Pronouns, Być & Mieć
Pronouns, Być & Mieć
Być (to be) and mieć (to have) are the two most important verbs in the language — both irregular, both worth memorizing cold before anything else.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
Subject Pronouns Are Usually Dropped
(Ja) jestem Polakiem.
I am Polish.
Each verb ending already tells you who's doing the action, so ja, ty, on, and the rest are usually left out — saying them every time sounds as unnatural as constantly repeating a subject already established in an English conversation. They resurface mainly for emphasis or contrast: '(Ja) jestem zmęczony, ale ona jest gotowa' (I'm tired, but she's ready).
być and mieć: Irregular From the Start
jestem / mam
I am / I have
Neither verb follows a regular conjugation pattern — both must simply be memorized as a pair. They're worth the early effort: mieć alone powers expressions like mieć ... lat (to be ... years old, literally 'to have ... years'), where English reaches for 'to be' but Polish reaches for 'to have', just like the earlier numbers lesson showed.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
- English
- I am
- English
- you are
- English
- he/she is
- English
- we are
- English
- you all are
- English
- they are
- English
- I have
- English
- you have
- English
- he/she has
- English
- we have
- English
- you all have
- English
- they have