Language / Variations of these Polish Foul Words [6]

kurwa - a prostitute
wkurwiać - to drive one crazy
przykurwić - to beat
zkurwić - to lower one's moral standards
zakurwić - to hit something
zkurwiały - (adj) someone who lowered down his moral standards
wkurwiony - annoyed
wykurwisty - cool, very good
kurwować - to say 'kurwa', to use rude words
kurewka - a prostitute (dim.)
kurwiki - something Renata Beger has in her eyes ;-)
kurwnięty - (no idea what that means, probably very dependant on the context)
kurwnąć/przykurwnąć (same as above)
kurwiszcze - see 'kurewka'
wykurwiaj - go away!
kurwica - annoyment
zkurwiaj - go away!


There's no single answer to that question. Creating words like these is what the whole art of grammar is about. So, learn the language and you'll know :-)

Cinek

Language / jesc/zjesc and possible english translations for the imperfective/perfective [30]



I agree with Magdalena. You wrote that:


and the 'Poproszę rachunek' exactly belongs to that category. It's just an acronim that expresses a polite way of asking someone to get the bill, and it translates to 'can I have the bill please' in the way that the meaning and the politeness level are the same in both languages (even though the used words are different).

As I (and others) wrote you many times: stop translating words and start reading and listening to people speaking Polish. To learn the language you must use all your senses, not only dictionary.

Cinek

Language / jesc/zjesc and possible english translations for the imperfective/perfective [30]


hmm, maybe because that's how Poles say it? Who said 'czy mogę ma rachunek proszę' is fine? It's not! We just say 'poproszę rachunek' when we mean 'may I have the check' and that's it.

See that from the opposite side. Why to say 'may I have the check' when 'please bill' is fine?

Cinek

Language / Dziękujecie in plural form [11]

No. It is: dziękowaliście (imperf.). Podziękowaliście is the perfective counterpart.

Cinek

Language / Undertsanding case structure (or 'you can't translate English directly into Polish') [10]


Does you cousin correct you when you make a mistake? If not, then ask her to do so. If she just says 'ok, I undestood you' it may make you feel you said something well while it might be just 'understandable' but not gramatically correct.

Every time you make a mistake she should say the same correct way and you should repeat it after her. This is how children learn languages and it is the only way to get the language feeling.

And as the others said, avoid asking 'why'. It won't help you at all at your level and even makes the things more difficult.

Belive me, little children don't ask 'why', they just repeat after they parents and they are usually able to speak with correct grammar in age 3 or 4.

Cinek

Language / "A" and "I" usage in Polish language [22]


It's easy. 'I' connects similarities while 'a' connects differences.
E.g.

Jabłko jest czerwone i wiśnia jest czerwona (both are red - similar)
Jabłko jest czerwona a śliwka jest niebieska (one is red, the other is blue - different)

There was a thread on this already.

Cinek

Language / Question about podoba sie [23]


However the 'very much' may suggest something more.

To make things as easy as possible:

1. Lubić = to like

Ja lubię ciebie (usually just 'lubię cię') = I like you (you as a person, no matter what you look like)

This one works the same direction as in English:
I = Subject, you = object
Ja = Subject , ty (ciebie) = object

2. Podobać się = to look attractive or nicely to someone

Ty mi się podobasz (usually 'podobasz mi się') = I like how you look (no matter if you are a nice person or whether I hate you or love you)

This one works the 'opposite way':
in English: I = subject, you = object
in Polish: Ty = subject, ja (mi) = object.

The 'się' here is just a part of the verb and it means nothing. You just have to memorize that it must be there.

I hope it helps you a little.

Cinek

Language / I teach English to some Polish people - how to explain them tenses? [33]


Right, my mistakes just confirms that English tenses is a complicated matter for Poles :-)
I should have used 'already' instead of 'yet'.


Yes, I know. I just wanted to find anything that is just a little similar to them in Polish to start with.

Cinek

Language / I teach English to some Polish people - how to explain them tenses? [33]


Yes, your explanation is good, but belive me, it's not easy to grasp for someone who doesn't have it in their language (compare the prefective/imperfective verbs in Polish and all the questions people are asking on PF again and again).

