Life / What's the weather like in Poland? [81]

I'm off down the garage to stick my winter tyres on. Was going to do it yesterday when I saw the forecast but then forgot. Hope there's no queue today or I'll be kicking myself.

Life / Supermarkets in Poland not accepting card payments [12]

yes plastic is just not as widely used in Poland as back in the UK.

I can only presume that biedronka and others don't accept cards because there is 2% - 3% fee involved for the merchant...

Life / Has your move to Poland been successful??? [15]


Yes, but I suspect the results here are skewed - I am sure if I had given up and returned to the UK I wouldn't be reading this forum anymore and therefore there are more positive stories here than negative.

Language / Examples of zakupić and kupić [8]

Nice summary Gumishu, but I presume you mean 'computer' :-)

Language / Examples of zakupić and kupić [8]


This has been asked many many times on this forum. I did a quick search just now and found this thread:

https://polishforums.com/archives/2005-2009/language/share-perfective-imperfective-verbs-17963/

If you do a search you will find more.

But to get you started:

imperfective - kupowałem chleb - I was buying bread - emphasis on the action of buying rather than the result (i.e. the reader doesn't know if I bought the bread in the end or not)

perfective - kupiłem chleb - I bought bread - emphasis on the result rather than the action.

Language / Examples of zakupić and kupić [8]

I think you are getting confused - the imperfective and perfective pair for "to buy" are kupować (imperf) and kupić (perf).

Zakupić is a different word meaning "to purchase". It is perfective and it's imperfective partner is zakupywać.

Life / Has your move to Poland been successful??? [15]

I too am personally happy with my decision to move to Poland. I came here 3 years ago in September. I have had quite an adventure so far and have freed myself from the London rat-race.

Again, I could have earned more money staying in London but I have a lot less stress and more financial freedom in Poland. In fact I have reduced my tax bill from 50% in the UK to 20% in Poland so can't complain.

Would I have moved knowing what I do now? Yes, I am very happy with the way things have turned out and currently plan to stay for at least the next 5 - 10 years, possibly permanently.

I knew in advance that it would be hard to find work, be bureaucratic and the roads were bad etc.. etc.. so have had no nasty surprises.

History / Why are we called Poles instead of Polans? [29]


I had in fact noticed you do that and presumed you were just making a mistake. Before reading this thread I had never heard about Polans and I suspect most English speakers (at least those who aren't on this forum) will wonder what you mean by a "Polan".

Language / Slang words like man, dude [29]

closest you will find for 'dude, man' in this context is "człowieku!" or "stary!"

Life / Can anyone recommend a private children's hospital in Krakow? [3]

Thanks WB and others for the private messages of kind wishes.

The top doctor discharged her today as he agreed it would be better for her to be at home rather than in the ward even though she hasn't totally recovered.

Overall though I must say I am very happy with the hospital (staff, not building) and the care given. Given the choice of being stuck in a hospital in Poland or the UK, I prefer Poland.

Language / Why są, why not jest?? [32]

in fact most Brits would avoid this and say "Holland". "The Netherlands" is used in more formal situations. Which is "correct" is not black and white as is often the case with language. Just ask 100 native Brits which they think is wierd and decide for yourself.

Language / Why są, why not jest?? [32]


As examples of plural names yes, but we still say "The Netherlands is a great place to visit", it would sound wierd to say "The Netherlands are a great place to visit".

Likewise we say "The United States is a great country", not are

Language / Why są, why not jest?? [32]


Yes, but in English we would say "Leeds is a nice town" whereas in Polish they literally say "Katowice are a nice town". This is confusing to us native English speakers.

It's just a fact that towns ending in -ice are plural (and there's loads of them) and therefore need to be grammatically declined as such.

Life / How much is the Internet service in Poland? [11]

Note that depending on where you live there might not even be DSL available. I have got 512kb/s and can't upgrade because that's the fastest they can give me given the quality of the phone line to my house.

There was a thing on the news recently about how some places don't have any access at all - including a street ironically named "internet street".

Life / Driving lesson - reading material in English help please.... [17]

apparently if you tell the office in advance you can do the test in English or German.

Australia / Polish Degrees/postgrad/masters recognition in Australia [4]

in fact I found the Australian office responsible:

aei.gov.au/AEI/QualificationsRecognition/Default.htm

Australia / Polish Degrees/postgrad/masters recognition in Australia [4]

the process of having these awards recognised by other countries is called "nostrification". I don't know the rules for Australia, but I am sure if you google for "nostrification australia" or similar you might find something.

