Common English Mistakes Polish Speakers Make When You Talk About Age

I was sitting in a Warsaw office three years ago, watching a new colleague introduce herself to the team. “Hi, I’m Magda,” she said confidently. “I have 32 years and I work in marketing.”

Nobody laughed. Nobody corrected her. But I noticed two other expats in the room exchange a quick look. We’d all heard it before. In fact, we hear it every single day.

This is one of the most common English mistakes Polish speakers make when talking about age, and it’s far from the only one. After years of teaching English in Poland, running conversation groups, and just living here, I’ve compiled a list of the age expression errors that trip Poles up constantly. The good news? Most of these follow clear patterns. Once you see where they come from, they’re fixable.

At EXPATSPOLAND, we write for foreigners navigating life in Poland, but this guide works both ways. If you’re Polish and want to stop making these mistakes in meetings, this is for you. If you’re an English teacher working with Polish students, this gives you the “why” behind the errors you keep correcting. And if you’re an expat who hears Ponglish every day and just wants to understand it, read on.

What you’ll get from this article:

• The most common English mistakes Polish speakers make, especially when talking about age, time, and everyday life.
• Clear explanations of why your Polish brain pushes you toward “I have 20 years,” “from five years,” and “I don’t like to do mistakes.”
• Simple rules and practice tips drawn from real classrooms in Warsaw and other Polish cities.
• How to spot which of your habits are just a Polish “accent” in grammar and which ones genuinely confuse native speakers.

Do Polish People Speak English as Much as You Think?

Here’s the thing: Poland consistently ranks near the top of global English proficiency indexes for non-native countries. Various surveys place it alongside the Netherlands, Germany, and Scandinavia in terms of average English ability. So why do so many Poles still feel embarrassed about their English?

Because there’s a gap between understanding English and speaking it confidently. Walk into any corporate office in Warsaw and you’ll find people reading English reports, writing emails in English, and following English meetings perfectly. Ask them to speak up in that meeting, though, and many freeze.

Is English easy to learn for Polish speakers? In some ways, yes. You share the Latin alphabet. English has flooded into Poland through media, music, and the internet since the 1990s. Younger Poles grew up watching Friends and playing video games in English. They absorb vocabulary naturally.

But in other ways, English is genuinely hard. Polish has no articles. No “a,” no “the.” Polish tenses work differently. Polish expresses age using “have” (*mam 30 lat*, literally “I have 30 years”), not “be.” When Polish grammar leaks into English, predictable errors follow. Linguists call this Cross-Linguistic Influence, and it explains why your mistakes aren’t random. They’re systematic.

In Warsaw, the language spoken on the street is Polish, obviously. But in service contexts, shops, restaurants, co-working spaces, and tech offices, English works surprisingly well. The further you go from major cities, the less English you’ll hear. But the ability is often there. The confidence? That’s the bottleneck.

Why Polish Makes You Say Strange Things in English

Your first language shapes how you think. When you learn a second language, your brain doesn’t start from scratch. It builds on top of what’s already there. This means Polish grammar “leaks” into your English whether you want it to or not.

Take the word *robić*, which means “to do” or “to make.” In Polish, you say *robić błędy* (do mistakes). So Polish speakers often say “I don’t like to do mistakes” instead of “I don’t like to make mistakes.” The error isn’t ignorance. It’s transfer.

What does tata mean in Polish? It means “dad.” Simple enough. But you’ll hear Polish speakers casually drop Polish words like *tata* into English sentences, especially with other Poles around. “My tata always said…” This happens because certain words feel more natural in your mother tongue.

Here’s a handful of random Polish words that cause predictable translation errors:

• Mieć (to have) – leads to “I have 30 years” instead of “I am 30.”
• Skończyć (to finish/complete) – used for turning an age, leading to confusion about how to say “I just turned 40.”
• Dorosły (adult) – often transferred incorrectly as “He is adult” instead of “He is an adult.”

And here’s the kicker: these mistakes often fossilize. Fossilization in linguistics refers to errors that become permanent habits. You can have C1-level English, write polished reports, and still say “I have 30 years” in casual conversation because you’ve been saying it uncorrected for years. The pattern is locked in.

Understanding what Polish people are like helps here. Poles tend to be direct, practical, and sometimes self-critical about their English. That self-criticism can actually hold people back, because they avoid speaking to avoid making mistakes. But making mistakes is how you unlearn them.

