THE PAST - They were
They 'they' form in the past tense can be worked out from the 'we' form so once we know our 'we' forms ... we know our 'they' forms
Let's go back to "We were":
- We were -
Just drop the 'śmy' and we have the 'they' form:
- They were - Byli
So how would you say:
- They were in town -
- They were in the house/at home -
- They lived in Lublin -
- They remembered -
- They were looking for your house -
- They liked it -
- They had to go to town -
- They thought that it was good -
Well nearly! The 'li' ending is the they form if we are talking about a group of things or people that are a mix of female and male.
If the group is all female the ending is 'ły'
- They were in town (all female) - Były w mieście
Take your time to think out the 'they' forms for all female groups.
Thinking these out, rather than trying to remember them, makes learning faster.
- They were in the house/at home (all female) -
- They lived in Lublin (all female) -
- They remembered (all female) -
- They were looking for your house (all female) -
- They liked it (all female) -
- They had to go to town (all female) -
- They thought that it was good (all female) -
Heads Up!
Watch out for very slight changes between how verbs are said for mixed groups and all male groups:
- They had to go to town (mixed) - Musieli iść do miasta
- They had to go to town (all female) - Musiały iść do miasta
It's mainly where there is an 'e' before the 'l'. For the 'ły' ending of all female groups an 'a' instead makes it easier to pronounce.
Past and present tenses
Sort these 'they' form verbs into present and past tenses.
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
Match these translations of we forms in the past tense
Tap on each pair to make them disappear.
Make sure your sound is turned on to hear the audio during this exercise
Think out the Polish
Practice the sentences from the lesson.
Make sure your sound is turned on to hear the audio during this exercise
They were | (mixed)
|
They were in town | (mixed)
|
They were in the house (at home) | (mixed)
|
They lived in Lublin | (mixed)
|
They remembered | (mixed)
|
They were looking for your house | (mixed)
|
They liked it | (mixed)
|
They had to go to town | (mixed)
|
They thought that it was good | (mixed)
|
They were | (all female)
|
They were in town | (all female)
|
They were in the house (at home) | (all female)
|
They lived in Lublin | (all female)
|
They remembered | (all female)
|
They were looking for your house | (all female)
|
They liked it | (all female)
|
They had to go to town | (all female)
|
They thought that it was good | (all female)
|
Refresher
Revise earlier words and phrases to keep them fresh! Match the Polish and Engish below
Make sure your sound is turned on to hear the audio during this exercise
Verb forms
Tick all the words 'they forms' in the past tense
Tick all of the boxes you believe are correct