trwa

Trwa is a Polish verb meaning "to last" or "to endure," used to describe something that continues over time. It is the imperfective aspect and is used for ongoing duration, rather than for a completed event. The infinitive is trwać; the present tense forms are trwam, trwasz, trwa, trwamy, trwacie, trwają.

From a semantic standpoint, trwa emphasizes duration rather than completion. Its perfective counterparts express a completed or bounded duration with verbs such as przetrwać (to survive to the end) or wytrwać (to persevere to the end), depending on nuance and context.

Examples: "Czas trwania koncertu trwa dwie godziny." "Program trwa do wieczora." "W zeszłym tygodniu projekt trwał trzy dni." These illustrate ongoing action in the present and past respect to time.

Related forms include trwałość (durability, longevity) and trwały (durable, lasting). The word also appears in common idioms, such as "trwać jak najdłużej" (to last as long as possible), and across registers from everyday speech to journalism.

Notes: trwać is a paradigmatic example of an imperfective Polish verb used to discuss time and duration. Its form “trwa” specifically marks third-person singular present, as in "On trwa" (it lasts) or "To trwa" (this lasts). The term may surface in various syntactic constructions to describe ongoing processes, events, or conditions.