Polish Grammar - Instrumental Case - Feminine

We know how to say 'It is' - but what about 'I am', 'you are', 'she is' and 'he is'?

The verb 'to be' is irregular so we can't think out the different forms of the verb just because we know 'to jest'.

But as we know the 'he'/'she'/'it' form is always the same how would you say:

He is -
She is -
He is not -

The other two forms we need to know at the moment have familiar sounding endings to other verbs:

I am - Jestem
You (informal) are - Jesteś

So how would you say:

I am not -
You (informal) are not -

Adjectives and Gender

As usual if we want to describe what someone is like we need to take into account their (or your) gender.

A male speaking - Jestem dobry -
A female speaking - Jestem dobra -
Talking to a male - Jesteś dobry -
Talking to a female - Jesteś dobra -

So how would you say:

A male speaking - I am not good -
A female speaking - I am not good -
Talking to a male - You are not good -
Talking to a female - You are not good -

Be clever

Let's pick up another popular adjective to practice with:

Clever / Smart - Mądry

So how would you say:

A male speaking - I am clever -
A female speaking - I am clever -

So how would you say:

Speaking to a male - Because you are clever -
Speaking to a female - Because you are clever -
Speaking to a male - But you are not clever -
Speaking to a female - But you are not clever -

Go slow!

The exercises for this lesson will take time. You may need to check your notes or scroll up to the lesson learning points several times.

This is normal.

By repeating the learning points using these interactive exercises over several days you will become faster and the knowledge will embed better in your long term memory.

Who are you talking to?

Sort the sentences below depending on who you are talking to

Drag and drop all the dark blue boxes to their correct locations

Make sure your sound is turned on to hear the audio during this exercise

Think out the Polish

Revise the phrases from the lesson. In each phrase below the gender of the person is shown in brackets. So in the first sentence the person being talked about is male so the correct answer is 'Jestem dobry'

Make sure your sound is turned on to hear the audio during this exercise

I am good	(male) q2\|Jestem dobry

I am good	(female) q2\|Jestem dobra

You are good	(male) q2\|Jesteś dobry

You are good	(female) q2\|Jesteś dobra

I am not good	(male) q2\|Nie jestem dobry

I am not good	(female) q2\|Nie jestem dobra

You are not good	(male) q2\|Nie jesteś dobry

You are not good	(female) q2\|Nie jesteś dobra

I am clever	(male) q2\|Jestem mądry

I am clever	(female) q2\|Jestem mądra

Because you are clever	(male) q2\|Bo jesteś mądry

Because you are clever	(female) q2\|Bo jesteś mądra

But you are not clever	(male) q2\|Ale nie jesteś mądry

But you are not clever	(female) q2\|Ale nie jesteś mądra

Think out more Polish

These longer sentences will help you practice Jestem / Jesteś while also revising content from earlier lessons.

Make sure your sound is turned on to hear the audio during this exercise

You are practical	(male) q3\|Jesteś praktyczny

Are you normal?	(female) q3\|Czy jesteś normalna?

Are you artistic?	(female) q3\|Czy jesteś artystyczna?

I am special	(female) q3\|Jestem specjalna

She is artistic but he is practical

He is toxic but he is good	q3\|On jest toksyczny, ale jest dobry

I think that I am rich because I have a new house	(female)

Do you think that you are ideal because you are normal?	(female)

He thinks that he is rich because he has a car

I know that she is problematic but I can help

I know that you are romantic	(male) q3\|Wiem, że jesteś romantyczny

I know that I am dramatic but I can be normal	(male)

You think that you are logical but you are not	(male)

Do you know that I am ecological?	(male) q3\|Czy wiesz, że jestem ekologiczny?

You know that you are dramatic	(female) q3\|Czy wiesz, że jesteś dramatyczna?

Do you think that he is romantic?

You are not ecological because you have an old car	(male)

She is not good because she is emotional	(male)

You are artistic but you are not practical	(male)

Is he practical or emotional?

Do you think that you are clever?	(female) q3\|Czy myślisz, że jesteś mądra?