Common Age Expression Mistakes Polish Speakers Make in English

Age is a minefield. If you master this one cluster of expressions, many similar structures start to click. Here are the ten most common errors I hear from Polish speakers, along with the correct forms and explanations.

1. Using “have” for age

Wrong: I have 20 years.
Right: I am 20 years old. / I am 20.

This is the big one. In Polish, you say *mam 20 lat* (I have 20 years). But English uses “be,” not “have,” for age. As one grammar guide puts it, “In English we do not use the verb ‘to have’ when we are referring to ages.” Simple rule: be + number.

I rarely hear teenagers make this mistake anymore. Younger Poles who grew up with Netflix and YouTube have absorbed the correct pattern. But I still hear it regularly from people over 40 who learned English differently.

2. Saying “in the age of” instead of “at the age of”

Wrong: She got married in the age of 25.
Right: She got married at the age of 25.

The Cambridge grammar guide explicitly warns: “We don’t say ‘in the age of’ when we refer to people’s age.” The correct preposition is at. “In the age of” is reserved for historical eras, like “in the age of exploration.”

3. Omitting “old” when “years” is present

Wrong: He is 20 years.
Right: He is 20 years old. / He is 20.

If you include “years,” you need “old” after it. Or just drop both and say the number: “He is 20.” You can’t leave it hanging at “years.”

4. Mis-hyphenating and pluralizing the compound before a noun

Wrong: A 5 years old boy.
Right: A 5-year-old boy.

Before a noun, age works as a compound adjective. The whole thing gets hyphenated, and “year” stays singular. Think of it as one unit: number-year-old + noun. Two 14-year-old boys. A 30-year-old woman. Always singular, always hyphenated.

5. Using “year-old” after the noun

Wrong: The boy is 5-year-old.
Right: The boy is 5 years old.

After “be,” you drop the hyphens and use plural “years.” The hyphenated form is only for the attributive position (before a noun) or when used as a noun itself (“a five-year-old”). After the verb “be,” it’s always years old.

6. Overusing “aged”

Awkward: I am aged 30.
More natural: I am 30 years old. / I am 30.

“Aged” is technically correct but sounds formal or bureaucratic. You’ll see it in news reports (“a man aged 45”) but in conversation, stick to “be + number” or “be + number + years old.”

7. Using wrong prepositions

Wrong: On age 20, I moved to Warsaw.
Right: At the age of 20, I moved to Warsaw. / At 20, I moved to Warsaw.

This is a direct calque from Polish. The correct preposition is at.

8. Not using “turn” to express reaching an age

Wrong: I will finish 30 next month.
Right: I will turn 30 next month. / I’m turning 30 next month.

In Polish, *skończyć* (to finish/complete) is used for ages. In English, we say turn + number. “She turned 18 last year.” “He’s about to turn 50.” This is the standard idiomatic expression.

9. Treating “adult” as an adjective in predicative position

Wrong: He is adult now.
Right: He is an adult now.

“Adult” is a countable noun when you mean a grown person. According to British Council grammar rules, singular countable nouns need an article. “Adult” can only work as an adjective before another noun (“adult education”).

10. Confusing decade expressions

Wrong: She is in age of twenties.
Right: She’s in her twenties.

To talk about approximate ages, English uses in one’s twenties/thirties/forties. You can add modifiers: “in her early thirties,” “in his late forties,” “in my mid-twenties.” There’s no “age of” needed.

Other Grammar Habits Every Polish Speaker Carries into English

Age isn’t the only problem zone. Here are other patterns I correct constantly.

Much vs. many vs. a lot

Wrong: I don’t have much friends.
Right: I don’t have many friends. / I don’t have a lot of friends.

Polish doesn’t distinguish between countable and uncountable nouns the way English does. “Much” is for uncountable nouns (much water, much time). “Many” is for countable ones (many friends, many books). When in doubt, “a lot of” works for both.

From, to, for, since, until

Wrong: I work here from five years.
Right: I’ve worked here for five years.

Polish uses “from” (*od*) for durations. English uses “for” with durations and “since” with starting points. “I’ve worked here since 2019.” “I’ve worked here for five years.” This ties into the present perfect, which doesn’t exist in Polish and causes endless confusion.

Present simple vs. present perfect for time

Wrong: I live here since five years.
Right: I’ve lived here for five years.

When describing something that started in the past and continues now, English needs present perfect. Polish uses present tense for this, so direct translation produces errors.

“Must to” and other modal verb constructions

Wrong: I must to go now.
Right: I must go now.

