UK, Ireland / I'm turning nationalistic. Want to change my views. [14]

And what exactly is it that you do for a living?

Language / Parę - two or a few? [26]

Sure :)

Language / Parę - two or a few? [26]

"Za parę dni" means "In a couple of days".

"For a couple of days" is "Na parę dni".

Language / Już and jeszcze [36]

Yeah, the password.. I'm sure...
You can recover the password easily, when you first log in.
:)

Language / Już and jeszcze [36]

Polish sentence structure is pretty simple, however verb conjugations can be confusing (not to mention the exceptions), grammatical cases are a nightmare, and gender that is assigned to every single noun in Polish can be confusing too. Verb conjugations are determined by the person, tenses, singular vs. plural, verb roots. Plus Polish does not use subject pronouns unless for the purpose of emphasis. The subject in Polish is reflected in the inflectional ending of the verb that is being conjugated, e.g.

"Piszę wypracowanie" = "I am writing an essay" ("ja" is omitted in the subject position)
"Piszesz wypracowanie" = "You are writing an essay"
"Pisze / Piszemy / Piszecie / Piszą wypracowanie"
"Pisz wypracowanie!" (imperative)

:)

P.S. Marek,

Why are you being so defensive! You WERE suspended from this forum. You just came back as a guest with a different nick :)

Language / Już and jeszcze [36]

What's left?

How about: gerunds, infinitives, conditionals, subjunctive, appositive, parallel structures, connectives, singular/plural, subject-verb agreement, which you know are all co-related, expressing the past (used to/would), expressing the future (present progressive/ simple/be about to/be going to), pronouns, adverb clauses, adjective clauses, noun clauses, modals, the passive, conjunctions, reductions (auxiliaries/adverbial phrases), wishes, questions (negative/tags/yes-no), inversions (little do I know etc.).

:)

I think that's plenty :)

P.S. Marek, weren't you suspended from this forum once before? I'm pretty sure you were.

Language / Już and jeszcze [36]

I think foreign language learners encounter many problems learning target languages whether it's grammar, pronunciation or whatever. For Polish learners of English it's certainly pronunciation, verb tenses and articles (as Polish doesn't have them), idioms and phrasal verbs. I almost forgot: prepositions. Other than that it's OK I guess.

Language / Już and jeszcze [36]

Hi Marek,

"Piję" e.g. "Piję kawę" = "I'm drinking coffee" (Present Progressive - now)
"Piję" e.g. "Piję kawę 3 razy w tygodniu" = "I drink coffee 3 times a week" (Present Simple)
Also Present Simple (habitual meaning): "Pijam kawę 3 razy w tygodniu" (it sounds kind of old-fashioned, but is also correct)

"Wypiję" as in "Wypiję kawę i pójdziemy do sklepu" = "I'll finish/have coffee and we''ll go to the store"

"Dopiję kawę i pójdziemy do sklepu" = "I'll finish coffee and we''ll go to the store" (if you have a little coffee left in your cup, like 2 sips) or:

"Dokończę kawę i pójdziemy do sklepu" = "I'll finish coffee and we''ll go to the store"

"Napiję się" as in "Napiję sie kawy i pójdziemy do sklepu" = "I'll have coffee and we''ll go to the store"

"Czego się napijesz?" = "What would you like (to drink)? / What are you going to have?" =
Answer 1: "Napiję się kawy" = "I'll have coffee"
Answer 2: "Poproszę kawę" = "I'd like coffee, please" or simply "Coffee, please"
Answer 3 : "Dla mnie kawa" = "(For me) Coffee, please" (you wouldn't say "please" = "proszę" in Polish, but it's implied)

:)

Language / Już and jeszcze [36]

Sure :) I'm glad I could help :)

Language / Już and jeszcze [36]

Yes, Polish is my native language :)

Language / Już and jeszcze [36]

"Jeszcze mam więcej czas" = This sounds awfully clumsy in Polish

"Mam jeszcze czas" / "Jeszcze mam czas" = "I still got time" or " I still have time" is correct

"Mam więcej czasu" = "I have more time" or "I got more time"

"Piję jeszcze jedno Żywiec" = Clumsy in Polish
"Napiję sie jeszcze jednego Żywca" = "I'll have another Żywiec" or
"Wezmę jeszcze jednego Żywca" = "I'll take another Żywiec" or
"Dla mnie jeszcze jeden Żywiec" = "Another Żywiec" (for me)" / "One more Żywiec (for me)"
"Poproszę jeszcze jednego Żywca" = "Another Żywiec, please"

:)

Language / Już and jeszcze [36]

" Daj mi jeszcze jedno jabłko" = "Give me another apple" or "Give me one more apple"

"Jeszcze go nie ma" = "He is not here yet"

:)

Language / Już and jeszcze [36]

"Jeszcze tego nie zrobiłem/zrobiłam" = "I haven't done it yet" jeszcze (negative)=yet

"Nadal/wciąż/jeszcze czytam" = "I'm still reading" jeszcze (affirmative)=still

"Już skończyłem/skończyłam" = "I have already finished" już (affirmative)=already

"Ta ksiażka jest jeszcze lepsza" = "This book is even better" jeszcze (affirmative)=even
"Jeszcze" (=even) in the last example also means "nawet/wręcz".

I hope that helps :)

UK, Ireland / Poles to stay or not to stay [in Ireland] - is there a question? [25]

What's your question?

