Passive participle: kupić → kupiony

What this is: the Polish “passive participle”

Imiesłów bierny (passive participle) answers: “done / made / bought / written”.

• It is very common in descriptions: mieszkanie jest wyremontowane (the apartment is renovated).
• It behaves like an adjective: it changes for gender, number, case.
• It is usually formed from perfective verbs (completed action): kupić, zrobić, przeczytać.

Two core sentence patterns you will actually use

Optional agent (who did it): use przez + Acc.

• E-mail jest napisany przez koleżankę.
• In practice, Polish often omits the agent if it’s obvious or unimportant.

How to form it: choose the ending (-ny / -ony / -ty)

Use the tables in the book as your main guide. Here is a practical “decision path”:

1. Check the infinitive ending.
   • -ać / -eć often → -ny: napisać → napisany, widzieć → widziany
   • -ić / -yć often → -ony: zrobić → zrobiony, kupić → kupiony
   • Many verbs → -ty: umyć → umyty, wypić → wypity, wziąć → wzięty
2. Special tip for -ty: if the verb has -j- in its present forms, it often gives -ty:
   • pić → piję → wypity
   • myć → myję → umyty

Important: some verbs have irregular stems (you just learn them): wziąć → wzięty, nieść → niesiony, ściągnąć → ściągnięty.

It declines like an adjective (this is where most mistakes happen)

Pick the participle form that matches the noun it describes.

Common agreement error:

• kupiony okna → kupione okna
• wypity kawa → wypita kawa

How to build a passive sentence (step-by-step)

1. Find the object in the active sentence (what is affected?).
2. Make it the subject of the new sentence.
3. Add być in the right form: jest / są / było / były.
4. Add the participle and make it agree with the new subject.
5. (Optional) Add przez + Acc. for “by someone”.

Self-check: what to pay attention to

• Ending choice: -ny / -ony / -ty (use the verb patterns + learn irregulars).
• Agreement: does the participle match the noun (gender/number/case)?
• Result vs action: być + participle usually sounds like a completed result in Polish.
• Agent: if you include “by…”, use przez: przez kuriera, przez pracownika.