Modal verbs (must, can, should, will) don’t take “to” before the main verb. This is a fossilized error I hear from learners at all levels.

Learn vs. study vs. teach

Polish *uczyć się* means both “to learn” and “to study.” Polish *uczyć* means “to teach.” English separates these:

• Study: The activity of reading, practicing, reviewing. “I was studying last night.”
• Learn: The outcome of gaining knowledge. “I’m learning Polish.”
• Teach: What a teacher does. “She teaches chemistry.”

If you want to seriously study English and fix these patterns, you need focused practice on one error at a time, not random grammar drills.

Hard English Words to Pronounce for Polish People

Grammar isn’t the only challenge. Certain sounds trip Polish speakers up because they simply don’t exist in Polish.

The TH sound that Polish never prepared you for

Polish has no interdental fricatives. That’s the fancy term for the sounds in “think” (/θ/) and “this” (/ð/). Instead, Polish speakers substitute “f,” “d,” or “t.”

• “Think” becomes “fink”
• “This” becomes “dis”
• “Three” becomes “tree”
• “Though” becomes “dough”

Hard English words to pronounce for Polish people often cluster around TH: thought, thorough, through, throughout, weather, whether. The fix? Practice with your tongue between your teeth. It feels ridiculous at first, but that’s the position.

V and W, ship and sheep, cheap and jeep

Polish “w” sounds like English “v.” This leads to confusion:

• “Very” sounds like “wery”
• “Vine” sounds like “wine”
• “Vest” sounds like “west”

Then there are minimal pairs that cause confusion:

• Ship vs. sheep (short /ɪ/ vs. long /iː/)
• Cheap vs. jeep (/tʃ/ vs. /dʒ/)
• Bit vs. beat

The vowel length differences are subtle but matter.

Word stress and connected speech

Polish tends to stress the second-to-last syllable consistently. English stress jumps around unpredictably. “PHOtograph” vs. “phoTOGraphy” vs. “photoGRAPHic.” Get the stress wrong and comprehension drops.

Native speakers also swallow syllables and link words together. “What are you doing?” becomes “Whatcha doin’?” Poles tend to over-pronounce every syllable, which sounds choppy to native ears. Search YouTube for “English connected speech Polish” and you’ll find useful drilling exercises.

Phrasal Verbs and “What’s Another Word for Extinguish?”

What’s another word for extinguish? Put out. “Put out the fire.” “Put out the cigarette.” “Put out the candles.”

This is a phrasal verb, and Polish speakers hate them. Why? Because they don’t map neatly onto single Polish verbs. In Polish, you’d use *zgasić* for all these situations. In English, you could say “extinguish,” but native speakers almost never do in conversation. They say “put out.”

Poles tend to avoid phrasal verbs entirely, reaching for Latinate words instead. This makes your English sound formal, written, even robotic. It’s technically correct but socially odd.

Here are phrasal verbs you should actually use at work:

• Turn down – reject an offer or lower volume
• Put off – postpone
• Check in on – see how someone is doing
• Figure out – solve or understand
• Follow up – revisit a topic later

Using these correctly makes you sound more natural, not less professional.

Ten Example Sentences Polish People Regularly Get Wrong

Here’s a quick reference list. Print it out. Stick it on your monitor.

Wrong	Right
I have 20 years.	I am 20 years old.
Today morning I went to work.	This morning I went to work.
She got married in the age of 25.	She got married at the age of 25.
I live here since five years.	I’ve lived here for five years.
A 5 years old boy.	A 5-year-old boy.
I must to go.	I must go.
He is adult.	He is an adult.
I don’t like to do mistakes.	I don’t like to make mistakes.
I was yesterday at home.	I was at home yesterday.
Can you borrow me your pen?	Can you lend me your pen?

Funny Polish English Moments and Sayings

Living here, you collect these moments. Here are a few favorites.

A student once confidently announced: “I am boring.” She meant “I am bored.” The room went quiet. I had to explain, very carefully, that “boring” describes the thing causing boredom, while “bored” describes the person experiencing it. She was mortified, then laughed.

There are also funny Polish sayings that translate terribly. *Nie mój cyrk, nie moje małpy* becomes “Not my circus, not my monkeys.” Actually, this one has caught on in English because it’s brilliant. But others don’t land as well.

