Language / iec conjugation [47]

yes, these are commands

ubierajmy - let's dress
ubieraj - dress (its singular - command given to one person)
ubierajcie - dress (plural - said do more than one person)
niech ubiera - let him/her dress
niech ubierają - let them dress

Life / Reasons for moving to Poland [291]

Oh no, it's not that cold.

Oh wait...
unless you mean outside?

Language / iec conjugation [47]

I hear you, Chaza. Nothing wrong with asking questions and I understand just where you're coming from. Some of the questions you ask are actually quite advanced and you're not able to make use of the answers yet, but at least you know where to place a particular piece of the puzzle. In time it will gradually build up into a structure and help you see the whole of the language.

I think my mind works in a similar way to yours, I too need to see a broader picture first, even if its a very vague vision, and then I can concentrate on specific parts - but I need to know where they go, which part of the structure I'm working at.

On the other hand, being a native I probably don't realize well enough which parts of the Polish grammar are most problematic for foreigners and which are truly essential. And here the advice of others comes useful - those who have learnt Polish as second or third language can give you practical hints as to what's important for a beginner and what is not.

Anyway, you're determined, and I see you're making progress. So keep up the good work. Bit by bit, it will all come into place :)

Language / iec conjugation [47]


These are called imiesłowy in Polish - imiesłów czynny (-ący) and imiesłów bierny (-ny).

Example: widzieć - widzący - widziany

Differently than the forms - ing and -ed in English, these are not used to form tenses.

Examples of use:
człowiek idący po drugiej stronie ulicy - the man (who is) walking on the other side of the street
list napisany po angielsku - a letter written in English - this one is used to form passive voice. But passive voice in Polish is less common than in English.


present active - ja piszę list - I am writing a letter
present passive - list jest pisany - the letter is being written
past passive - list był pisany - the letter was written


mam - I have something (now)
miewam - I have something sometimes, now and again, not in a continuous manner
Example: Miewam czasem bóle głowy - I have headaches now and again.
But you may also say: mam czasem bóle głowy.

Language / When to use: Znać/Wiedzieć & lub/albo [23]


you're right about this


and, unfortunately, wrong about this. It's accusative: znam to miasto.

Life / Do expats living in Poland speak Polish? [233]


How do you think you offend them?


I don't think anybody could consider that to be offensive. Either they couldn't speak English or were shy to speak, if they thought their English was not good enough.


I don't get it. In what language did they talk back to you? What did they ask the person standing next to them? Might it have been that they were looking around to find somebody who could communicate with you? What exactly was rude in this situation and what should be the proper response which you wouldn't consider rude?


Again, what are the responses like?
Is it possible that you're misinterpreting some signals, like voice intonation? Mafketis has a good point here. I just can't imagine that most people would treat rudely any foreigner asking for help. OK, you might come across a jerk or two, but definitely not on a constant basis. Something just doesn't sound right here.

Language / iec conjugation [47]

"By" is, more or less, "would". It takes personal endings:

ja by+m
ty by+ś
on/ona/ono by
my by+śmy
wy by+ście
oni by

The above is: I would, you would... etc.

Next you need a proper verb to go with it. And now there are two ways to go about it: either you glue the "by"+ending to the verb or you put it before the verb:

(ja) bym poszedł or (ja) poszedłbym - I would go
(ty) byś poszedł or (ty) poszedłbyś - you would go
(on) by poszedł or (on) poszedłby - he would go
(ona) by poszła or (ona) poszłaby - she would go
(ono/to) by poszło or (ono/to) poszłoby - it would go
(my) byśmy poszli or (my) poszlibyśmy - we would go
(wy) byście poszli or (wy) poszlibyście - you would go (plural)
(oni) by poszli or (oni) poszliby - they would go - male
(one) by poszły or (one) poszłyby - they would go - non-male

Note that the verb "pójść" is used in the past tense conjugation.
The forst form (bym poszedł etc.) is more colloquial and used in speech, the second (poszedłbym) more formal and used also in writing.

Life / Typical Examples of Polish Parking Entitlement (post yours) [57]


You'd be surprised.
Or do you mean to say that's how you usually park your car?

Law / Polish Cop Took My Car Registration :S [143]


I guess he meant Urząd Skarbowy which is the tax office, is there anything they might want from you taxes wise?

Language / iec conjugation [47]


The conditional sufix "bym" must be glued to a verb.


or "he went/he had gone", but not on foot. You can jechać by car, by bus, by train... bike, cart... anything that has wheels. Doesn't matter if you're driving/riding the thing or if you're just a passenger.



no, it's more like "I will be go forward".

Language / iec conjugation [47]

chaza

łbym raczej = i would rather right, but you need to put some verb in front of "łbym" as it doesn't appear on its own, e.g. byłbym, wolałbym, and its male, for female it would be: byłabym, wolałabym

this one pojechał = he rides/ he was riding he went i'm not sure about yet.
It's past tense, not present

szukałem = before this posting i got to be I searched/i was searching
also past tense so it's correct

this one będę iść naprzółem = i will go forward. i got to be będę pójdę naprzód because naprzółem would be 'i was forward'

either będę iść naprzód or pójdę naprzód; naprzółem doesn't exist as naprzód is an adverb, not a verb. Past tense would be: (po)szedłem naprzód.

Święciam = i celebrated/ I was celebrating;
święciłam

Language / iec conjugation [47]


raczejłbym = i would rather raczej is not a verb
pojechał = he rides/ he was riding he went
szukałem = i search/ i am searching I searched/was searching
będę iść naprzółem = i will go forward będę iść naprzód
Święciam = i celebrate/ i am celebrating święciłam - I was celebrating; święcę - I am celebrating

Language / "Zaraz wracam" - Why not "zaraz wrócę" ? [32]


now this is simply wrong. Bad Polish, bad grammar.
Prosić kogoś o coś, so: proszę matkę o kawę.
Proszę kawę - o co??? Can you ask coffee for anything?
The correct version is poproszę kawę or proszę o kawę.


