strzyga
3 Jan 2010
strzyga
2 Jan 2010
Language / WHY IS SATELITA MASCULINE? [25]
no.
in "satellite television" satellite (satelitarna) is an adjective and has feminine ending only because the noun television(telewizja) is feminine. As any adjective, it could take any gender ending.
But "satelita" as a noun is always masculine.
satelita as in satellite television is feminine
no.
in "satellite television" satellite (satelitarna) is an adjective and has feminine ending only because the noun television(telewizja) is feminine. As any adjective, it could take any gender ending.
But "satelita" as a noun is always masculine.
strzyga
1 Jan 2010
Language / Which preposition for 'at'? [58]
Just accept that the English construction "go... -ing" is best translated into Polish with the infinitive and don't search for any more synonyms of "iść".
I would like to go skiing - chciałbym pojeździć na nartach
I would like to go shopping - chciałbym pójść na zakupy
I would like to go swimming - chciałbym popływać
etc.
what aboutChciałbym udaję się tanczeniei am not getting the dancing bit yet
Just accept that the English construction "go... -ing" is best translated into Polish with the infinitive and don't search for any more synonyms of "iść".
I would like to go skiing - chciałbym pojeździć na nartach
I would like to go shopping - chciałbym pójść na zakupy
I would like to go swimming - chciałbym popływać
etc.
strzyga
1 Jan 2010
Language / Which preposition for 'at'? [58]
Chciałabym (iść) potańczyć.
"Bym" - 1st person conditional ending - is attached to the conjugated verb "chcieć".
You may also say: Chcę (iść) potańczyć, which is "I want to go dancing".
"Ja" is frequently omitted as verb ending already carries the person.
"I would like" for a female is "chciałabym".
i have had me head in thes e damn books for weeks.those sentences i gave you, how is this one;I would like to go dancingJa był lubie do ide tanczeniei cant work out the other mistakes.
Chciałabym (iść) potańczyć.
"Bym" - 1st person conditional ending - is attached to the conjugated verb "chcieć".
You may also say: Chcę (iść) potańczyć, which is "I want to go dancing".
"Ja" is frequently omitted as verb ending already carries the person.
"I would like" for a female is "chciałabym".
strzyga
1 Jan 2010
Language / Which preposition for 'at'? [58]
Don't worry, you'll make it. But again, try to memorize whole phrases/sentences, not just single words.
Don't worry, you'll make it. But again, try to memorize whole phrases/sentences, not just single words.
strzyga
1 Jan 2010
Language / doing / making - the difference? [20]
I can't ride a horse :)
Same in Polish, you can use present tense for future actions. In English it's Pres. Continuous. Anyway, "co zrobisz na Sylwestra" pertains to the nearest Sylwester only, not to all future ones.
I've told you already that it means "what will you do" and has nothing in common with any job/profession/occupation/whatever. "Jaki jest twój zawód?" or "czym się zajmujesz?" would be "what's your profession/occupation". But it seems that you are waiting for a second opinion - OK, I'm fine with that.
Dziękuję i nawzajem :)
Strzyga,Momentarily thought your "name" had to to with ironing, my error. Confused it only with "strzemie":-)
I can't ride a horse :)
As far as one of your previous posts, in fact, my translation of "Co zrobisz na sylwestra?" as "What do you do for New Year's Eve?" is also right, since in English, the present and the future may often be used interchangably (though in British English, perhaps not)
Same in Polish, you can use present tense for future actions. In English it's Pres. Continuous. Anyway, "co zrobisz na Sylwestra" pertains to the nearest Sylwester only, not to all future ones.
Co zrobisz? = Jak jest twój zawód?
I've told you already that it means "what will you do" and has nothing in common with any job/profession/occupation/whatever. "Jaki jest twój zawód?" or "czym się zajmujesz?" would be "what's your profession/occupation". But it seems that you are waiting for a second opinion - OK, I'm fine with that.
Do siego roku!
