rukes in if

i have found a good reference sourse, but now after reading some of the threads i am confused as to which if, when, that, and so on do i used. polish is hard enough. i have been studing for a few months now and i am beggining to get my head around most of it, but these pronouns are catching me out.

help

chaza

Kiedy (when): pronoun

I was reading at home when somebody knocked to the door.
Czytałam w domu, kiedy ktoś zapukał do drzwi.

Like in English it relates to a time of an action.

Że (that) - conjunction.
It cannot be omitted like in English.

I found out that you had passed your exam.
Dowiedziałem/am się, że zdałeś/aś egzamin.

You cannot say:
To jest sklep, że kupiłam w nim nasze łóżko.
That's a shop (which, that) we bought our bed in. In English this is correct.

Polish "że" (that) is only a conjuction. It links parts of a sentence only. That's why some of us have problems with "that" or "which' in some English sentences (like above)

Który:
* as interrogative (zaimek pytajny) - which
Którą kurtkę kupisz?
Which jacket will you buy?

*as relative pronoun (zaimek względny) - who, which, whose, that

I met a classmate, who I hadn't seen for years.
Spotkałam kolegę, którego nie widziałam przez lata.

This is a book which I like.
To jest książka, którą lubię.

I know a boy whose father is a vet.
Znam chłopaka którego ojciec jest weterynarzem.

That's a shop (which, that) we bought our bed in.
To jest sklep, w którym kupiliśmy nasze łóżko.

thanks for that, but i have another word for "whose", how does this fit in, its czyja.

thanks

chaza

czyj (M) - czyja (F) - czyje (N)

mostly used in questions

Czyj to pies?
Whose dog is it?

also in statements where the owner is not defined/unknown;

Nie wiem, czyj to samochód.
I don't know whose car it is.

If the owner is defined/known, we use który/która/które, just like in the examples from the previous post:

I know a boy whose father is a vet.
Znam chłopaka którego ojciec jest weterynarzem.

i have come up to the following;
Gdybym, gdybyś, gdyby, gdyyśmy, gdybyście, gdyby.
they all seem to be just 'if'

would i be right in saying they are
if i
if you
if they

chaza

yes, that's correct

thanks for that, but i have another word for "whose", how does this fit in, its czyja.

thanks

Depending on the (gramatical) gender of the thing in your question it'll be
czyj, czyja and czyje for masc, fem, and neuter respectively.

e.g.
Czyj jest ten stół (masc.)?
Whose is this table?

Czyja jest ta książka (fem.)?
Whose is this book?

Czyje jest to pióro (neuter)?
Whose is this pen?

... and for plural it'll be czyi and czyje for masculine personal and the other respectively:

Czyi to sa synowie (masc. pers)?
Whose sons are they?

Czyje to są zabawki?
Whose are these toys?

BTW. If you don't know which form to use you can always use 'kogo?' instead of every of them, but remember that this will sound a little colloquial.

Cinek