First Polish Sentence Patterns
Four patterns produce hundreds of real sentences. Learn these and you can point things out, say what you have, ask a question, and say no — everything a first conversation needs.
To jest — This Is
To jest… ("this is / that is") is the all-purpose opener, and it never changes for gender — to stays to whatever follows. In speech Poles often shorten it to just to.
To jest moja kawa.
This is my coffee.
Note: Works for anything: To jest Piotr. To jest problem. To (jest) dobre.
| Polish | English |
|---|---|
| To jest mój brat. | This is my brother. |
| To jest Warszawa. | This is Warsaw. |
| Co to jest? | What is this? |
| To nieprawda. | That's not true. |
Mam — I Have
Polish has a straightforward verb for having: mieć. Mam = "I have."
| Form | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| mam | I have | Mam czas. — I have time. |
| masz | you have | Masz psa? — Do you have a dog? |
| ma | he/she has | Ma siostrę. — He has a sister. |
| mamy | we have | Mamy mieszkanie. — We have a flat. |
| macie | you have (plural) | Macie czas? — Do you have time? |
| mają | they have | Mają dzieci. — They have kids. |
Asking Questions
Two easy tools cover most beginner questions.
1. Yes/no questions — start with czy, or just use rising intonation. Czy is the spoken question mark; dropping it is fine in casual speech.
Czy masz czas? / Masz czas?
Do you have time?
Note: czy signals a yes/no question; without it, intonation does the job.
2. Question words — put the question word first:
| Polish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Kto? | Who? | Kto to jest? — Who is it? |
| Co? | What? | Co to jest? — What is it? |
| Gdzie? | Where? | Gdzie jest dworzec? — Where's the station? |
| Kiedy? | When? | Kiedy? — When? |
| Dlaczego? | Why? | Dlaczego nie? — Why not? |
| Ile? | How much/many? | Ile to kosztuje? — How much is it? |
Saying No with nie
Polish negation is simple: put nie right before the verb. Unlike Czech, where ne- glues on, Polish keeps nie as a separate little word.
| Positive | Negative | English |
|---|---|---|
| mam | nie mam | I don't have |
| wiem | nie wiem | I don't know |
| rozumiem | nie rozumiem | I don't understand |
| mówię | nie mówię | I don't speak |
Nie rozumiem, proszę mówić wolniej.
I don't understand, please speak slower.
Note: nie sits just before the verb: nie rozumiem. Two survival phrases in one line.
All four patterns in one exchange — tap the speakers to listen:
💬 At the milk bar
Dzień dobry. Co to jest?
Good day. What is this?
To są pierogi z serem.
These are pierogi with cheese.
Czy macie też barszcz?
Do you also have borscht?
Dzisiaj nie mamy, niestety.
We don't have any today, unfortunately.
To poproszę pierogi.
Then I'll have the pierogi, please.
Poproszę — "I'll have / may I please have" — is the single most useful ordering word in Poland. Bolt it onto anything on the menu.
Common Mistakes
- Putting nie after the verb. Nie sits just before the verb: nie rozumiem, never rozumiem nie.
- Avoiding double negatives. With nic, nikt, nigdy the verb still needs nie: Nic nie wiem, not Nic wiem.
- Answering Czy masz…? with just tak. Natural Polish repeats the verb: Masz czas? — Mam. A bare tak sounds clipped.
- Ordering without poproszę. Daj mi kawę is how you talk to a sibling, not a waiter. Poproszę kawę is the universal polite order.
- Hunting for a "there is" word. Polish states the thing: Na stole jest kawa. For "there isn't", one phrase does it all: nie ma — Nie ma chleba.
What You Can Do Now
You can point at anything (To jest…), say what you have, order food with poproszę, ask questions with czy, and slow a conversation down with Nie rozumiem, proszę mówić wolniej. That's a working survival kit. Next, get the nouns under control with noun gender.