Setting Off: Perfective Motion with po-
Base motion verbs like iść (to go on foot), jechać (to go by vehicle), and lecieć (to fly) are imperfective. To express completing a one-way trip or setting off, add the prefix po- to create the perfective verbs pójść, pojechać, and polecieć.
Because these verbs are perfective, conjugating them with standard present-tense endings forms the future tense.
| Tomorrow I will go to the cinema with my brother. | Jutro pójdę do kina z bratem. |
| The day after tomorrow I will go to Warsaw by train. | Pojutrze pojadę do Warszawy pociągiem. |
| This airplane will fly to Poland at night. | Ten samolot poleci do Polski w nocy. |
Using Perfective Infinitives
Pair helper words (like musieć or trzeba) or question words with a perfective motion infinitive to emphasize successfully reaching a destination.
| We have to go to the ticket office and buy tickets. | Musimy pójść do kasy i kupić bilety. |
| We need to go to the station. | Trzeba pójść na stację. |
| When I have a map, I know where to go. | Kiedy mam mapę, wiem, gdzie pójść. |
You can also use a perfective infinitive after proszę for polite directions.
| Please go to the ticket office for a ticket. | Proszę pójść do kasy po bilet. |
Completed Trips in the Past
In the past tense, po- motion verbs show that the subject has successfully set off or completed their one-way journey.
| My husband already went to the station. | Mój mąż już pojechał na stację. |
| Did she go to the hotel by taxi? | Czy ona pojechała do hotelu taksówką? |
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