Przestaje

Przestaje is a Polish verb form meaning “stops” or “ceases.” It is the third-person singular present tense of the imperfective verb przestawać, which denotes the ongoing or repeated act of ceasing to do something. The imperfective aspect emphasizes the process or habit of stopping, rather than a completed cessation.

Grammatical notes: Przestaje follows standard Polish conjugation for the imperfective verb przestawać. The full present tense forms are: ja przestaję, ty przestajesz, on/ona/ono przestaje, my przestajemy, wy przestajecie, oni przestają. The word typically governs an infinitive to indicate what is being ceased, for example przestaje palić (stops smoking) or przestaje jeść słodycze (stops eating sweets).

Usage and nuance: Przestaje describes ceasing an action that may be ongoing or habitual. It does not inherently imply finality or completeness; that nuance is usually conveyed by the perfective counterpart przestać. In contrast, przestać conveys a completed act of stopping, often with a finite point in the past or a definite future moment (e.g., przestałem pić alkohol — I stopped drinking alcohol).

Examples:

- On przestaje palić. (He stops smoking.)

- Ona przestaje jeść słodycze. (She stops eating sweets.)

- Oni przestają narzekać. (They stop complaining.)

Related forms: The perfective equivalent przestać expresses a completed cessation (e.g., przestać, przestałem, przestała). The pair is common in Polish to contrast ongoing cessation from a completed act.