The BEST Guide to POLAND
Unanswered  |  Archives 
 
 
User: Guest

Posts by Specjalista  

Joined: 22 Jan 2012 / Male ♂
Last Post: 26 Jul 2016
Threads: 3
Posts: 43
From: UK, Kendal
Speaks Polish?: Kiedy jestem bardzo pijany.
Interests: This, that and the other.

Displayed posts: 46 / page 1 of 2
sort: Oldest first   Latest first   |
Specjalista   
22 Jan 2012
Language / Determining the gender of some nouns in Polish. [6]

Please may I ask.

What is the rule when working out the gender of some nouns such as wysokość, poeta, sędzia?

Does the poeta noun come from poet which is a biologically masculin noun such as tata?

How about wysokość? I know it is feminin but why?

Any help clearing this up would be much appreciated.

Thanks.
Specjalista   
22 Jan 2012
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

Besta

No obvious Polish meaning for this but etymologically it's close to the modern day word from German meaning Best like the best at something. Also close to German for beast - biest.

Sommerling

Old Norse for summer warrior I believe.
Specjalista   
22 Jan 2012
Language / Determining the gender of some nouns in Polish. [6]

gumishu

I used to be a member of this forum some time ago (under a different name) and you used to answer my questions back then too. I hope you are well. Thank you for answering.

May I ask about poeta? is this masculin by biological gender like tata?

Pozdrawiam :)
Specjalista   
10 Apr 2012
Life / Lodz vs Wroclaw - difference in mentality of people? [53]

I've been to both. Lived in £ódź for a month or two and visited Wrocław on many occasions... hands down go to Wrocław! It's beautiful! £ódź is grey and industrial but with a few nice places.
Specjalista   
11 Apr 2012
Travel / Zielona Gora - What's there? [19]

Hello,

I'm about to move to Zielona Gora and wondered if anybody could tell me anything about it.

ANYTHING welcome ;)

Thanks,

Chris
Specjalista   
22 Apr 2012
Language / My struggle learning the Polish language [10]

Hi Aj,

I started learning Polish about 4 years ago and I still don't think I'm much good to be honest. However I do understand a lot and know lots of vocabulary and can get by as long as nothing unusual happens (in shops for example). It's an incredibly difficult language for anyone who's primary language is English to learn. We don't think the same way in terms of how we use verbs and grammatical cases are a complete nightmare!

When you say you can understand, do you mean you can understand everything? I'd be very happy with yourself if you can!

I'd recommend some resources to get you going which have really helped me (and believe me when I say I've tried lots of things!).

Buy the book 301 Polish verbs by Klara Kanecki. This was a revelation to me in terms of how Polish verbs look as when you open the page to any verb you can see all of it's forms and realise how verbs conjugate.

Also I'd recommend you try an audiobook namely the Michael Thomas series starting with Foundation Polish. Get yourself a notebook and sit listening to the audiobook as the format is that of a teacher with 3 students and you being the third student.

Also if there is one thing I've learned it's that learning a language is a lifelong goal and unless you want to dedicate all of your time to it then don't expect miracles! Just being able to answer some simple questions is an achievement in itself.

If you feel like it then feel free to send me a private message and we can exchange email addresses and I'd be happy to chat with you in greater detail.

Pozdrawiam (regards) i powodzenia (good luck),
Chris
Specjalista   
22 Apr 2012
Language / "Widzę stół"- Trying to learn Polish [14]

You're doing well for a start. :)

May I make a suggestion which I went through myself? Learn to write well in English as this will undoubtedly help you in the future with Polish. Don't say ill because it does not mean I'll and i is a word in Polish so always use the English I.

Small things make a difference and in my studies I have found I had to learn lots about my own language in order to learn Polish.

Learn the meaning of these words (you'll need them!):

Noun
Verb
Singular
Plural
Adjective
Gender
Conjugation
Declination
Grammatical Case
Specjalista   
22 Apr 2012
Language / chodźmy vs idźmy? [32]

My 10 pence.

Chodzić - to come

Chodź! - Come!

Iść - to go (by foot)

Idź! - go!

So...

Chodźmy
Idziemy

They both mean lets go/we're going.

Simple. It's not really a big deal unless you think about it too much.
Specjalista   
22 Apr 2012
Travel / Best place to exchange money in Poland? [98]

Merged: Best place to exchange money?

Hello,

I need to change a lot of pounds into złoty (£350+) and have heard several opinions about where I should change the money. Some people say that I'd be better off just withdrawing it from cash machines in Poland whereas some say I should change it in the kantor in Poland.

I could also do it at the post office in England which I hear is quite reasonable.

Thanks for any help.
Specjalista   
22 Apr 2012
Travel / Best place to exchange money in Poland? [98]

Going to Zielona Gora so Warszawa is a little too far ;)

(Note to mods: although I see the reason for you merging this thread it also just throws my post into the dead zone for most members as they feel they've already read it and don't bother to reply. Maybe in future if it could be left in the open for a day before it's merged that would be a better way to go about things. Especially with theis type of posts as invariably the best place to get money changed... changes! Thanks)
Specjalista   
22 Apr 2012
Travel / Best place to exchange money in Poland? [98]

'Kup' means 'buy' (that's the column with the number of zloty you'd get per pound) 'Sprzedaż' means 'sell'

Wiem ale dziekuje!

If you happen to be walkng past that one you would have told me how to get to had I have been going to Warszawa then could you tell me the current rate of £/Zł? It would be a great help for me!
Specjalista   
22 Apr 2012
Language / Foreigners speaking Polish - examples. [61]

John Porter speaking Polish

I was like: Wow, he's good I wonder how long he's been studying Polish...

I googled him and he has lived in Poland since 76'!
Specjalista   
22 Apr 2012
Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1033]

catsoldier

dyke /daik/ n
1. (embankment) grobla f, wał m ochronny
2. (ditch) rów m odwadniający
3. (bank of earth) nasyp m

ditch /dit/
n rów m
Specjalista   
23 Apr 2012
Life / Polish history as a school subject in western Europe [24]

Did you have anything about Poland or eastern europe in your history class during school?

A little but not much. So little I barely remember it.

The level of ignorance about Poland in the UK is generally high and most couldn't find it on a map without help or time.

I've been told that Poland is near the North Pole hence it's name and that it's constantly covered in snow.
Specjalista   
23 Apr 2012
Life / Moving to Poland Part-Time (probably Katowice) [56]

1) suggestions for a good place to move to?

Kraków or Wrocław.

2) Good tips for learning Polish...websites, cd's etc.

Right here. There is a great thread about resources on this very site. One book is 301 Polish Verbs: 301-Polish-Verbs-Conjugated-Barrons which helps you really get a grasp of how verbs conjugate.

Also the Michael Thomas Polish Course on audiobook is very good Michel-Thomas-Method-Polish-Foundation

3) Any advice about buying a house / flat...is is the right time, where to get mortgage, what I could expect to pay?

Wouldn't have a clue, sorry!

to bridge the gap with her family...

Find out when the families name days are and observe woman's day with flowers for all of the girls.
Specjalista   
23 Apr 2012
Life / Polish word for 'queue' [18]

There is no such thing as a queue in Poland only trying to enable everybody to do whatever it is they are trying to do as quickly as possible without causing the process to slow down.

I love when a Pole pronounces the word queue for the first time :) quee ;)