The Simple Past Tense
Talking about actions that happened and finished in the past uses the simple past tense. This is formed using the past participle of the verb, which ends in -ł (for masculine singular), -ła (for feminine singular), -ło (for neuter singular), or -li (for masculine personal plural) / -ły (for other plural genders). The ending of this form changes to match the gender and number of the subject. The corresponding past tense form of the verb być is added for all persons except the third person singular and plural, where it is optional but often omitted in colloquial speech.
Subject Gender/Number determines ending:
- Masculine Singular: -ł (followed by odpowiednia forma być) - On czytał (He read)
- Feminine Singular: -ła (followed by odpowiednia forma być) - Ona czytała (She read)
- Neuter Singular: -ło (followed by odpowiednia forma być) - Ono czytało (It read)
- Masculine Personal Plural: -li (followed by odpowiednia forma być) - Oni czytali (They read)
- Other Plural: -ły (followed by odpowiednia forma być) - One czytały (They read)
Examples: Wczoraj pracowałem (masc.) (Yesterday I worked). Wczoraj ona pracowała (fem.) (Yesterday she worked). My widzieliśmy film (We saw a film). Oni przybyli późno (They arrived late).