learningpolish

[learningpolish]

Town costume from Tarnogród, south-eastern Poland.

Photography by Stanisław Gadomski, 1970s, from the digitalized collection of Muzeum Miejskie w Tychach.

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Lachy Sądeckie, southern Poland.

Photo via swietodziecigor.pl.

[learningpolish]

A view from Ćwilin to Mogielica in the Island Beskids, Poland

Karol Majewski photography: tumblr / flickr

[learningpolish]

Some grammar rules

Selected from Textbook of the Polish Language for English Speaking People by Joseph Wira, pages 48-55

1. There are no articles (the, a, an). I have mentioned this previously.

2. Negative sentences

    Polish has no equivalent to the English verb to do. Negative sentences are formed using nie before the verb. The object noun of a negative verb preceded by nie has a genitive case form.

    Affirmative: Ja lubię zimę. I like winter.

    Negative: Ja nie lubię zimy. I do not like winter.

In the affirmative sentence zimę is in the accusative, but in the negative sentence zimy is the genitive of zima. It is not explained why. @masterofthefates is there a reason for this? Or is it just the way it is? XD

3. Preposition na

     Na may mean to, in, or on, depending on the context. In the earlier pages of reading: Kasia idzie na podwórze. Kasia bawi się na podwórzu. Kasia ziedzi na podłodze.

     In the Polish contexts, podwórze and podłoga (floor) are considered to be surfaces on which activities take place. In the English context, the courtyard (podwórze) is thought of as being a volume within (but not on) which activities happen. 

4 The conjunctions i and a

     The conjunction i is used to link two or more sentence elements, ordinarily when there is some kind of similarity between them. The conjunction a is used where it is necessary to accentuate contrast, or some difference. Kasia bawi się, i Ania bawi się. Here they are both playing so i functions as the word and.

     Kasia bawi się, a Ania odpoczywa. This sentence shows Kasia is playing and Ania is resting, so it’s still connecting them, but Ania is doing something different. It’s more like the conjunction but.

5. Substantive meaning of jeść

     Jeść (to eat) is the verb but it can be used as a noun. The example given is Matka daje Kasi jeść.

6. Adverbs

     Polish adverbs usually precede the verbs. Ania bardzo lubi Kasie.

7. Adverbs in impersonal expressions

     Polish uses adverbs rather than adjectives in certain impersonal expressions. Ciepło (warmly) and pięknie (beautifully) are adverbs. Na dworze jest ciepło. It is warm outside. Tutaj jest pięknie. It is beautiful here. 

     In the expressions “Ta woda jest ciepła” (this water is warm) and “Ten widok jest piękny” (this sight is beautiful), the words ciepła and piękny are adjectives. In English adjectives are used in all four expressions.

 @masterofthefates I feel lost on this one.

[learningpolish]

About the 7 Declensional Cases

Polish language has seven declensional cases:

Nominative - also called subjective

Genitive - also called possessive

Dative

Accusative - also called objective

Vocative

Ablative- also called instrumental

Locative - also called prepositional

Declensional cases of words are best recognized by the questions which the words answer, by their endings, and by the functions they perform in the sentence. 

NOMINATIVE CASE answer the question “Who?” (Kto?) or “What?” (Co?). Generally, a noun or pronoun in the nominative performs the function of the subject of a finite verb.

Kasia jest mała.

The question asked: Kto jest mały?

Polish nominative corresponds to the English subjective case.

GENITIVE CASE answers the question “Of whom?” (Kogo), “Of what?” (Czego?), or “Whose?” (Czyj, -a, -e?) Usually a noun in the genitive case modifies another noun. It expresses possession, characteristic, origin, measure, etc.  Brata syn. Brother’s son. Brata is the genitive of brat.

Dużo śniegu. A lot of snow. śniegu is genitive case while śnieg is the nominative form of snow. 

THE DATIVE CASE answers “to whom?” (Komu?) or “To what?” (Czemu?) It is a case of indirect object of the verb; an object towards which an activity is directed. Often, the dative case is necessary to complete the thought contained in a verb.

Matka daje Kasi mleko. Mother is giving milk to Kathy. Komu matka daje mleko? (To whom mother is giving milk?) Kasi (To Kathy)

THE ACCUSATIVE CASE answers “Whom?” (Kogo?) or “What?” (Co?) It performs the function of direct object of the transitive verb. Matka kocha Kasię. Mother loves Kathy. Whom does mother love?

THE VOCATIVE CASE is used to directly address persons, animate beings, inanimate objects in singular and plural.

Matka woła: “Kasiu, proszę, chodż tu!” Mother calls, “Kathy, please come here!”

Dzieńdobry, panowie i panie! Good morning ladies and gentlemen!

