football in this old courtyard.	Dawniej grywaliśmy w piłkę na tym starym podwórku.
On Sundays father used to play tennis with us.	W niedziele ojciec grywał z nami w tenisa.
to eat (habitually)	jadywać
I remember that grandma used to eat lunch only at four PM.	Pamiętam, że babcia jadywała obiad dopiero o szesnastej.
We once used to eat in this cafe every Friday.	Kiedyś jadywaliśmy w tej kawiarni w każdy piątek.
to see (habitually)	widywać
I used to see the boss in the office, because he often worked there.	Widywałem szefa w biurze, bo często tam pracował.
I used to see the neighbour at the station when she travelled to Warsaw.	Widywałem sąsiadkę na dworcu, kiedy jeździła do Warszawy.
to write (habitually)	pisywać
My sister used to write long letters to our grandmother.	Moja siostra pisywała długie listy do naszej babci.
He formerly used to write poems, but last year he stopped.	Dawniej pisywał wiersze, ale w zeszłym roku przestał.
play / game / party (fun, amusement)	zabawa
Our favourite game was very simple and carefree.	Nasza ulubiona zabawa była bardzo prosta i beztroska.
nostalgia / longing	tęsknota
I feel that this nostalgia for the past is stronger today.	Czuję, że ta tęsknota za przeszłością jest dziś silniejsza.
Nostalgia for youth is a pain which every one of us will know someday.	Tęsknota za młodością to ból, który każdy z nas kiedyś pozna.
On Monday the party was great, but on Tuesday we had to return to school.	W poniedziałek zabawa była świetna, ale we wtorek musieliśmy wracać do szkoły.