Polski — Forming aspectual pairs
Most Polish verbs come in a pair: an imperfective form (an ongoing or repeated action) and a perfective one (a single completed action). The two are linked by prefixes, suffixes, or entirely different stems.
How it works
Three mechanisms build the pair. A prefix perfectivizes: pisać (impf.) → napisać (pf.). A suffix imperfectivizes: dać (pf.) → dawać (impf.), kupić (pf.) → kupować (impf.). Some pairs use unrelated stems — suppletion: brać (impf.) → wziąć (pf.).
Examples
| Imperfective | Perfective | How it is formed |
|---|---|---|
| pisać | napisać | prefix na- |
| robić | zrobić | prefix z- |
| dawać | dać | suffix -wa- |
| kupować | kupić | suffix -owa- |
| pokazywać | pokazać | suffix -ywa- |
| brać | wziąć | different stem (suppletion) |
| oglądać | obejrzeć | different stem (suppletion) |
Good to know
A prefix does not only change aspect — it can also change meaning. From pisać you get napisać (finish writing), but also przepisać (rewrite), podpisać (sign), zapisać (save). Only the aspect-neutral prefix gives a true pair; the others form new verbs that then need their own imperfective, e.g. podpisać → podpisywać.