THE ABLATIVE CASE answers the questions “by whom?” (Kim?), “With whom” (Z kim?), “By what?” (Czym?), or “With what?” (Z czym?). It indicates an object or a person by means of which or by whom an action is accompished. It may be used without a preposition.

Kasia bawi sę lalką. Kathy is playing with a doll. Czym się bawi Kasia? What is Kathy playing with? Lalką. With a doll.

Matka idzie z Kasią. Mother is walking with Kathy.

Z kim idzie matka? With whom is mother walking? Z Kasią. With Kathy. Lalką and Kasią are in the ablative singular case.

THE LOCATIVE CASE answers “About whom?” (O kim?), “On whom?” (Na kim?), “In whom?” (W kim?), “By whom?” (Przy kim?), “About what?” (O czym?), “On what?” (Na czym?), “In what?” (W czym?), or “By what?” (Przy czym?). It indicates place.

It is always preceded by a preposition. Otherwise it has no meaning. 

Matka mówi o Kasi. Mother is talking about Kathy.

W lecie jest ciepło. It is warm in the summer. Kasi and lecie are in the locative singular case.

[learningpolish]

Reading Activity

From Textbook of the Polish Language for English Speaking People by Joseph Wira, pages 23-24

Na dworze (outside)

Dzień jest słoneczny i piękny.

Na dworze jest ciepło.

Ptaki latają w powietrzu i ćzierkają.

W ogrodzie jest dużo kwiatów.

The day is sunny and beautiful.

It is warm outside.

Birds are flying in the air and chirping.

There are lots of flowers in the garden.

Kwiaty są różnych kolorów: białe, czerwone, żółte, różowe i niebieskie.

Trawa jest zielona.

Dom stoi przy szerokiej drodze.

Na drodze jest kilka samochodów.

The flowers are of various colors: white, red, yellow, pink, and blue.

Grass is green.

The house stands by a wide road.

There are several automobiles on the road. 

Drzewa rosną koło domu.

Ludzie idą po chodniku.

Dzieci bawią się koło domu.

Listonosz przynosi pocztę i wkłada ją do skrzynki pocztowej.

Mleczarz przynosi mleko.

Policjant stoi przy skrzyżowaniu dróg.

Trees grow near the house.

People are walking on the sidewalk.

Children are playing by the house.

The mailman brings mail and drops it in the mailbox.

The milkman brings milk.

A policeman is standing near the intersection of roads.

Dom ma dwa kominy. Z jednego komina wychodzi dym.

The house has two chimneys. Smoke is coming out from one of the chimneys.

Matka gotuje obiad. 

Ojciec przychodzi do domu z pracy. 

Matka woła wszystkich na obiad.

Mother is cooking dinner. 

Father is coming home from work.

Mother summons everyone to dinner.

Kasia i jej matka (Kasia and her mother)

To jest Kasia, a tu jest Kasi matka. This is Kathy, and here is Kathy’s mother.

Tam jest Kasi ojciec. There is Kathy’s father.

Jest ósma godzina rano. It is eight o’clock in the morning.

Kasia jest bardzo głodna.

Matka daje Kasi śniadanie.

Kasia bardzo lubi chleb z masłem, i mleko.

“Smacznego Kasiu,” mówi matka. “Proszę jedz.”

Ona je chleb z masłem.

Ona pije mleko.

“Dziękuję, mamusiu. To jest takie smaczne. Proszę daj mi trochę wiecej,” prosi Kasia.

Kasia jest małą dziewczynka, i jeszcze nie chodzi do szkoły.

Ona lubi bawić się na podwórzu.

Tam są pies Burek i kot Mruczek.

Burek szczeka a Mruczek miałczy. miauczy.

Kathy is very hungry.

Mother is giving breakfast to Kathy.

Kathy likes very much bread and butter and milk.

“Have a good appetite, Kathy.” says mother. “Please eat.”

She is eating bread and butter.

She is drinking milk.

“Thank you, mom. This is so delicious. Please give me some more.” Kathy asks.

Kathy is a little girl, and does not attend (go to) school yet.

She likes to play in the courtyard. There are the dog Burek and the cat Mruczek. Burek is barking, and Mruczek is meowing.

Matka bardzo kocha swoją małą Kasię, a Kasia kocha matkę. Kasia i jej matka idą na podwórze.

Mother loves her (own) little Kathy, and Kathy loves mother. Kathy and her mother are walking to the courtyard.

Tam są Kasi kleżanki, Marysia i Ania.

One bawią się i rozmawiają o Kasi.

There are Kathy’s friends, Marysia and Ania. They are playing and talking about Kathy.

Polish does not use quotation marks like this, but for some reason this textbook does.

[learningpolish]

Król Lew - The Lion King

Miłość Rośnie Wokól Nas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrXSXYfYV0o

[learningpolish]

Costumes from Kurpie Zielone, Poland.