Dziękuję i nawzajem :)
strzyga
1 Jan 2010
Language / Which preposition for 'at'? [58]
Chaza, Derevon is right. Try to learn whole phrases and sentences rather than single words. A word-for-word translation may to some extent work with very simple sentences, but don't try it on idioms and compound sentences.
Out of the three sentences you provided, the first and the second are understandable though not correct. The last one however is a big mess, no Pole would be able to make heads nor tails out of it.
Once, when in he US, an older Pole asked me to help him with his homework. He didn't speak English and was attending some kind of a language school. I said OK, he brought two beers and off we went.
The sentence in his book read: This is a table.
'What's that in Polish?', asked pan Staszek.
'To jest stół.'
Pan Staszek began counting.
'This=to. Ok. Is=jest. OK. A=stół. OK. Now, what's table?'
'No. A table=stół.'
'Why are there two English words for a Polish one? And if one is stół, then what's the other one for?'
I tried to explain the notion of a pronoun to him, but he failed to understand that for one simple reason: as the word 'stół' had the third position in the Polish sentence, anything on the third position in the English sentence had to be 'stół'.
Well, eventually we moved on to questions and here pan Staszek seemed to regain the lost ground.
'Czy to jest stół? One, two, three, four. Is this a table? One, two, three, four. Great!'
He grabbed a pencil and started underwiriting meticuously:
Is
Czy
this
to
a
jest
table
stół
There was no way to convince him that not everything was right there. It had to be right, as four words equalled four words! The beer was good though.
See what I mean, Chaza?
Happy New Year :)
Chaza, Derevon is right. Try to learn whole phrases and sentences rather than single words. A word-for-word translation may to some extent work with very simple sentences, but don't try it on idioms and compound sentences.
Out of the three sentences you provided, the first and the second are understandable though not correct. The last one however is a big mess, no Pole would be able to make heads nor tails out of it.
Once, when in he US, an older Pole asked me to help him with his homework. He didn't speak English and was attending some kind of a language school. I said OK, he brought two beers and off we went.
The sentence in his book read: This is a table.
'What's that in Polish?', asked pan Staszek.
'To jest stół.'
Pan Staszek began counting.
'This=to. Ok. Is=jest. OK. A=stół. OK. Now, what's table?'
'No. A table=stół.'
'Why are there two English words for a Polish one? And if one is stół, then what's the other one for?'
I tried to explain the notion of a pronoun to him, but he failed to understand that for one simple reason: as the word 'stół' had the third position in the Polish sentence, anything on the third position in the English sentence had to be 'stół'.
Well, eventually we moved on to questions and here pan Staszek seemed to regain the lost ground.
'Czy to jest stół? One, two, three, four. Is this a table? One, two, three, four. Great!'
He grabbed a pencil and started underwiriting meticuously:
Is
Czy
this
to
a
jest
table
stół
There was no way to convince him that not everything was right there. It had to be right, as four words equalled four words! The beer was good though.
See what I mean, Chaza?
Happy New Year :)
strzyga
1 Jan 2010
strzyga
31 Dec 2009
Language / The longest polish word in existence is..... [23]
it's a chemical term, meaning: having the valency of 999. Such valencies don't actually exist, nevertheless from the lingiustic point the word is correct.
Still I'm not sure if it's the longest possible word. You could try to make something even longer with numerals.
it's a chemical term, meaning: having the valency of 999. Such valencies don't actually exist, nevertheless from the lingiustic point the word is correct.
Still I'm not sure if it's the longest possible word. You could try to make something even longer with numerals.
strzyga
30 Dec 2009
Language / doing / making - the difference? [20]
[quote=Lyzko]Confusing though, Strzyga, as to whether I meant "What do you do?" vs. "What (the heck) are you doing....?"quote]
:))
The tricky part is that both your questions - "What do you do?" vs. "What (the heck) are you doing....?" - would be the same in Polish: co robisz? (for living, or just now).
The "vs." is not Simple vs Continuous aspect, but perfective vs. imperfective. Use "zrobić" where you would use a perfect tense in English:
I've taken some pictures - zrobiłem trochę zdjęć.
