Iterative and semelfactive verbs

You're then saying that, although 'pisywać' might exist in dictionary usage, as with the theoretical 'chadzić' vs. 'chodzić', it's application in standard contemporary Polish is NOT recommended, let alone by foreigners! Am I correct?

Marek P.

No. I'm sorry if you understood me so. There is a distinction between chadzać/pisywać and chodzić/pisać, but both these forms are equally common and necessary in Polish. The only difference between them is the fact that the former pair of words refers to repeated activities. I only said that chadzać/pisywać doesn't denote all periodic activities imaginable, but only those that happen at random, arbitrary occasions (i.e. that are dependent solely on their doer's caprice). In other words, this form is used to describe your customs, habits, etc., and not something that happens at fixed moments (like composing a letter to your parents every two weeks because they demanded it from you). :)

Aha, indeed I did misunderstand you, Vizt!

It really must have been my glitch, for your English is remarkably clear (..compared with many so-called Polish-born English "experts" I've encountered over the years-:)))) )

Many thanks for the clarification.

Apropos 'chadzać' vs. 'chodzić', even 501 Polish Verbs doesn't cover that one. Any examples possibly of the usage of this pair??

Hehe, thanks. I sometimes have problems with writing comphrehensible English, so I still need practice here. ;)

Sure:

Kiedy byłem młody, chadzałem do parku.
(I often had walks in the park when I was young). (A more or less rare habit).

Przez dwie godziny chodziłem po Starym Mieście.
(I was walking around the Old Town for two hours). (A typical past tense - a specific situation).

Great!-:)

Now, how about our old friend 'iść':

"Idę na spacer." = I'm taking a (casual) stroll.

"Chodzę (każdego wieczora po godziną 6ej..) na spacer. = I (regularly!!) take a stroll/walk every evening after 6pm).

That about right?? ))

Słuchaj, skąd jesteś z Polski? I'm only curious because I find Poles who've grown up in the country tend to speak English less fluently than Poles from the city. My perception might be wrong, so straighten me out about that, if you would-:

Tylko raz byłem w Polsce, kiedy 1996r podróżowałem do Szczecina, aby spotkać się z dobrym znajomym a trochę chadzać po Starym Mieście i Zamku. To było przyjemny czas, bo byłem całego tygodnia na urlopie-:)

I guess I should translate or this message might get deleted.

I was in Poland only once, when I travelled to Szczecin in 1996 to get together with a friend of mine and take in the Old Town and the castle. It was a pleasant time because I was on vacation for the entire week.

M.

Can't resist contributing a bit of trivia. Ted Knight's original name was Tadeusz Czesław Władysław Konopka. He loved stating it in interviews then making the interviewer repeat it until he/she got it as close to proper pronunciation as a native English speaker with no knowledge of Polish could.

Wonderful, Anubis!

Right on Ted (..whereever you are now)! You really showed 'em you were no Ted Baxter!

I also goofed and thought that "Knight" was an Anglicization of the Polish "Kacziński", or something.

See I was wrong here as well-:)
Thankx