być Polish conjugation

Polish

• Present tense conjugation
• Past tense conjugation
• When to use each form

1 answer

Hi John,

thanks for a nice question, I think this is a good idea to remeber the forms of the verb być by heart at the very beginning of learning Polish. Below a table with the forms, I will try to add an audio soon.

One thing to remember is that Polish verbs in the past tense change their endings depending on the gender and number of the subject. So for instance a man would say Byłem w mieście but a woman would say Byłam w mieście

Person	Present Tense Conjugation	Past Tense Conjugation	Usage
1st Singular (I)	jestem	byłem/byłam	Used to describe what the speaker is or was. "Byłem" for males, "Byłam" for females. E.g., Jestem nauczycielem. (I am a teacher.) Byłem w kinie. (I was at the cinema.)
2nd Singular (You, informal)	jesteś	byłeś/byłaś	Used to describe what the listener (informally) is or was. "Byłeś" for males, "Byłaś" for females. E.g., Jesteś uczniem. (You are a student.) Byłeś na imprezie. (You were at the party.)
3rd Singular (He/She/It)	jest	był/była	Used to describe what someone or something is or was. "Był" for males, "Była" for females. E.g., On jest lekarzem. (He is a doctor.) On był w pracy. (He was at work.)
1st Plural (We)	jesteśmy	byliśmy/byłyśmy	Used to describe what the speaker and others are or were. "Byliśmy" for males or mixed-gender groups, "Byłyśmy" for females. E.g., Jesteśmy w domu. (We are at home.) Byliśmy w parku. (We were in the park.)
2nd Plural (You, formal or plural)	jesteście	byliście/byłyście	Used to describe what the listeners (formally or as a group) are or were. "Byliście" for males or mixed-gender groups, "Byłyście" for females. E.g., Jesteście przyjaciółmi. (You are friends.) Byliście w szkole. (You were at school.)
3rd Plural (They)	są	byli/były	Used to describe what multiple people or things are or were. "Byli" for males or mixed-gender groups, "Były" for females. E.g., Oni są w pracy. (They are at work.) Oni byli w muzeum. (They were at the museum.)

I hope this helps, please let me know if you have other questions.

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