It's about going all the way through with some task and finishing it.
Zrobiłem obiad - I prepared a meal and now it is ready to be eaten. I've made dinner, or: I made dinner. Anyway, the job is finished.
I think it's the same with all verbs which take z- as a prefix, like: budować - zbudować:
budowałem dom - I was building a house - we don't know if the construction has ever been finished,
zbudowałem dom - and it id finished now.
Jadłem bułkę - I was eating a roll (but did I finish?)
Zjadłem bułkę - I ate the whole roll; I finished it.
In future tense you may use both forms, as the future is never certain and you can't be sure if you manage to finish anything :)
so: zbuduję dom or będę budować dom. However, the determination to finish it is bigger with the first sentence.
I know it can be a little confusing :)
Guess I'll have to 'iron out' my translations (..no pun intended on your Forum name!):-)
:) and what has my forum name to do with ironing? I hate ironing :)))
[quote=Lyzko]Confusing though, Strzyga, as to whether I meant "What do you do?" vs. "What (the heck) are you doing....?"quote]
:))
The tricky part is that both your questions - "What do you do?" vs. "What (the heck) are you doing....?" - would be the same in Polish: co robisz? (for living, or just now).
The "vs." is not Simple vs Continuous aspect, but perfective vs. imperfective. Use "zrobić" where you would use a perfect tense in English:
I've taken some pictures - zrobiłem trochę zdjęć.
It's about going all the way through with some task and finishing it.
Zrobiłem obiad - I prepared a meal and now it is ready to be eaten. I've made dinner, or: I made dinner. Anyway, the job is finished.
I think it's the same with all verbs which take z- as a prefix, like: budować - zbudować:
budowałem dom - I was building a house - we don't know if the construction has ever been finished,
zbudowałem dom - and it id finished now.
Jadłem bułkę - I was eating a roll (but did I finish?)
Zjadłem bułkę - I ate the whole roll; I finished it.
In future tense you may use both forms, as the future is never certain and you can't be sure if you manage to finish anything :)
so: zbuduję dom or będę budować dom. However, the determination to finish it is bigger with the first sentence.
I know it can be a little confusing :)
Guess I'll have to 'iron out' my translations (..no pun intended on your Forum name!):-)
:) and what has my forum name to do with ironing? I hate ironing :)))
strzyga
30 Dec 2009
Language / doing / making - the difference? [20]
no. sorry :)
Co zrobisz na sylwestra? - What are you going to do on New Year's Eve? (presumably this year, i.e. the nearest New Year's Eve). Practically it's the same as "co robisz na Sylwestra?"
What do you do (in general) on New Year's Eve? would be: Co zwykle robisz na/w Sylwestra?
Co zrobisz na sylwestra? = What do you do (in general) on New Year's Eve?
no. sorry :)
Co zrobisz na sylwestra? - What are you going to do on New Year's Eve? (presumably this year, i.e. the nearest New Year's Eve). Practically it's the same as "co robisz na Sylwestra?"
What do you do (in general) on New Year's Eve? would be: Co zwykle robisz na/w Sylwestra?
strzyga
30 Dec 2009
Language / doing / making - the difference? [20]
well, no.
co tu zrobisz - what are you going to do/achieve here?
what will you do here?
it's future tense, nothing to do with the job
and you may "robić zdjęcia" too, as well as "zrobić zdjęcia".
For example: Co tu ZROBISZ? = What do you do (i.e. what is your job) here?
well, no.
co tu zrobisz - what are you going to do/achieve here?
what will you do here?
it's future tense, nothing to do with the job
and you may "robić zdjęcia" too, as well as "zrobić zdjęcia".
strzyga
30 Dec 2009
Language / Polish nouns of unpredictable gender [50]
Good job on the whole, Derevon, but it seems a bit tricky at some points - I'd say you are much more likely to use "jabłoń" (apple tree - 124 occurences) than "gardziel" (217); the occurence rate of "paznokieć" (nail) is also suspiciously low - 196, while "dań" has 1103. I don't remember ever seeing "dań" as the Nominative case in any text, so I suppose that this frequency is the result of mixing the word with Accusative plural of the word "danie" meaning a course of a meal. I guess that the program counts only words which appear in the texts in their Nom. sing., therefore it counts "paznokieć" and omits "paznokcie". It would be best to check the meanings and judge for yourself if you are likely to need them or not.