Life / Parents raising their childrens babies in Poland [4]

10% is not "quite" I'm afraid, plus where is this statistics coming from? Any official sources? Even if that happens in some families, it doesn't make it right. I would understand having grandparents babysit here and there, but raise their grandchildren? I thought parenthood is about responsibility for your own kids and not about "outsourcing" the parenting responsibilities over to the grandparents. If you decide to start a family, it's all on you: the parent/parents. Unless your circumstances force you to do otherwise, which seems to be the case in my judgment in case of those two girls from Poland in the opening post.

Life / Parents raising their childrens babies in Poland [4]

NO, it's not normal.

Language / DIALECTIC VESTIGES IN STANDARD in Poland [9]

OH yeah!

Just listen to the Polish president, you will hear it all! By the way, he holds a law degree. You would never be able to tell... LOL Sometimes education has nothing to do with the way you speak.

Gab :)

News / Poland's Most Quoted [22]

In Polish that would be: " Chcieć to móc."

News / Poland's Most Quoted [22]

Poland's former president, Lech Wałęsa: "Jestem za, a nawet przeciw."
Renata Beger: "Lubię seks jak koń owies."
Leszek Miller: "Mężczyznę poznaje się nie po tym jak zaczyna, ale jak kończy."

These are my absolute favorites LOL

Study / Moving to Poland/Finished High School in USA/How I Get Into PL College [12]

I agree with all the other forum members. You have to be realistic. Maybe you would consider tutoring on the side (English as a Second Language)? Private classes can be of great help once you establish a few relationships with students.

3000 PLN for 2 people in Gdynia.... I'd say for one person, maybe, but quite tight.

Good luck :)

Study / Moving to Poland/Finished High School in USA/How I Get Into PL College [12]

I would contact the university you have chosen and inquire within. Different schools have different regulations. I would get all my transcripts ready in advance, both from highschool and college. Quite frankly, I don't know how this will work. Make necessary phonecalls or go to the website and find more about the issue online.

Now, $7000 is not as much as it might seem, even in Poland. It will get you by for a little while, but you must be realistic. You are practically out of highschool, so in Poland you will have limited choices as far as your employment potential. Now, you haven't chosen the cheapest city to live in. It is not as expensive as the capital, but it is not the cheapest either.

I don't want to come across too negative, but it is going to be a huge move for you and with lots of adjustments ahead. Research the local job market beforehand. And try to determine what it might be that you could do for a living.

You might want to consider "studia zaoczne" if you want to study and work at the same time.

Life / Calling Emergency Services in Poland [6]

112 is a universal emergency number in Poland (fire dept / police / paramedics). You don't have to remember three different numbers. Kind of like 911 in the USA.

News / Poland Needs to Shape up [43]

To change Poland, you'd have to start from the very top. It's not the people of Poland that suck, neither is it the tradition. You can't blame alcohol for Poland's problems, no. It's the freaking government that sucks and the incompetent people that pull all the strings and make the biggest decisions for the entire nation. Of course you can find some flaws in any nation, no doubt about that. But the bottom line is that this country is in critical need for smart people to govern it and "reshape" it.

Work / How much Poles earn compared to foreigners! [29]

I agree :)

Work / How much Poles earn compared to foreigners! [29]

Doctors in Poland are constantly underpaid (from the public sector) and so are nurses. It's an outrage. I have a few friends in Poland who are doctors and some of them have a gross salary around PLN 1700. They have to put extra hours to be able to survive and provide for their families.

The ones working for private clinics (sometimes it is their second job) are sitting pretty well though.

My dentist friends are making very good money.

Poland's health care system is on the verge of bankruptcy. I was making much more than my peers who were doctors, and my job wasn't saving the lives of others.

I agree, it's sickening. That's why a lot of good doctors and nurses left the country and moved to the British Isles, as a result of which there is a shortage of specialists in Poland. Quite ironic, ain't it?

Life / Cosmetics in Poland [14]

What are tanning beds? LOL Never heard of them LOL

Love / My Polish boyfriend is down, he wants to go home [7]

I don't know all your history, but based on what you've said it looks to me like he is really homesick, and maybe lonely. Being an immigrant is not an easy thing, you know. I am Polish myself, but living in NYC, and it is not easy for me either. Often times what happens is that the partners of immigrants do not fully understand the repercussions of living away from home and, more importantly, the immigrant experience. And I don't blame them, how could they?

What you can do is to be supportive of him. I know, sounds like a cliche... Would his work schedule allow him to visit home more often? That might help him a great deal. Would you be ok with this? Would you be comfortable if he went home once in a while without you? You can build up your trust in him that way.

I know it's also not easy on you. He is depressed, you don't know what to do etc. It's gonna take him a few years to fully adjust. Some people never fully adjust, but they can adjust enough so both of you are happy and comfortable.

Cross-cultural relationships are not that easy as you know. But you have to be patient with him and don't pressure him. He has to deal with this situation on his own. That's what it will come down to. Now, to better understand his position, try to reverse the situation. What would it be like for you if you were to relocate to another country? Would you miss your family and friends? Probably so. Would you want to go back for certain holidays? You probably would.

I miss Poland, too, but I have worked out a way of dealing with it. It's a matter of compromise. You have to work out your compromise.

Good luck to you both :)

GAB

Real Estate / Flat 'shortage' in Wrocław [11]

No, sorry :)

News / how to use SMS to send message to cell phone in poland [30]

I'm not sure about that. I always text for a cell phone to a cell phone :)

News / how to use SMS to send message to cell phone in poland [30]

You got too many digits. To any cell in Poland you dial 011 48 + cell phone number without a zero, e.g.

011 48 608 XXX XXX

The same works for text messaging :)

GAB