I think that showing a similarity to something one already knows is much better than explaining a completely new term (at least for me :-) )

Cinek

Language / I teach English to some Polish people - how to explain them tenses? [33]


There's one way that may work for you. In colloqual Polish (at least in my area) people sometimes use construction like: 'Mam coś zrobione' (which is probably a borrowing from German - Ich habe gemacht). I noticed that this works much like English present perfect for transitive verbs e.g.:

I have done it yet = Mam to już zrobione. (in standard Polish it'd be 'Zrobiłem to już')
I have done it since yesterday = Mam to już zrobione od wczoraj. (st. P. Zrobiłem to wczoraj)
Have you done your homework? = Masz już odrobione lekcje? (st.P. Odrobiłeś lekcje?)

It works with some other transitive verbs too:

Have you cleaned up your room? = Czy masz już posprzątany pokój?
Yes. I have cleaned it up for an hour. = Tak, mam już posprzątane od godziny.
I have eaten everything yet. = Mam już wszystko zjedzone.
I have finished my work. = Mam już skończoną pracę.
etc.

The key here is the use of 'mam' (I have) which is in present (not past) tense. So they'll never say anything like 'I have done it yesterday' because it's also wrong in Polish 'Mam to zrobione wczoraj' (should be 'Mam to zrobione od (since) wczoraj'.

The intransitive verbs may be more problematic though. There's nothing in Polish like 'He has gone' or 'I have been here for a minute'. However, once understood for transitives, it may be easier to to grasp for intransitives too.

It worked for me when I was learning the basics of English, but I live in the former German-Polish borderland, and that 'Mam zrobione' construction is in common use here and well understood. I don't know if it's so in the other parts of Poland, but you can try it.

Cinek

Language / may/might (expression) [25]


It's just short for 'być może' which means literarily 'may be'.

Cinek

Language / Why 'działka'? [10]


This also may mean 'a portion of some substance', mostly drugs e.g.

Kupił dwie działki marychy od dilera pod szkołą.

He bought two portions of marijuana from a dealer by the school.

Cinek

Language / Are the languages of Russian and Polish similar at all? [94]


Only if you are a native Russian speaker. If you just want to take a few hours because you don't want to waste your time, then no. It will be wasting your time. Instead, try watching Polish movies (e.g. on youtube) or listening to the radio. You won't understand much but you'll learn the 'melody' of the language and will get used to the sounds that are used (e.g. sz, ś, ą, ę, ż etc.) It will be more helpful when you start the learning in a future.

Cinek

Language / The correct usage for the word "since" [5]


No, just the meaning may depend on the context and there's no one to one translation for those words that always works.

Cinek

Language / Czego, Czemu, Co, Kto, Jak, Dlaczego? [64]


In fact, saying 'O co panu chodzi' may not be polite in many situations.
The better expression would be 'Co ma Pan/Pani na myśli' or just ' nie rozumiem co Pan/Pani mówi'. This sentence can be used any time you don't understand what someone means or just you don't understand the words they are using.

If you say 'O co panu chodzi' it's a "higher level" of confusion when you have completely no idea what's going on (like: what the f..k are you talking about ???)

cinek

Language / The correct usage for the word "since" [5]


You can also use 'od' in that context in sentences like:

I've been working on it since yesterday.
Pracuję nad tym od wczoraj.

The use of od/odkąd depends on how you express the moment in time something has been (being) done since. If you use a noun then in Polish you use 'od' but if you use some descriptive expression (another setence) then in polish it'd be 'odkąd'. e.g.:

since yesterday - od wczoraj
since last Summer - od zeszłego lata

but:

since he came - odkąd przyjechał
since the bought the new car - odkąd kupił sobie ten nowy samochód...

odkąd = od kiedy

e.g.:

since I met you - od kiedy cię poznałem


Yes. Also you can use 'bo', 'dlatego, że' etc.

Cinek

Language / spotykac/poznawac [6]

Poznać = to get to know

Cinek

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


'Dowiadywać' means 'to learn' in context like:

I learned he's comming today.
Dowiedziałem się że on przyjeżdża dzisiaj.

It means to learn some particular information about something or how to do something etc.
In more general contexts (gathering knowledge) we use 'uczyć się'.

