To be: jestem, jesteś, jest — the verb is never dropped
The verb to be is not dropped in the present tense. Even where English gets by without it, the sentence demands it: Jestem z Warszawy — I am from Warsaw. For example: “Jestem Rosjaninem” — I am Russian. A rule from the Polish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The verb to be is not dropped in the present tense. Even where English gets by without it, the sentence demands it: Jestem z Warszawy — I am from Warsaw.
After być comes the instrumental case: Jestem nauczycielem — I am a teacher; On jest lekarzem — he is a doctor. The ending names the role, and its form tells the gender of the speaker: a woman says Jestem pielęgniarką — I am a nurse.
There is a separate form for there is: To jest dom — this is a house, and the question Czy to jest...? is built on the same jest. But I have is not być at all: it is mam from mieć.
Table
| Person | być | Negative | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| ja | jestem | nie jestem | I |
| ty | jesteś | nie jesteś | you (singular) |
| on, ona | jest | nie jest | he, she |
| my | jesteśmy | nie jesteśmy | we |
| wy | jesteście | nie jesteście | you (plural) |
| oni, one | są | nie są | they |
By example
- Jestem RosjaninemI am Russian
- Nie jestem z WarszawyI am not from Warsaw
- To jest moja rodzinaThis is my family
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
To be: how does it work in Polish?
The verb to be is not dropped in the present tense. Even where English gets by without it, the sentence demands it: Jestem z Warszawy — I am from Warsaw.
What does it look like in a Polish example sentence?
“Jestem Rosjaninem” — I am Russian. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.