No, he's not. He's making too many non-native mistakes,and I don't mean the one with coffee, which is actually quite common among Polish native speakers.

Language / iec conjugation [47]

jeść

Present: jem, jesz, je, jemy, jecie, jedzą
This is imperfective, as present tense can never be perfective (I think...)

Past imperfective (male): jadłem, jadłeś, jadł, jedliśmy, jedliście, jedli.
Past perfective: zjadłem, zjadłeś, zjadł, zjedliśmy, zjedliście, zjedli.

So perfective and imperfective are the same, the only difference is the prefix "z".

Frankly, I don't understand the explanations that you've quoted. Which consonant do they have in mind?

Language / Pronunciation of "lepiej" [13]

More or less so.
You don't hear "z" in these words as its "sz", pronounced roughly as English "sh".
Check out other threads in this section, there was a link somewhere to a website where you can check Polish pronunciation (you get male/female voices pronouncing words).

Genealogy / What certificate is this?; birth certificate from the greek catholic church [63]

Of course it is very close because it's how Śliwnica would be spelt in Ukrainian and with the Cyryllic alphabet. All the three Śliwnica names are exactly the same. The difference in the last letter that you mention is just declension - the stamp says: Gr.-kat. Uriad Parochialnyj w Sliwnici - Greek-Catholic Parish Office in Śliwnica - "in Śliwnica" translates as "w Sliwnici", the ending is declined so it changes.

The "backward R" letter is "ja" in Cyryllic.

The certificate was issued in 1944, state borders hadn't been established yet, there wasn't any Poland nor Ukraine yet. Ukrainian was spoken in the whole area and as far as I know it was the language of the Greek-Catholic church, hence the language of the stamp. You need to check which of the three Śliwnicas had a parochial office (was the seat of a Gr.-Cath. parish). Wikipedia doesn't give the information, you need to look elsewhere. If I were you I'd try to email gmina offices to which the Polish Śliwnicas belong asking if there is/was a Greek-Catholic parish in them. Another way would be to look up the web pages of Greek-Cath. church in Poland.

Genealogy / What certificate is this?; birth certificate from the greek catholic church [63]


Why are you so sure?

Love / What do Polish guys think of Irish girls? [187]


Now, at last a statement that I truly like.

UK, Ireland / WHAT IS SO SPECIAL LIVING IN U.K [90]


Everybody's got planes. Even in Poland, we've got LOT.


Tulips?

Language / Pronunciation of "lepiej" [13]

no, sorry, I can't ;) I've never had to learn Polish conjugation groups.
Probably it's some exception.

Love / Is she genuine? - I would like some advice please re a Polish girl. [130]


I certainly hope so too :)

Love / Is she genuine? - I would like some advice please re a Polish girl. [130]


All right, but that's a great way to become paranoid. Just watch your wallet and personal data until you know what you're doing, and that's it. Common sense should suffice. As you've said yourself, what do you know about somebody you meet in a bar? They might be a serial murderer for all you know, but it's not a reason to lock yourself up at home and stop talking to people. I know some great people that I've met on the Internet first, they're very real and we remain good friends - yes, I've met them in person too. And there is a married couple among them, who also met on a net forum and it wasn't even a dating site.

Am I to believe that all the nicks here on PF are boots and scammers? ;)

Genealogy / What certificate is this?; birth certificate from the greek catholic church [63]


Could it be Tarnawka? "Tarnawce" would be an inflected form - "born in Tarnawka" - "urodzony w Tarnawce".
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarnawka_(powiat_przemyski)


No harm in trying ;)
It's interesting. A detective-like stuff. Proves that internet forums can actually be useful :)

Love / Is she genuine? - I would like some advice please re a Polish girl. [130]

Oh come on, give the guy a break. A Nigerian scammer wouldn't have a working mobile with Polish number. As for her honesty, this remains to be seen, but it's exactly the same as in "real" life. There are normal people using the net too, not everybody is a scammer.

Genealogy / What certificate is this?; birth certificate from the greek catholic church [63]


Thanks for this one! I've always wondered what the dashes are for and where you should put them.


Kinia? But again, if you look at the K in Kostia, it's very different.


It is, but they use strange names too.


It's the place of birth of Iwan Michalczyk.


There are two Śliwnicas in Poland, close to each other:
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Śliwnica

Language / Pronunciation of "lepiej" [13]

jem, jesz, je, jemy, jecie, jedzą

Language / Pronunciation of "lepiej" [13]

because there is no z in them: lepiej, najlepiej.

I think you've confused them with lepszy, najlepszy, which are adjectives. Lepiej and najlepiej are adverbs (they answer the question: how?)

Life / Polish Brand names in everyday usage. [6]

elektroluks for vacuum cleaner - I think Electrolux was the first available brand here
neska for instant coffee (Nescafe) - not so much now, but it used to be in the past, when there weren't that many brands available

Life / Best-looking Polish post-war celebs.... [12]

Tomasz Kammel

yupi! it works
so:

Paweł Deląg

Marcin Zakościelny

Bogusław Linda

Zbigniew Zamachowski

Life / Best-looking Polish post-war celebs.... [12]

I'm not a girl anymore, but hey...




nauseously sweet and cheesy


just irritates me, so I'm not even sure if he's good-looking or not


he's a good actor and I like him a lot, but good-looking? come on!!!


:D the flag macho of III RP


no. please...


is he male???


now you're talking. he's getting old though, used to look better a few years back.


just OK