1. Verbal inflection. The inflected forms of verbs in Polish terminate in person-number endings. They are: 1sg. -ę or -m, 2sg. -sz, 3sg. -Ø, 1pl. -my, 2pl. -cie, 3pl. -ą. The person-number endings are mostly preceded by vowels, by which verbs are classified into conjugations, as follows:

	1ST CONJUGATION		2ND CONJUGATION		3RD CONJUGATION
	SINGULAR	PLURAL	SINGULAR	PLURAL	SINGULAR	PLURAL
1ST	-am	-amy	-ę	-imy	-ę	-emy
2ND	-asz	-acie	-isz	-icie	-esz	-ecie
3RD	-a	-ają	-i	-ą	-e	-ą

Umieć (know how), rozumieć (understand), and śmieć (dare) end like 1st-conjugation verbs only with -e- in place of -a-, e.g., umiem, umiesz, umie, umiemy, umiecie, umieją.

2nd-conjugation verbs with stems ending in cz, rz, sz, or ż have -y- in place of -i, e.g., leżeć (lie): leżę, leżysz, leży, leżymy, leżycie, leżą.

2. The l-form. In addition to inflected forms, which show agreement with the subject of the sentence for person and number, the Polish verb has l-forms (l-participles), which show agreement with the subject of the sentence for gender and person. The l-participle is formed by taking the infinitive form of the verb, substituting -ł- for -ć-, and adding gender-number endings. These are masculine -Ø, feminine -a, neuter -o, male-personal -i, and other than male-personal -y. Before -i, -ł- softens to -l-. Before -ł, -e- shifts to -a-. Thus the l-forms of umieć are masculine umiał, feminine umiała, neuter umiało, and other than male-personal umiały with -e- shifted to -a-, and male-personal umieli with the -e- of umieć.

2.1 The infinitive form of the verb provides the stem for the l-form and past tense, but does not always indicate the verb's conjugation. Znać (know) is 1st conjugation (znam, znasz), stać (stand) is 2nd conjugation (stoję, stoisz), and brać (take) is 3rd conjugation (biorę, bierzesz).

The ambiguities of the infinitive form as regards conjugation class include the following.

°Does the stem-final -a- of the infinitive occur throughout the conjugation, as in czytać, czytam, czytasz (read), or is it replaced by other vowels, as in pisać, piszę, piszesz (write) and in bać się, boję się, boisz się (be afraid)?

°Does the stem-final -e- of the infinitive occur throughout the conjugation, as in drożeć, drożeję, drożejesz (become more expensive), or is it replaced by other vowels, as in leżeć, leżę, leżysz?

°Does the stem-final -i- of the infinitive pertain to the root and occur throughout the conjugation, as in 3rd-conjugation wypić, wypiję, wypijesz (drink up), or is it suffixal, as in 2nd-conjugation kupić, kupię, kupisz (buy).

°Does the stem-final -y- of the infinitive pertain to the root and occur throughout the conjugation, as in 3rd-conjugation użyjć, użję, użjesz (use), or is it suffixal, as in 2nd-conjugation patrzyć, patrzę, patrzysz?

°Does the stem-final -ą of the infinitive accompany the -n- suffix, as in zamknąć, zamknę, zamkniesz (close), or is it an alternating part of the root, as in zacząć, zacznę, zaczniesz (begin)?

°When infinitival -ć is preceded by -ś-, does the root of the verb end in -s-, as in nieść, niosę, niesiesz (carry), or in -d-, as in iść, idę, idziesz (go [on foot]). Or does the conjugation involve an -n-, as in upaść, upadnę, upadniesz (fall)?

°When the infinitive ends in -c, does the verb root end in -k-, as in uciec, ucieknę, uciekniesz (run away), or does it end in -g-, as in pomóc, pomogę, pomożesz?

