Polish language/Być

Before learning this verb, we must first learn the Personal pronouns in the nominative case.

Personal Pronouns

Ja - I
Ty - You (singular)
On - He
Ona - She
Ono - It
My - We
Wy - You (plural)
Oni - They (male or mixed)
One - They (female only)

When speaking to someone to whom we should show respect, e.g. those older or strangers, we should use the personal pronouns pan (m) and pani (f). When we do so, we use the Wy form of the verb (i.e. the you (plural) version).

Być - to be

Być is the Polish infinitive form of the English verb "to be". This is the most commonly used verb in the Polish language and should be the first verb learnt in any language. It is an irregular verb and, therefore, provides no pattern from which to learn other verbs. This verb has three tenses: past, present and future.

Past Tense

The past tense of Polish verbs depends entirely upon the gender of the subject.

Masculine

Ja byłem - I was
Ty byłeś - You were
On był - He was
My byliśmy - We were
Wy byliście - You were
Oni byli - They were

Feminine

Ja byłam - I was
Ty byłaś - You were
Ona była - She was
My byłyśmy - We were
Wy byłyście - You were
One były - They were

Neuter

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Ono było - It was
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Present Tense

The present tense does not depend on the gender of the subject.

Ja jestem - I am
Ty jesteś - You are
On jest - He is
Ona jest - She is
Ono jest - It is
My jesteśmy - We are
Wy jesteście - You are
Oni są - They are
One są - They are

Future Tense

Just like the present tense, the future tense does not depend on the gender of the subject.

Ja będę - I will be
Ty będziesz - You will be
On będzie - He will be
Ona będzie - She will be
Ono będzie - It will be
My będziemy - We will be
Wy będziecie - You will be
Oni będą - They will be
One będą - They will be

Summary

The verb "być" has three tenses: past, present and future. The past depends upon the gender of the subject but the present and future tenses do not.