Photo © Radosław Niemczynowicz via ZTL Perła Warmii.

[learningpolish]

Near, far, wherever you are

Czy to jest...? Is this...?

Is this far from here? Czy to jest daleko stąd?

Czy can have the meaning of "do" in questions, but here it is used to form a question that requires a yes or no answer. The way it's used here doesn't have an English equivalent.

This is far. To jest daleko.

Is this very far? Czy to jest bardzo daleko?

Nearby - Niedaleko We can see that this comes from nie for no and daleko for far. Not far is nearby. That is an easy one!

To jest niedaleko.

When giving a short answer, in sentences with to the word jest is often omitted in informal speech.

Czy to daleko stąd? To niedaleko.

In colloquial Polish the word to (it) can be omitted. Jest niedaleko.

Informacja - information desk Because Polish doesn't have articles the, a, an, and, informacja can mean AN information desk, THE information desk, or just information desk. We can use ta to say ta informacja, this information desk.

Informacja jest niedaleko. To jest informacja.

Near = blisko To jest blisko

Stąd = from here

To nie jest daleko stąd.

Is the bank far? Czy bank jest daleko?

Hotel nie jest daleko stąd.

Czy to jest blisko stąd?

To nie jest informacja.

Hotel jest bardzo daleko, ale bank nie jest daleko skąd.

Przepraszam. Gdzie jest ta ulica?

Proszę mi pokazać na mapie. Please show me on the map.

The word mi (to me) is an indirect object. It’s another form of the word ja (I). In English, the indirect object can appear as “to me” or simply “me.” The following two sentences mean the same thing: He gave me the book. He gave the book to me. In these examples, me and to me can both be translated as mi.

The word for map is mapa, but it changes to mapie after we add the preposition na (on). This preposition is used to express a location on the surface of something or in the open space. The word mapa is a feminine noun whose stem ends with a soft consonant -p, therefore its ending changes into -ie.

Show! Pokaż!

To request or command someone to speak we say mów. Mów is an imperative form of mówić. Pokaż, then, is an imperative form of pokazać.

Pokaż mi. Pokaż mi na mapie.

Gdzie jest na mapie stacja kolejowa?

Pokaż mi gdzie to jest.

Proszę mi pokazać na mapie gdzie to jest.

Zgubiłam się. Proszę, pokaż mi na mapie gdzie jest przystanek autobusowy.

Proszę, iść prosto, a potem skręcić w prawo. Please, go straight ahead, and then turn right.

A (and) is used in Polish to point to two constrating things. We can also use it in the phrase a potem meaning “and then.”

W lewo = to the left

Left and lewo both start with L so that’s a way to not get it mixed up with prawo

i is another and (or also) word. 

prosto i w lewo - straight ahead and to the left

idź is the imperative form of iść.

Skręć - Turn.

idź prosto, potem skęć w lewo.

Go there. Idź tam.

To stop is zatrzymać się.

Zatrzymaj się is an imperative form of zatrzymać się.

Tutaj is here. Another word for tutaj is tu. Both tu and tutaj have the same meaning and are used in the same way.

Tutaj jest przystanek. Zatrzymaj się tutaj.

Naprzeciwko = on the opposite side

Przystanek jest naprzeciwko.

Zatrzymaj się tam, potem skręć w prawo.

Tutaj jest stacja kolejowa, a tam jest przystanek autobusowy.

Dziękuję za pomoc! Thank you for the help!

(to) you = ci

Ci is another form of ty (you), an informal version of the indirect object. It is used in an informal way when we want to thank someone. We have used mi (to me) in miło mi, which is also an indirect object.

Dziękuję ci. Literally, I thank to you.

Dzięki ci za pomoc.

Ja and ty change to mi and ci when used as indirect objects. We also change pan to panu when saying thanks to a male formally. In dziękuję panu and dziękuję pani, panu and pani are recipients of the action as therefore acting as indirect objects.

Dziękuję pani/panu bardzo za pomoc.

Nie ma za co. Don’t mention it. There is nothing to thank for.

Another meaning of proszę besides please is you are welcome. 

Proszę bardzo. You are very welcome.

[learningpolish]

Must-Know Polish Autumn Vocabulary

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Click here to listen to the audio pronunciation!