Good job on the whole, Derevon, but it seems a bit tricky at some points - I'd say you are much more likely to use "jabłoń" (apple tree - 124 occurences) than "gardziel" (217); the occurence rate of "paznokieć" (nail) is also suspiciously low - 196, while "dań" has 1103. I don't remember ever seeing "dań" as the Nominative case in any text, so I suppose that this frequency is the result of mixing the word with Accusative plural of the word "danie" meaning a course of a meal. I guess that the program counts only words which appear in the texts in their Nom. sing., therefore it counts "paznokieć" and omits "paznokcie". It would be best to check the meanings and judge for yourself if you are likely to need them or not.
strzyga
30 Dec 2009
Language / The longest polish word in existence is..... [23]
yes.
you can make it even longer:
dziewięćsetdziewięćdziesięciodziewięciowartościowy
yes.
you can make it even longer:
dziewięćsetdziewięćdziesięciodziewięciowartościowy
strzyga
30 Dec 2009
Language / doing / making - the difference? [20]
byliśmy, byliście, byli etc. is male, personal, animate - meaning you use it when talking about people of male gender
byłyśmy, byłyście, były etc. is female/neuter/non-animate - all other cases (women, kids, objects)
as for robić, zrobić, wyrobić, there's more: przerobić, dorobić, nadrobić, zarobić, podrobić, odrobić, narobić, wrobić...
actually it's like the English phrasal verbs - make up, make from, make off, make up etc.
There's not much logic to it in either language, I'm afraid. There's no easy way around it and mostly you just need to memorize the right verb for every meaning.
byliśmy, byliście, byli etc. is male, personal, animate - meaning you use it when talking about people of male gender
byłyśmy, byłyście, były etc. is female/neuter/non-animate - all other cases (women, kids, objects)
as for robić, zrobić, wyrobić, there's more: przerobić, dorobić, nadrobić, zarobić, podrobić, odrobić, narobić, wrobić...
actually it's like the English phrasal verbs - make up, make from, make off, make up etc.
There's not much logic to it in either language, I'm afraid. There's no easy way around it and mostly you just need to memorize the right verb for every meaning.
strzyga
27 Dec 2009
Language / Polish nouns of unpredictable gender [50]
The ones in bold are not used very often. You can come across them once in a while, but you may as well do without them. Let's say they're for highly advanced learners.
By the way, if some native Polish speaker could point out which of these words are so rare that one most likely never will encounter them, it would be nice.
The ones in bold are not used very often. You can come across them once in a while, but you may as well do without them. Let's say they're for highly advanced learners.
strzyga
27 Dec 2009
Language / rukes in if [8]
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.
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.
strzyga
5 May 2008
Language / Idiomatic Polish [65]
I think this forum calls for a thread with Polish idioms, as a lot of what passes as slang here is simply everyday colloquial way of speaking.
So, for a good start, just off the top of my head:
stawiać się komuś - to oppose somebody; act arrogantly
rozgrzebać robotę - (exactly what I'm at right now) - to start doing something and not be able to finish; robota jest rozgrzebana
zabierać się do czegoś jak pies do jeża - as above... try to get around to something, with lots of reluctance :)
I think this forum calls for a thread with Polish idioms, as a lot of what passes as slang here is simply everyday colloquial way of speaking.
So, for a good start, just off the top of my head:
stawiać się komuś - to oppose somebody; act arrogantly
rozgrzebać robotę - (exactly what I'm at right now) - to start doing something and not be able to finish; robota jest rozgrzebana
zabierać się do czegoś jak pies do jeża - as above... try to get around to something, with lots of reluctance :)