palą

In a sentence

• Oni palą w kominku, aby ogrzać dom.

  They burn in the fireplace to heat the house.

  In this sentence, "palą" is used as the verb 'to burn' referring to the action of lighting a fire in the fireplace for heating purposes.

• Palenie papierosów jest szkodliwe, ale niektórzy ludzie wciąż palą.

  Smoking cigarettes is harmful, but some people still smoke.

  Here, "palą" means 'smoke' and refers to the act of inhaling smoke from burning tobacco products, commonly cigarettes.

• Ludzie często palą światło, kiedy wchodzą do ciemnego pokoju, choć dziś mówi się raczej "włączają światło".

  People often light up the light when entering a dark room, although nowadays we rather say "turn on the light".

  In older usage, "palą" could mean 'to light up' a source of light, although this usage is largely outdated and has been replaced in modern language by terms like "włączać" ('to turn on').