Polish words inevitably creep into expat conversations. *Kurczę* (literally “chicken,” but used like “damn”). *Masakra* (“massacre,” but used for anything mildly inconvenient). *Spoko* (short for *spokojnie*, meaning “cool” or “no worries”). These become part of the Ponglish soundtrack of life here.

Understanding why Poles seem so serious to foreigners helps contextualize some of the directness in their English. It’s not rudeness. It’s transfer from a culture that values getting to the point.

How to Actually Fix Your Polish English Mistakes

Language fossilization is real. You can reach a high level and still carry the same errors you’ve had since intermediate because nobody corrected you, or because you kept practicing them.

Here’s what actually works:

1. Focus on one mistake at a time. Don’t try to fix everything at once. Spend two weeks only thinking about age expressions. Next two weeks, articles. Targeted focus beats scattered effort.

2. Record yourself and listen back. Most people have never actually heard themselves speak English. Record a two-minute monologue and listen. You’ll catch TH sounds, word stress, and fossilized errors you don’t notice in real time.

3. Ask colleagues to correct one specific thing. Tell a coworker: “For the next month, please correct me every time I say ‘I have X years.’ I’m trying to break the habit.” This targeted feedback works better than general correction, which becomes overwhelming.

4. Shadow native audio. Find a podcast or video with clear speech. Listen to a sentence, pause, repeat it aloud. Match the rhythm, stress, and connected speech. This trains your ear and your mouth simultaneously.

If you’re serious about improving, don’t just scroll TikTok hacks. Sit down and study English with intention. One hour of focused practice beats five hours of passive exposure.

For expats wondering how widespread these patterns are, life in Poland for foreigners often involves navigating these communication quirks daily. Most Poles appreciate when you notice they’re working hard at English. It’s not about perfection. It’s about clarity.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Polish people speak English well?

On average, yes. Poland ranks high in English proficiency indexes, especially in cities like Warsaw and Krakow. Younger Poles often have excellent comprehension from media exposure. The gap tends to be between understanding English and speaking it confidently. Many Poles read and listen well but hesitate to speak, especially around native speakers.

Is English hard for Polish speakers?

Some parts are easy, like shared vocabulary and a familiar alphabet. Other parts are genuinely challenging. Polish lacks articles, uses different tense systems, and expresses age with “have” instead of “be.” These structural differences cause predictable transfer errors. Pronunciation issues around TH sounds and vowel length add to the challenge. The difficulty isn’t lack of effort. It’s structural interference.

How should Polish speakers talk about age in English?

Use “be” not “have”: I am 30, not I have 30 years. Use “years old” after the verb be: I am 30 years old. Use hyphenated forms before nouns: a 5-year-old child. Use “at the age of” for milestones: She started school at the age of 6. Use “turn” for reaching an age: He turned 40 last week.

What are the hardest English sounds for Polish people?

The TH sounds (/θ/ and /ð/) don’t exist in Polish, so “think” becomes “fink” and “this” becomes “dis.” The W/V distinction also causes confusion, with “very” sounding like “wery.” Short versus long vowel pairs like ship/sheep trip up many learners. Word stress patterns, which are irregular in English, also challenge Polish speakers who are used to consistent penultimate stress.

Can I live in Warsaw with only English?

In many contexts, yes. Corporate offices, tech companies, restaurants, and shops in central Warsaw often accommodate English speakers. Bureaucracy (the infamous urząd) is harder. Learning basic Polish opens doors socially and makes life outside major cities much easier. English gets you far in Warsaw, but Polish gets you further. For more on this, our guide on moving to Poland covers the practicalities.

What Now?

Your English is probably better than you think. Most Polish speakers carry a small grammatical “accent” that follows predictable patterns from their native language. The age expression cluster is a perfect example: once you understand why your brain reaches for “I have 30 years,” you can consciously override it.

The goal isn’t to sound like a native speaker. Very few people achieve that, and it’s not necessary. The goal is clarity and confidence. Fix the errors that actually confuse people, and stop worrying about the rest.

At EXPATSPOLAND, we believe understanding these language patterns goes both ways. Foreigners living here benefit from recognizing Ponglish. Poles benefit from knowing which specific habits to fix. Language learning isn’t about perfection. It’s about communication.

Got a favorite Ponglish moment or a mistake you can’t stop making? We’re always collecting stories for future guides.

Meta title: Common English Mistakes Polish Speakers Make About Age

Meta description: Polish speakers make predictable English errors with age expressions. Learn why “I have 20 years” is wrong and how to fix it with this practical guide.