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Words difference - 'ale' and 'przecież'


chaza 50 | 253
15 Jul 2011 #1
what is the difference between ' ale' and 'przecież'. both mean ' but' clarification please.

thanks

chaza
Lyzko
15 Jul 2011 #2
Ale = but
Przecież = however
Polonius3 994 | 12,367
15 Jul 2011 #3
przecież is closer to after all, isn't it?
Lyzko
15 Jul 2011 #4
Perhaps also "yet", "still", more or less.
SzwedwPolsce 11 | 1,594
15 Jul 2011 #5
If you are unsure, it is more safe to use ale. Most situations with English but, can be translated as ale.
jyjkhfa
15 Jul 2011 #6
Asia kupiła psa, ale nie ma gdzie go trzymać.
(Asia has bought a dog but she don't have a place to keep him)

In above sentence you can't use przecież.

But you can use it in such conversation:
- Asia kupiła psa.
- Przecież nie ma gdzie go trzymać!

(usage of ale in this conversation wouldn't be correct)

So maybe it's that you can't use przecież in the middle of the sentence as a linking word, unlike ale. However ale and przecież aren't quite the synonims. Przecież gives an impression of an astonishment or a reproof:

Przecież ci mówiłem! Ile razy mam ci to powtarzać!?
(I've already told you! How many times you want me to repeat it to you!?)

- Przecież chciałeś żebym kupiła mandarynki
- Tak, ale zmieniłem zdanie!

(- I thought you said you want me to buy tangerines
- Yes, but I've changed my mind)

Notice that those translations aren't very accurate - I used such expressions: "I thought you said", "I've already" out of lack of better phrases which would suite the situation. So as you see the word przecież is not very easy to translate and one must use a substitude pharses (or maybe I'm not right, dear English native speakers?)

I've already told you! How many times you want me to repeat it to you!?

(But) I've already told you! How many times you want me to repeat it to you!?

- I thought you said you want me to buy tangerines
- Yes, but I've changed my mind

- (But) I thought you said you want me to buy tangerines
- Yes, but I've changed my mind
OP chaza 50 | 253
21 Aug 2011 #7
what is the correct usage of the word 'lecz'

chaza
Ziemowit 14 | 4,278
21 Aug 2011 #8
Lekarzu, lecz się sam! This is a translation from the well known Latin proverb: medice, cura te ipsum!
OP chaza 50 | 253
21 Aug 2011 #9
nie rozumie

chaza
Ziemowit 14 | 4,278
21 Aug 2011 #10
This was a joke! Basically, 'lecz' is quite similar to 'ale'. However, not always you can replace one with the other, for example in this sentence: "Ale z Ciebie głuptas!" You can't say: "Lecz z Ciebie głuptas!"
OP chaza 50 | 253
21 Aug 2011 #11
therefore
byłem iść do praca, lecz zdecyduję do iść dom.
byłem iść do praca, ale zdecyduję do iść dom.

correct?

i know the grammar is bad.

chaza
Seanus 15 | 19,674
21 Aug 2011 #12
miałem iść do pracy is correct
Ziemowit 14 | 4,278
21 Aug 2011 #13
This is so, Chaza! Except for the bad grammar, you've grasped the idea perfectly in those two sentences of yours.
OP chaza 50 | 253
21 Aug 2011 #14
is it then a matter of choice which i use, or are there some gramatical rules which determine which i use.
Seanus 15 | 19,674
21 Aug 2011 #15
Przecież is often used at the start or end of a sentence for emphasis. Ale is used after a comma and is just like but.
musicwriter 5 | 87
4 Apr 2012 #16
Asia has bought a dog but she don't have

It's better to say Asia has bought a dog but she doesn't have.... [past perfect tense]


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