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1. Windy -   wietrznie

2. Cool -   chłodno

3. Sweater - sweter

4. Leaf - liść

5. Halloween - Halloween

6. Cold - przeziębienie

7. Rainy - deszczowy

8. Autumn - jesień

9. Fall - jesień

10. Thanksgiving -   Święto Dziękczynienia

11. Pumpkin pie - ciasto z dyni

12.  Long-sleeved shirt - koszula z długimi rękawami

13. Chestnut - kasztan

14. Autumnal equinox -   równonoc jesienna

15. Fall foliage -   jesienne liście

16. Back to school - wracać do szkoły

17. Change of season -   zmiana pory roku

18. Falling leaves -   spadające liście

—————-

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[learningpolish]

Some Polish verbs. Because why the hell not? 🇵🇱

[learningpolish]

Donatan & Cleo - My Słowianie (2014 Eurovision entry from Poland) In case anyone wanted the whole song, because the tune’s ridiculously catchy and you want to listen to it, don’t lie.  Also, please remember that it’s a parody, so contain your “social-justice-and-equality” tendencies for a few minutes there  (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧ Here is a link for it in English

[learningpolish]

Zgubiłem się - I got lost; literally, I lost myself.

Gdzie jest przystanek autobusowy? Where is the bus stop? This is an example of a noun (autobus) being changed into an adjective (autobusowy.)

Gdzie jest stacja kolejowa? Where is the railway station?

Gdzie jest to lotnisko? Where is that/this airport? To is the neuter form. There is also ta and ten. Ten is masculine. Gdzie jest ten adres? And ta is feminine. Gzie jest ta ulica? Where is that street?

“I lost myself” instead of “I got lost” Is so cute to me? It’s strange, but I like it. XD

Zgubiłem się is for boys to say. Girls say zgubiłam się. 

Unnecessary gendering to add to the chaos of this exciting language XD

Zgubiłeś się?

[learningpolish]

Miło mi cię poznać + names and questions

Miło mi - I'm pleased

What is the difference between the pronouns ty and cię for you? Ty is used as a subject. Cię is used when it is the object of the sentence. In something like miło mi cię poznać, cię (you) is receiving the action of meet.

Miło mi (I'm pleased) is the short version of miło mi cię poznąc, I'm pleased to meet you. Bardzo mi miło = Great pleasure. I'm very pleased. It is my pleasure. Jest mi miło. Jest mi miło cię poznać. też - too Pleased to meet you too. Mi też miło cię poznać. Formal for a guy: Miło mi pana poznać Formal for a lady: Miło mi panią poznać

Imperative form is telling someone something Mów is imperative form of mówić Mów mi - call me Proszę mówić  Proszę mi mówić - please call me

Jestem Taylor.  Bardzo mi miło pana poznać Mam na imię Taylor.

Imię is for first names and nazwisko is for last names.

Jak pani ma na nazwisko? Jak on ma na nazwisko?

Another word about names is nazywać się, the verb for to call yourself.

Jak się nazywasz? What is your name? Literally what do you call yourself. Jak się Pan nazywa? Jak się ona nazywa?

Answers can be Nazywam się __, pan nazywa się __, Ona nazywa się

Jestem z Ameryki. I am from America.

Skąd jesteś? Where are you from?

Czy jesteś z Ameryki? Czy can go in the beginning of a sentence to indicate a question, like the word ka at the end of Japanese questions.

Jak masz na imię? What is your name? 

Jak się masz? How are you? 

Czy nazywa się __? Is his/her name __ ?

Masz comes from the verb mieć, to have

Ja mam, ty masz, on/ona/ono ma, my mamy

Helpful words are przepraszam for excuse me and przykro mi for I’m sorry. [I really don’t know why I’m able to spell these words]

Some more things I’ve written down from mangolanguages.com to post here:

Ja mówię tylko trochę po polsku - I speak only a little Polish Ja mówię trochę po francusku. - I speak a little French Ja mówię tylko trochę po angielsku - I speak only a little English Mówię biegle po polsku - I speak fluently in Polish Ja nie mówię dobrze po francusku. I do not speak well in French. Rozumiem tylko trochę po polsku. I understand only a little Polish.

mówić conjugates into mówię, mówisz, mówi, mówimy

Rozumiem comes from rozumieć. Rozumiem. Rozumiesz. On rozumie. Rozumiemy.

You don’t always have to use pronouns because the end tells you what the pronoun is supposed to be, so it’s understood based on that.

Proszę mówić - please speak Proszę mi mówić please call me Mów Speak Mów mi Taylor by a first name - po imieniu Mów mi po imieniu. Proszę, mi mówić po imieniu. Niestety is a fun word. It is for unfortunately. Niestety nie, I don’t know why the position of mi reverses depending on if it’s formal or informal.  Nie wiem! I don’t know! :)

[learningpolish]

ofiara losu

a pathetic/clumsy/ineffectual/unlucky person, a loser

literally: fate’s victim

IPA: ɔˈfʲjara ˈlɔsu

(via uselesspolish)

[learningpolish]

[learningpolish]

Nic nie wiesz, Jonie Snow.

You know nothing, Jon Snow.

IPA: ɲit͡s ɲɛ vʲjɛʂ  ‘d͡ʐɔɲɛ snɔw

(via uselesspolish)