Give the 3rd-person singular and plural forms corresponding to the following infinitives and 1st-person singular forms. 1. wstać, wstanę (get up) 2. wstawać, wstaję (get up) 3. otrzymać, otrzymam (receive) 4. otrzymywać, otrzymuję (receive) 5. przyjąć, przyjmę (accept) 6. wypić, wypiję (drink up) 7. pokazać, pokażę (show) 8. pokazywać, pokazuję (show) 9. dostać, dostanę (get) 10. zaprosić, zaproszę (invite)

3. Aspect. Polish has a pair of verbs for each verbal action. The perfective member of the pair presents the action in terms of single completion, e.g., napisać list (write a letter), pojechać do domu (go home). The imperfective member of the pair presents the action as in progress, e.g., jadę do domu (I'm going home), piszę list (I'm writing a letter), or as repeated, e.g., Często piszę listy do swoich krewnych (I write to my relatives often), or the action itself with no reference to completion, e.g., Nie umiem pisać po polsku (I don't know how to write in Polish). Imperfective verbs may refer to past action, e.g., Zamykałam okna (I was closing the windows), present action, e.g., Zamykam okna (I'm closing the windows), or future action, e.g., Będę zamykała okna (I'm going to be closing the windows). Perfective verbs, since they specify completion, can refer only to actions that were completed in the past, e.g., Zamknęłam okna (I closed the windows), or actions expected to be completed in the future, e.g., Zamknę okna (I'll close the windows).

Choose a subject and express the following actions in all five tenses. 1. close the door 2. get up at six o'clock 3. take a taxi (taksówka) to town 4. show Mary the photographs 5. begin the lesson (zacząć/zaczynać lekcję) 6. invite guests in (zaprosić/zapraszać gości do siebie) 7. ask dad for money 8. pay for the shirts 9. receive a guest (przyjąć/przyjmować gościa 10. see the Polish films

3.1 The meaning of prefix-verb combinations is sometimes predictable. When the prefix has a spatial meaning, like w- (into), wy- (out of), przy- (toward), or od- (away from), and combines with a verb of motion, like iść or jechać, it is predictable, for example, that odjechać will mean "depart (by vehicle)" and przyjść will mean "arrive (on foot)". Note that joining a prefix to iść, idę, idziesz results in a slightly different root shape and sometimes a fleeting e after the prefix: wejść, wyjść, odejść.

Express in Polish. 1. No one could enter the museum. 2. We drove into Wrocław at ten in the morning. 3. Ann walked away from the window and said nothing. 4. When will you uncle from California arrive? 5. The bus will leave in (za) twenty minutes. 6. Please come to my place at four. 7. Barb wants Stan to go away. 8. When you enter the room you will see what your brothers have done. 9. Will anyone come to the meeting this evening? 10. Please get away from my car.

3.2 But in the typical case a prefix-verb combination is idiomatic, i.e., its meaning cannot be predicted from the meaning of the prefix and the meaning of the verb--the more so because the meaning of the prefix is often quite vague. Examples of idiomatic prefix-verb combinations are za-+prosić (invite), po-+móc (help), za-+robić (earn), w-+mówić (persuade, delude). In each case the meaning of the verb is present in the meaning of the compound, but the prefix gives the compound an unpredictable idiomatic meaning. Compare English, where for example turn combines with up with the idiomatic meaning "appear".

3.3 A verbal prefix, although it changes the aspect and usually the meaning of a verb, does not affect its conjugation. Having learned the simplex verb iść, idę, idziesz, including its suppletive l-forms szedł, szli, we have no difficulty conjugating the compounds przyjść, odejść, etc. The verb wiedzieć (know) is irregular: wiem, wiesz, wie, wiemy, wiecie, wiedzą. But having learned this paradigm, we have no trouble conjugating powiedzieć (tell) and odpowiedzieć (answer).

3.4 The few perfective/imperfective pairs like zobaczyć/widzieć (see) and wziąć/brać (take) must of course be regarded as separate verbs, which are synonymous except for the difference in aspect. The many perfective/imperfective pairs like zapłacić/płacić (pay) and poprosić/prosić (request) must also be regarded as separate verbs, since one has a prefix and the other lacks it. Verb pairs of this type may be conveniently noted as (za)płacić, (po)prosić, (z)robić (do, make), (na)pisać (write), (prze)czytać (read), etc.