Eg:

Ucząc się języka polskiego dowiedziałem się co to są przypadki rzeczownika.
When I was learning Polish I learned what cases of noun is.

Cinek

USA, Canada / To move back to Poland from the USA or not to move back....that is the question [119]


I dont think Warszawa is a good place to move to spend the rest of your life after retirement. Big, noisy, smelly, jammed, difficult to drive (especially for someone used to American streets) and EXPENSIVE (belive me, your 300000 zł. won't be enough to find anything good to live in there unless 50km from the city center).


I agree. And there are also English lang schools there, so shouldn't be a big problem to find a job, and you'll be able to buy a decent flat or even a small house.

As the others, I recommend you to rent out your current house out (so you can pay for your living in Poland) for a few months, e.g. one school year, and give it a try.

Cinek

Language / będzie potrafił? [34]

I think the easiest (though not perfect) way to understand the difference is to remember that 'wiem' expresses what you have in your mind while 'umiem' says about skills of your body (I know, it's often the same :-).

e.g.
Wiem jak się jeździ na rowerze (trzeba usiąść na sidodełku, trzymać kierownicę i pedałować)

ale

nie umiem tego robić (bo mam problem z utrzymaniem równowagi)

Cinek

Language / będzie potrafił? [34]


Can you give me at least one example in contemporary language where the perfective features can be seen?

Cinek

Language / Is czarnoskóry acceptable? [21]


Neither are 'baba', 'blondynka' or 'kobieta' when talking about someone who is not driving a car... Of course, every word may change its meaning when put in a specific context.

Cinek

Language / będzie potrafił? [34]


.
So, 'potrafię' is present or future ? If it was dokonany than it must be future... No?


Wikipedia:
"...Dopiero na początku XIX wieku, w latach 1807-1814, ukazało się w Warszawie sześciotomowe dzieło. Jego autorem był cudzoziemiec z pochodzenia, Samuel Bogumił Linde..."

What language are we talking about? Maybe Mickewicz or Słowacki could use 'potrafić' as a perfective verb among 'kobita', 'tuszę', 'mocium panie', 'spuść się na mnie' and 'pociot'.


So what wrong with sentence like this:

Po zrealizowaniu programu nauczania przedmiotu ... uczeń będzie potrafił ...


Exactly.

You didn't convince me. In todays Polish 'potrafić' is a pure imperfective verb. In the past it my have been a perfective po-trafić, but it's not so any more.

Cinek

Language / będzie potrafił? [34]


NO! (Occam's razor)

Language / będzie potrafił? [34]


This is because you mean: 'udało mi (perf.) się wejść na drzewo (dlatego że potrafiłem-potrafię (imperf.) to robić )'.
'Potrafić' describes your abilities, not your actions.

Cinek

Language / będzie potrafił? [34]


I'd say it's just an imperfective verb (with no the perfective counterpart) and creating a third cathegory of verb (neither perfective nor imperfective) is not needed here and makes some confusion.

'Potrafić' means to have some ability that someone has or has not (it's not like an action that can be finished (perfective) or not (imperfective)). That verb can be used in present tense, which is a pure 'imperfective' feature in Polish.

Cinek

Language / Pronunciation question - glottal stops [6]


yes

Cinek

Language / to go s/where [13]


No, it's just perfective version of iść.

Cinek

Language / Jeszcze or wciaz? [10]


It does. See that:

- Czy on już wrócił?
- Nie, jeszcze go nie ma.

vs.

- Czy on już wrócił?
- Nie, wciąż go nie ma... (hmm, did anything bad happen?)

Don't you feel the fear in the last sentence ?

Cinek

Language / Jeszcze or wciaz? [10]


I'd say that 'wciąż' just adds some emotions to your expression, while 'jeszcze' only indicates the 'timing'. E.g.:

Wciąż ci cię chce tu pracować?
Do you still want to work here? (even though nobody else wants...)

Tyle razy ci to mówiłem, a ty wciąż nie pamiętasz!
I told you it so many times, but you still don't remember!

'Wciąż' also may mean 'always' e.g.:

Wciąż ci powtarzam, nie pij tyle!
I always tell you, dont' drink so much!

you shoudl also know that wciąż = ciągle e.g.:

Ciągle pada i pada...
It's still raining and raining...

Cinek