Usage of the word "Na"

Halo all,

I'm back and had a wonderful time and have had a great Christmas :) I will be making a nice little report on my trip to Poland shortly after the new year is up :P

In the mean time I was wondering about the word "Na" it seems to have an interesting use in the Polish language, could anyone elaborate on how and where "Na" is used as it seems to be like "Po" in the way that it has so many meanings:

polsko-angielski

na (Ectaco-Poland)
prep,
1 an
2 on
3 to
4 for
5 by
6 of
7 onto
8 atop
9 against
10 into
11 upon
12 at
13 in

I know I have to learn to think in Polish to get these words as was written to me in my "Po" post but I just thought it would be nice to discuss as usually you guys seem to have some interesting input towards my learning of this crazy/wonderful language.

:D

cjjc

p.s. oh and how is everyone by the way?

:>

Welcome back to the UK, you brought the weather with you...
I didn't realise "na" had as many uses as "po". I will have to study my dictionary.
na przykład (for example)
Muszę pójść na zakupy, na razie.
(I must go shopping. Catch you later)

"Czekam na śniadanie." thought Osioł to himself, despite knowing that there was no point waiting because no-one was actually making him any breakfast.

Na zdrowie! (Concerns may be raised regarding what Osioł may now actually be having for breakfast).

Thread attached on merging:
NA (going to events), DO (to fixed places)

One thing English speakers have trouble with is the difference between na and do when the goal of one's movmeent is mentioned. I tell learners that na is used for events (na koncert, wesele, mszę, konferencję, zebranie, zawody, etc.), but do for fixed locations, buildings and people as in do babci, Hiszpanii, domu, pracy szkoły, kościoła, Londynu, etc. (there are a few geographic expeptions in Polish: na Węgry, Ukrainę, Litwę itp.).

Poles have problems in the opposite direciton and often say: I was on a wedding, concert, meeting, etc.

Moderator comment: Please check to see that your topic has not already been posted.
In other words: Please, stop repeating other poster's topics

I don't get "do widzenia" then...

"do" means "until" in this context. ie. until seeing (you again)

Ironic as it's not listed in the meanings I found...times like this make me want to bash my head "na" wall!

:)

Ohh well.....I'll keep going......

:S

Yeah I thought English was bad for using words for several meanings.
od szóstej do siódmej
from six until seven


You must be super-motivated now that you've lived there for a while?

Try to imagine it this way: with things you go to, you could logically go on or at. Being in things could also mean being on things... and so on.

So pick one random one that seems kind of logical enough and don't be afraid to get it wrong as many times as you might before you've been corrected or picked up on the na, do, w or whatever it actually is.

I can't get it yet. I'll pass it up right now I think.

I'm simply not thinking in Polish enough!

These posts will be invaluable for me but in a few months.

Thanks guys.

:)

here you'd have to use "w" or "o", not "na" :)
bić (regular) / walić (colloquial) głową w mur (figurative, meaning to find repetitive, impenetrable obstacles on your way to some goal)
walnąć (colloquial) / uderzyć (regular) głową o ścianę (rather literally, when you for example accidentally hit your head against a wall).
If you wonder why "wall" translates both to "mur" and "ściana", there was a thread about it a few months ago, you can find it [polishforums.com/genitive_plural_mur_wall-18_25208_0.html]

Sometimes I wonder why I bother trying....so complex it seems impossible...

:|

I'd say it's "to": (look forward) to seeing (each other again)
See also: na zdrowie - to (your/our) health

Profuse apologies to the moderator, but exactly how does one check which threads have been posted at some time in the past. Does one type the title of a planned thread in the Google box or what? I am not much into hi-tech gadgetry, e-clickery and the like, so any guidance would be appreciated.

That's the kind of thing. You click on search and up comes a selection of things you have to click on or type in before you can find if any threads match the words you put in. They will always match the words you put in, but I don't believe it passes the Polish characters test and people all too often mis-spell. This has given me an idea.

Is there a reason for this exception? Does it have anything to do with the close historical conncetions between these countries and Poland?

Yes, but this is a language thread and languages are best learnt by rubbing it in. It's not "why polish girls are sexier than irish" which seems to be discussed at least once a week in a new thread. Also, I'm new in here, and I think this thread is very interesting, but I would never had the idea myself to search after a post that compares all the na-uses. I will of course eventually read all the thousands of posts that are in here.

with my very best regards
körsbäret