3.5 In other cases, where the prefix occurs in both perfective and imperfective verbs and has the same semantic function in both, it is convenient to regard the perfective forms and the imperfective forms as forms of the same verb. This is because the imperfective forms can be derived from the stem of the perfective verb by a process called IMPERFECTIVIZATION. This process involves adding vowels to the perfective stem, changing the verb's congugation class, and often the shape of the root as well. The process is regular, although the rules are fairly complex and there are exceptions. While the rules (and the exceptions) are being learned, it may be advisable to continue regarding the perfective and the imperfective as paired verbs. But they should be learned in the order, perfective/imperfective, because knowing the perfective it is easier to predict the imperfective than to predict the perfective from the imperfective.

4. Imperfectivization. The two most general rules for deriving a imperfective verb from its prefixed perfective counterpart are these:

Rule A. If the stem of the perfective verb does not end in -a-, add -a- to form the stem of the imperfective and conjugate it accordingly---am, -asz, -a, -amy, -acie, -ają. Examples:

°The stem of perfective pomóc (help) is pomog- (as in pomogę, pomogłem, etc.); add -a- to the stem and change the -o- to -a-: pomagać, pomagam, pomagasz.

°The stem of powtórzyć (repeat) is powtórz-; add -a- and change ó to -a-: powtarzać, powtarzam, powtarzasz.

°The stem of zaprosić (invite) is zaproś-; add -a-, change -o- to -a-, and change ś- to -sz-: zapraszać, zapraszam, zapraszasz. When the perfective ends in -ić, the ać imperfective has the same consonant before -ać that occurs in the 1sg. and 3pl. forms of the -ić verb.

°The stem of zamknąć (close) is zamk-; add -a- and change the -mk- to -myk-: zamykać, zamykam, zamykasz. The suffixal -n- of the perfective verb never occurs in the imperfective verb.

If the stem of the perfective ends in a vowel, a consonant is needed to separate it from imperfectivizing -a-; add -j- after -i- and -w- after the remaining vowels. Examples:

°The stem of perfective rozwinąć is rozwi-; add -j- and -a-: rozwijać, rozwijam, rozwijasz.

°The stem of perfective użyć (use) is uży-; add -w- and -a-: używać, używam, używasz.

Rule B. If the stem of the perfective verb ends in -a-, the imperfecive is formed by replacing it with -ywa-. This -ywa- (which is sometimes -iwa-) in the infinitive and l-form stem, like -owa-, is replaced by -uj- in the conjugated forms. Examples:

°The stem of otrzymać (receive) is otrzyma-; replace -a- with -ywa- to obtain otrzymywać, which is conjugated otrzymuję, otrzymujesz, otrzymuje, otrzymujemy, otrzymujecie, otrzymują. The l-forms are otrzymywał, otrzymywała, otrzymywało, otrzymywali, and otrzymywały.

°The stem of opisać (describe) is opisa-; replace -a- with -ywa- to obtain opisywać, which is conjugated opisuję, opisujesz, opisuje,etc. The l-forms are opisywał, opisywała, etc.

Rewrite the sentences by imperfectivizing the verb. 1.Kto powtórzy to zdanie? 2. Zamknęliście wszystkie okna. 3. Ania na pewno (for sure) otrzyma listy od dziadka w Polsce. 4. W «Panu Tadeuszu» Mickiewicz opisał Litwę (Lithuania). 5. Czy zaprosisz na imprezę kolegów z pracy? 6. Czy on jej rozkaże (order), kiedy ona ma jechać? 7. Gdy ją zobaczył, przeprosił ją za to, co powiedział. 8. Zosia chciała, żeby ktoś odczytał (decipher) to, co Greś napisał w jej zeszycie. 9. Ile chcesz zarobić (earn) w tym roku? 10. Małgosia na pewno odpłaci (pay back) pieniądze, które otrzyma od ciotki.

