Would someone be able to explain when to use być and bywać with regard to adjectives?

Być
Ona jest niedecydowana.
Does it mean that she is always in a state of indecision?

Bywać
Ona bywa niedecydowana.
Does it mean that she can be in a state of indecision sometimes?

This link is a curiosty related to być and bywać.
photoblog.pl/nofoundnolovenoyou/115283613/moge-byc-albo-bywac.html

Ona jest szczęśliwa. - She is happy.
Ona bywa szczęśliwa - She is happy from time to time.

I won't expand with technical terms this time :)

Either that or that she can't make a decision in some particular situation.Depends on the context..


Yes,sometimes or from time to time.

By all means give me a few technical terms without explaining them and I can look them up for myself. Technical terms can be the key sometimes.

thanks Grubas and Gumishu.

No problem man.Off topic but in case you want to know there is also old word bywaj.It is rarely used nowdays,mainly in the movies about older times but from time you can meet a man using it.It's shortened from Bywaj zdrów and in free translation means Good bye.

thanks :-)

There is no such a world as "niedecydowana"
"Niezdecydowana" maybe.

I think there is no need for technical terms.
Bywać means to visit regulary, to occur sometimes or be in some state from time to time, while być is something pernament.

On bywa w tym pubie co piątek.
Raz bywa zielony, raz czerwony w zależności od temperatury.

Of course one can use here być as well, the sense would be the same, however the frequency won't be so emphasized:

On jest w tym pubie co piątek.
Raz jest zielony, raz czerwony w zależności od temperatury.

However in below examples there is a huge difference in meaning:
Liście są zielone. - a pernament state
Liście bywają żółte. - not pernament state or exceptions occur (they change their color from time to time or some species are yellow and can be found among green ones)

Further examples:

- "expetions that occur"

Liście L.capleinea (an invented by me name of a plant for purpose of this example) są zazwyczaj zielone, aczkolwiek bywają też żółte w zależności od zróżnicowania osobniczego (sounds like a scientific bełkot, hehe) - should be read that "leafs of L.capleinea are usually green, but some of them might be yellow according to diversity found among specimen".

- "not pernament state"

Liście L.capleinea bywają czerwone jedynie późną jesienią - should be read "the leafs of L.capleinea are red only in late autumn, while in others season they have different colour (so there is a frequnet change during the year, hence no pernament state)

Jestem w Nowym Jork. = I'm in New York (either permanently or just for a visit!)

Bywam w Nowym Jorku. = I'm in the city (of N.Y.) occasionally, i.e. I tend to frequent this town.

Odd It should occur to me just, but as a mnemonic, try thinking of "bywać" as sounding rather like the French-Canadian-English loan word "bivouac" meaning to stop for a momentary encampment while en route elsewhere. It has a certain transience about it too.

Merely a thought, as I said.

You outdid yourself, many thanks.


Thanks Lyzko.