Law / Polish business invoices: do they still need to be stamped and signed? [10]

In most developed countries people stopped using stamps 50+ years ago, so I think it's reasonable that if you have an invoice from a country other than Poland it isn't going to have a stamp on it. I think even the Urząd Skarbowy are capable of understanding that.

I suggest you print off your invoice to keep with your records though.

Law / Polish business invoices: do they still need to be stamped and signed? [10]


My understanding is that either:

* you have to produce a stamped/signed paper invoice

OR

* you can send an electronic invoice via email but it has to be signed with a digital signature - from the top of my head I think it's called a "bezpieczny podpis elektroniczny". This is a recently new law I believe (2007 or 2008). I looked up doing this myself and decided it wasn't worth the hassle for the small number of invoices I send each year because you have to buy an electronic certificate that needs to be renewed each year plus some other bits and pieces etc.. etc.. etc..

Life / Looking for details on hunting in the vovoidship of Warmia-Mazurskie. [92]


You need to join the Polish Hunting Association.
pzlow.pl
I believe the club that Bzibzioh linked to is one such club.

Then you need to do a 1 year probation period, 60 hours of training and sit an exam. There is info on this on the Krakow club website here: pzl.krakow.pl

Have a look on those websites and you will at least see pictures of what game there is etc..

But unless you speak Polish I don't see realistically how you will be able to get through these procedures and become a member.

Language / Czy jest pan or czy pan jest? [14]

Yes - as metioned above - generally people you know, children, animals or talking to God. People you are on first name terms with.

Travel / Driving In Poland ( scooters ) [11]


You can ride a 50cc scooter (not 100cc) from the age of 13 as long as you have got permission from your school:

pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karta_motorowerowa

Given that you don't go to school in Poland I don't see how you would be able to get a "karta motorowerowa" so I think that you are going to be stuck until you are 16 and can do your licence in the UK. Unless anybody here knows a way around this....?

Language / Czy jest pan or czy pan jest? [14]

yes that's right. It's normally called voice "intonation". I didn't want to over complicate the original question though....

Language / Czy jest pan or czy pan jest? [14]

yes you are correct - jesteś pijany = you're drunk

apologies - I didn't bother typing the "czy" which would have made it clearer.

Language / Czy jest pan or czy pan jest? [14]


word order is much more flexible in Polish than in English. Often the order is changed to give emphasis in a different place as Krysia has said.


just to be clear - you are not "removing" the Pan/Pani - i.e. you can't say "czy jest pijany" instead of "czy Pan jest pijany", but you can use the 2nd person instead of the 3rd person plus Pan/Pani construction to give "jesteś pijany" as gumishu mentions.

The 2nd person form of address is for people you know, children, animals or talking to God. [Although being a total atheist I haven't tested the God bit :-) ]

UK, Ireland / Registering a motorbike in Poland and shipping a fish tank there [5]

britishinpoland.com/blog/2008/02/importing-a-motorbike/

Life / Poland's gun control [5]

To get a gun permit according to bron.pl/content/view/full/1927:

You need to get a doctor's survey done to demonstrate that you are not mentally disturbed. You have to repeat this every 5 years.

You need to demonstrate a valid reason as to why you want a gun - i.e. you are a member of a shooting or sporting club, you have genuine reason to believe your life is in danger (and can demonstrate this somehow), etc...

You have to sit an exam (unless you are a member of the Polish Hunting Club or Polish Association for Sports Shooting and want a permit for that purpose). There are different exams depending on the purpose of gun ownership (e.g. you are a gun collector, souvenir collector, personal protection, sports, gun trainer) which vary in cost from 400 - 1000 PLN.

You have to submit an application at your local police station including a biography/resume/CV of your life detailing your education, job, any military service etc...

Your application has to include proof of employment or your documents to show you are self-employed. You have to include 2 photos and PESEL number.

Life / Can you keep a right hand drive car in Poland? [57]


That seems like a lot of hassle to me unless you drive to the UK once a year anyway. To do that just for the MOT seems a bit pointless given the time and cost in fuel to do that round-trip.

I agree that a conversion seems pointless too.

I don't understand why people don't just sell their RHDs in the UK and buy an LHD in Poland (or Germany etc..) and save the 140 odd quid on road tax, and a couple of hundred quid on insurance.


Well the ergonomics depends on the car - some cars (e.g. Ferrarri) are designed as LHD and so the RHD versions aren't as comfortable. Some cars as designed as RHD (I believe Toyota amongst others) so you are probably right.


I don't see how it can be safe to overtake in an RHD vehicle in Europe. You either have restricted visibility or have you to set up extra mirrors or a camera etc..

Life / Taking action against landlords / landladies [10]


Most probably your local Urząd Skarbowy office. I am sure you could find somebody there interested to hear your story.