Lesson 6. The Past Tense in Polish (Czas przeszły)

The past tense in Polish (Czas przeszły)

 

Good news: the Polish past tense is easy to build. You start from the infinitive stem of the verb and add special endings that change with gender and number.

 

✅ How do you form the past tense?

Take the infinitive (for example: robić – to do).
Drop the ending -ć (robić → robi-) and add the ending you need.

 

✅ Singular (he / she / it)

 

Person Gender Form Example Translation
ja (I) masculine robiłem Wczoraj robiłem obiad. Yesterday I (male) made dinner.
ja (I) feminine robiłam Wczoraj robiłam obiad. Yesterday I (female) made dinner.
ty (you) masculine robiłeś Czy robiłeś to wczoraj? Did you (male) do this yesterday?
ty (you) feminine robiłaś Czy robiłaś to wczoraj? Did you (female) do this yesterday?
on (he) masculine robił On robił zdjęcia. He was taking photos.
ona (she) feminine robiła Ona robiła zdjęcia. She was taking photos.
ono (it) neuter robiło Dziecko robiło bałwana. The child was making a snowman.

 

✅ Plural (they / we / you)

 

Person Type of group Form Example Translation
my (we) group with at least one man robiliśmy My robiliśmy zakupy. We were doing the shopping.
my (we) women only robiłyśmy My robiłyśmy zakupy. We (women) were doing the shopping.
wy (you) group with at least one man robiliście Wy robiliście to wczoraj? Did you do this yesterday?
wy (you) women only robiłyście Wy robiłyście to wczoraj? Did you (women) do this yesterday?
oni (they) men or a mixed group robili Oni robili zdjęcia. They were taking photos.
one (they) only women / things robiły One robiły zdjęcia. They (women) were taking photos.

 

Remember:

 

  • Endings with -ł are used in the singular, and those with -li / -ły in the plural.

  • Gender really matters here!
    ✅ m – when the speaker or the group is male or mixed.
    ✅ ż – when it’s women only.
    ✅ ono – neuter.