Return PolishForums LIVE
  PolishForums Archive :
Archives - 2005-2009 / Language  % width 30

Example differences between Polish and English


kidnapped  
3 Mar 2007 /  #1
In English you say:

If you open your eyes you will see something is wrong. ( Jeśli otworzysz swoje oczy, zobaczysz, że coś jest nie tak. )

If I had a car I would be happy. ( Jeśli miałbym samochód, byłbym szczęśliwy. )

When you need me call me. ( Kiedy będziesz mnie potrzebować, zadzwoń. )

In Polish we say:

If you will open your eyes you will see something is wrong. ( Jeśli otworzysz swoje oczy, zobaczysz, że coś jest nie tak. )

If I would have a car I would be happy. ( Jeśli miałbym samochód, byłbym szczęśliwy. )

When you will need me call me. ( Kiedy będziesz mnie potrzebować, zadzwoń. )
hello 22 | 890  
3 Mar 2007 /  #2
Yes, I think this is correct.
daffy 23 | 1,500  
3 Mar 2007 /  #3
yes but that looses something in the translation

it is taking literal over the actual message.
Michal - | 1,865  
13 Apr 2007 /  #4
When you will need me call me is better translated by If you need me give me a call
If I would have a car I would be happy is very strange English it should read-Idf I had a car I would be happy.

Where do you Poles get these starange setenses in English from?
mamma mia  
13 Apr 2007 /  #5
Where do you Poles get these starange setenses in English from?

may I be so bold as to correct your English? :)

"where do you Poles come up with these (english) sentences?"
Eurola 4 | 1,902  
13 Apr 2007 /  #6
Good job mamma mia, one needs to have their English under control to have the right to correct others :)
mamma mia  
14 Apr 2007 /  #7
thanks, but I'm just being helpful....I hope
James Bond  
14 Apr 2007 /  #8
When you will need me call me is better translated by If you need me give me a call

call me as in talk/shout.

give me a call as in phone me.

Where do you Poles get these starange setenses in English from?

Although this sentence is awkward it is nevertheless correct, apart from the spelling errors.
Michal - | 1,865  
14 Apr 2007 /  #9
When you need me, call me-what is wrong with that?
If you open your eyes you will see that something is wrong
It is simply poor English. I am sure that you must be just copying these sentenses from a book.

When you need me just give me a call-better English. There is always room for improvement.
Call me or give me a call exist and that is all right but the example you gave is strange and is not English.
If I would have a car I would be happy is very strange indeed!
Ja juz powiedzialem wszystko-wystarczy-do widzenia
James Bond  
14 Apr 2007 /  #10
When you need me, call me-what is wrong with that?

Nothing at all.

To call.............to shout

To give me a call..............to phone

To call on...............to visit

The problem is the use of call. First of all, older people would use it in a slightly different way to younger people. Secondly, it is not clear when you say call me, if you mean shout or phone.

Example: 1. I'm going to the other room. Call me when dinner is ready.

Example: 2. I'll be at home this evening. Give me a call, if you want to go out for a beer.

I'm not telling you that you are wrong. I'm showing problems that occur when using English. In the second example call me could also be used.
daffy 23 | 1,500  
14 Apr 2007 /  #11
Example: 1. I'm going to the other room. Call me when dinner is ready.

you can still use 'call-me' to mean phone

ill see you later, call me.

you dont need to say 'give me a call' as you also point out

i think the key, is placement in the sentance and the context it is in (like many polish words also)
mamma mia  
14 Apr 2007 /  #12
Ja juz powiedzialem wszystko-wystarczy-do widzenia

the "ja" in this instance is superfluous
Michal - | 1,865  
15 Apr 2007 /  #13
No it is not. The 'ja' is quite correct!
mamma mia  
16 Apr 2007 /  #14
Ja juz powiedzialem wszystko

you're wrong....polish speakers would say "juz powiedialem wszystko"
Michal - | 1,865  
16 Apr 2007 /  #15
Excuse me, I spoke with mother in Polish fifty years ago.

Anyway, enough of this topic as it is now boring and over talked of. Wystarczy!
the traveller  
17 Apr 2007 /  #16
One last remark please:

In the sentence "Ja juz powiedzialem wszystko-wystarczy-do widzenia"

we will use the "ja" only if we want to underline the fact that it was ME who said wszystko and not someone else. Otherwise we will not put it.
mamma mia  
17 Apr 2007 /  #17
exactly - thank you
Michal - | 1,865  
17 Apr 2007 /  #18
Well yes, I wanted to underline the fact that it was I who mad the remark. At the end of the day will you be able to sleep tonight if it is otherwise? I live in a five bedroomed house, which I own with two cars in front. Is deciding if it sounds better to say Ja kocham cie or kocham cie going to make you vice president of the U.S.A.?
mamma mia  
18 Apr 2007 /  #19
you're a big baby!!
hyypia 3 | 41  
18 Apr 2007 /  #20
yeah sounds like real polish english :)
Michal - | 1,865  
18 Apr 2007 /  #21
I might be a big baby but I have got more than you!!
ukinpoland 5 | 338  
18 Apr 2007 /  #22
Anybody care?? Maybe I have even more than you. Then for example bubbawoo might have even more than me. Rest assured you are not the biggest person in the world. Probably not even your town, or maybe even street.
Decorator 4 | 291  
18 Apr 2007 /  #23
I have probably less than all of you !!! But i'm very happy all the same.. :)
Michal - | 1,865  
19 Apr 2007 /  #24
What has this got to do with the Polish term 'kocham cie'? You are completely changing the subject. This was all about the differences between Polish and English.
BubbaWoo 33 | 3,506  
19 Apr 2007 /  #25
I live in a five bedroomed house

yup... so do i... good, eh?
csm102  
27 Nov 2007 /  #26
hi there i'm curious in that sentence juz powiedzialem wszystko for someone learning polish i have to break each sentence by the individual words and try to make sence of it from there most of the time, so if you could help me come to a better understanding and correct me plz... i thought it came out like this already i said everything.
krysia 23 | 3,058  
27 Nov 2007 /  #27
juz powiedzialem wszystko

already i said everything.

Sometimes you cannot translate word for word. So the correct way is: I already said everything
Marek 4 | 867  
27 Nov 2007 /  #28
Hi, all!!!

Collocations in one language rarely dovetail or match idiomatic equivalents in another, even in somewhat closely related languages such as English and German. Sure, they're a heck of a lot more similar than English/Polish, not to mention non-Indo-European tongues. Nonethless, some of the examples I've seen here so far just go to illustrate what we're saying, e.g. "to give someone a call" = (z)dwońic do, not: dać (dawać) telefon etc.

In German, you can't "throw someone a party" or "give someone a phone call" without sounding quite daft indeed!

Moral of the story: No language can literally translate its own idioms into another.
z_darius 14 | 3,965  
4 Dec 2007 /  #29
When you will need me call me is better translated by If you need me give me a call
If I would have a car I would be happy is very strange English it should read-Idf I had a car I would be happy.
Where do you Poles get these starange setenses in English from?

He merely showed how Polish sentences would look in English if a Pole tried to follow Polish tense structure.

Correct versions are above those examples. Try to read people's post more carefully before jumping at them

I live in a five bedroomed house, which I own with two cars in front.

Does that mean that the cars are co-owners of the house?
slick77 - | 127  
5 Dec 2007 /  #30
Example differences between Polish and English

The differences are huge, let me illustrate it...


  • English

  • Polish

Archives - 2005-2009 / Language / Example differences between Polish and EnglishArchived