4.1 Exceptions. Some perfective verbs with stems in -a- rather than follow Rule B change the shape of the root and imperfectivize with -a-. Examples:

°Perfective spotkać, spotkam, spotkasz (meet, encounter) imperfectivizes as spotykać, spotykam, spotykasz.

°Perfective wybrać (select, choose) and other prefixed derivatives of brać imperfectivize by changing -br- to -bier- and switching to the 1st conjugation: wybierać, wybieram, wybierasz.

°Perfective posłać, poślę, poślesz (send) imperfectivizes as posyłać, posyłam, posyłasz.

°Three verb roots, da-, sta-, and zna-, imperfectivize by Rule A with -a- (preceded by -w-), but the resulting verbs follow the 3rd conjugation rather than the first. Thus perfective dać (give), which as the irregular conjugation dam, dasz, da, damy, dacie, dadzą, has the imperfective dawać, which conjugates as daję, dajesz, daje, dajemy, dajecie, dają. Similarly with perfective dostać, dostanę, dostaniesz (get): it imperfectivizes as dostawać, which is conjugated dostaję, dostajesz, dostaje, etc.

Express in Polish. 1. I'm meeting my friend at three in Old Town square. 2. When our friends meet after work, they usually (zwykle) have tea. 3. Whom will Poles chose as (na) president? 4. Do they always (zawsze) choose a man? Do they never choose a woman? 5. How often (często) do you send letters to your grandparents? 6. Please send me your adress. 7. Why do you always close the door to your room? 8. Mr. and Mrs. Drabik think they're helping their son when they send him money. 9. He always thanks his parents when he receives money from them. 10. Please don't repeat what I tell you.

5. Commands. In Polish there are a number of ways of getting someone to do something. Perhaps the simplest is proszę + infinitive, e.g., Proszę powtórzyć (Please repeat).

Niech (let) can be used when addressing persons politely: Niech pani napisze swój adres (Please write your address), Niech państwo proszę nie rozmawiają (Please don't converse). It can be used with first- and third-person subjects also when they are not being addressed: Niech żyje Polska! (Long live Poland!), Niech ja zobaczę, co tam masz (Let me see what you have there).

The subjunctive mood may also be used to suggest that the addressee do something, e.g., Poszlibyście z nami na spacer (You might go for a walk with us).

A polite formula for requesting action is Pan będzie łaskaw ... + infinitive (lit. You will be so gracious as to ...; note the zero ending in the masculine form), e.g., Pani będzie łaskawa napisać swój adres. The łaskaw formula may be combined with others, e.g., Niech panowie będą łaskawi zostać na miejscu (Please stay where you are).

6. Imperative mood. The most direct way to issue a command or make a request is with the imperative form of the verb. Examples: Chodź tu (Come here), Pokaż mi co masz w ręku (Show me what you have in your hand), Zamknij drzwi (Close the door). "Please" may be added for greater politeness: . Use these forms only in addressing a person familiarly, someone you say ty to. When addressing plural persons familiarly (persons you say wy to), add -cie, e.g., Napiszcie te zdania w swoich zeszytach (Write these sentences in you notebooks). There is also a first person plural form, with -my, e.g., Jedźmy (Let's go; pron. "jeć-my"), Miejmy nadzieję (Let's hope). These forms may be used also when speaking to persons one is on pan/pani terms with.

For positive commands, the perfective aspect is normally used, e.g., Weź swoje rzeczy z mojego stołu (Take your things off my table). For negative commands, when one wishes to prohibit all phases of the action in question not just completion, the imperfective aspect is normally used, e.g., Nie bierz mojego plecaka (Please don't take my backpack).

6.1 Imperative forms. For 1st-conjugation verbs the imperative is formed by taking the third-person plural form and dropping -ą: przeczytają > przeczytaj; pamiętają > pamiętaj. For 2nd- and 3rd-conjugation verbs the imperative is formed by taking the third-person singular form and dropping the final vowel: siedzi > siedź, mówi > mów, powtórzy > powtórz, napisze > napisz, pracuje > pracuj.

