-am / -asz

The -Am, -Asz Pattern

Level 2

The -am, -asz pattern is the most stable and regular verb group in Polish. It is used for verbs whose stems end in -a-, such as czytać (to read) or mieszkać (to live).

How It Works

This pattern, often called the -am, -asz conjugation, is essential for beginners because it is highly predictable. Unlike most other Polish conjugations that use -ę for the first person singular, this group uses -m. In Polish, you usually drop the subject pronouns (like ja or ty) because the verb endings already tell you who is performing the action.

The Conjugation Table (Example: czytać - to read):

  • (Ja) czytam (I read)
  • (Ty) czytasz (You read)
  • On/Ona/Ono czyta (He/She/It reads - remove -m from czytam to get czyta)
  • (My) czytamy (We read)
  • (Wy) czytacie (You all read)
  • Oni/One czytają (They read - note the -j-)

Most verbs in this group end in -ać in the infinitive. However, be careful: not every verb ending in -ać follows this pattern. For example, brać and pisać belong to different groups. A notable exception is the verb mieć (to have); although verbs such as rozumieć follow a different pattern, mieć follows the -am, -asz pattern perfectly.

The separate -em/-esz group also has first-person -m: rozumiem, rozumiesz. Conjugation numbers differ between grammar traditions, so the labels -am/-asz identify this pattern more reliably than a number.

Common members include znać → znam, znasz, znają. The perfective dać shares dam, dasz, da, damy, dacie, but has irregular dadzą, not dają; dają belongs to imperfective dawać. Because dać is perfective, dam means I will give, not I am giving.

Examples (5)

  1. Gdzie mieszkasz?

    Where do you live?

    Word by Word: Where live-you?

    Uses the verb 'mieszkać'. The -sz ending indicates the informal 'you' (ty).

  2. Codziennie czytam gazetę.

    I read the newspaper every day.

    Word by Word: Every-day read-I newspaper.

    Uses the verb 'czytać'. The -m ending indicates 'I' (ja).

  3. Oni bardzo dobrze znają ten język.

    They know this language very well.

    Word by Word: They very well know-they this language.

    Uses the verb 'znać'. Note the -ją ending for the third-person plural (they).

  4. Czy ona kocha kawę?

    Does she love coffee?

    Word by Word: Whether she love-she coffee?

    Uses the verb 'kochać'. The third-person singular (she) uses the stem 'kocha' with no additional ending.

  5. Mamy dzisiaj czas.

    We have time today.

    Word by Word: Have-we today time.

    Uses the verb 'mieć'. Even though it ends in -eć, it follows the -am, -asz pattern.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting the 'j' in the 3rd person plural (they) form.

    Oni mieszką w Warszawie.
    Oni mieszkają w Warszawie.

    In the regular czytam/czytasz pattern, the they form ends in -ają. The common verb dać has an exceptional plural dadzą.

  • Adding an extra ending to the 3rd person singular (he/she/it).

    On czytam książkę.
    On czyta książkę.

    The he/she/it form is just the stem (czyta). Adding -m makes it 'I read'.

  • Assuming all -ać verbs follow this pattern.

    Ja pisam list.
    Ja piszę list.

    Some -ać verbs like 'pisać' (to write) follow the -ę, -esz pattern. You must check the conjugation group for each new verb.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-am / -aszLevel 2The -Am, -Asz Pattern

Learn This First

Learn Present Tense before The -Am, -Asz Pattern.