To make the past tense, drop the -ć from the infinitive and add -ł plus a person ending; a man says -łem, a woman -łam, and for "you" it's -łeś / -łaś. Polish has only one past tense, so the same form covers "I did", "I was doing" and "I have done".
Examples
- Wczoraj czytałem książkę.
- Yesterday I read a book. (male speaker)
- Byłam w kinie w sobotę.
- I was at the cinema on Saturday. (female speaker)
- Kupiliśmy bilety w zeszłym tygodniu.
- We bought tickets last week.
- Czy byłeś kiedyś w Krakowie?
- Have you ever been to Kraków?
The mistake to avoid
Using the masculine -łem when you're a woman — the past tense marks your gender, so a woman must say byłam, not byłem.
Where this fits in
Talking about the past, Polish A2: Tell stories about yesterday, last weekend, and life experiences using the past tense.