The zero ending in the imperative form of 2nd- and 3rd-conjugation verbs sometimes conditions a shift in the root vowel: o normally shifts to ó, and in a few cases ę shifts to ą. Examples: zrobi > zrób, pomoże > pomóż, będzie > bądź, e.g., Dzieci, bądźcie grzeczne! (Children, be good!).

6.2 When dropping the final vowel from the 3sg. form of a verb to form the imperative results in a consonant cluster that is considereed difficult to pronounce, -ij (or -yj) is added. Dropping -e from zamknie results in zamkń-, and the imperative is zamknij. Dropping -e from pośle results in pośl-, and the imperative is poślij. But no -ij/-yj is added in the imperatives of myśleć, czyścić (clean), or patrzeć.

6.3 Exceptions. The imperative of mieć is not formed from 3rd-person plural mają; it is miej.

The imperative of wziąć is weź.

The imperative of wiedzieć is wiedz. Likewise for its prefixed derivatives: powiedzieć > powiedzmy (let's say; pron. "po-wiec-my").

The imperative of dać is daj; the imperative of dawać is dawaj.

Rewrite the following first politely as niech-requests and then familiarly as ty-commands. 1. Proszę przeczytać to zdanie po polsku. 2. Proszę pamiętać co ci mówiłem. 3. Proszę pojechać do sklepu po herbatę. 4. Proszę nie brać moich rzeczy. 5. Proszę siedzieć tu przy stole i rozmawiać z nami. 6. Proszę wstać jutro o szóstej godzinie. 7. Proszę zamknąć wszystkie okna w tym pokoju. 8. Proszę wziąć swój plecak z mojego samochodu. 9. Proszę nie myśleć, że masz rację. (no -ij) 10. Proszę mi dać spokój. (peace)

7. Vocative form. Given names, titles, and certain other nouns are often used to address people. For example: Tereniu! (Terry!), Panie profesorze! (Professor ...!), Chłopcy! (Boys!). When used in this way, nouns in the singular often show a special, VOCATIVE form. The vocative differs from the other cases in that it does not mark the dependency of the noun on other words in the sentence. Rather, it marks the noun as standing apart, as shown by the comma: Grzesiu, chodź tu! (Greg, come here). Use of the vocative, although common, is mostly optional; Grześ, daj spokój! is also heard.

The endings of the vocative, like those of the locative singular and nominative plural, depend partly on gender and partly on the stem-final consonant.

For 1st-declension masculine nouns with basic (hard) stem consonants, except k, g, and ch, it is -e, which conditions a softening of the stem consonant: Paweł > Pawle, Jan > Janie, Stanisław > Stanisławie, doktor > doktorze.

For 2nd-declension nouns with stems ending in a basic (hard) consonant or in j, it is -o: matka > matko, pani Jadwiga > pani Jadwigo, Zofia > Zofio, (pan) kolega > panie kolego.

Otherwise the ending is -u regardless of gender: Janek > Janku, Staś > Stasiu, wuj > wuju, Jadzia > Jadziu, Zosia > Zosiu, ciocia > ciociu.

Third-declension (feminine) nouns have a vocative in -i (or -y): Solidarności!

Exceptions: Bóg > Boże, syn > synu, and nouns in -ec, e.g., ojciec > ojcze, chłopiec > chłopcze.

The vocatives in -u are common in spoken Polish. The others are formal or bookish.

For nouns in the plural and for adjectives, nominative case is used in the vocative function: przyjaciele!, moja droga! (my dear).

Vocabulary

dać give	otrzymać receive	użyć use
dostać get	posłać send	wstać get up
drożeć become expensive	przyjąć accept	wybrać choose
krewny relative	rozmawiać converse	wypić drink up
łaskawy	rozwinąć develop	zacząć begin
niech let	spokój -oju peace	zamknąć
nieść carry	uciec run away	zawsze always
opisać describe	upaść fall down	zwykle