Polish language from A to Z. Interrogative sentences with the particle "czy"

Imagine that you are sitting in the stands of a football stadium and watching the game. Only the match is a little strange. A group of guys randomly runs around the field and only dreams of running to the ball, hitting it and hitting it in an unknown direction. No one knows in which direction to send the ball. Side lines, in principle, could not exist. A hand strike surprises no one. Violation? Nobody heard anything about it. This is what a language without grammar looks like.

Several times on my teaching path I met people who once studied at Polish schools or for some time were among native speakers. When they started speak polish I had some rather strange sensations. Like the words are all familiar, but at the same time total chaos. “I come to Minsk to introduce a beautiful woman…”

Grammar organizes thoughts, brings order to them and helps to tame chaos. With. One day, a man who only heard spoken Polish and then began to study grammar told me that he finally understood what his favorite Polish movie was about. Chaos has been tamed.

Grammar carries meaning. We are used to the fact that the bearer of meaning is the word. However, it turns out that a simple grammatical analysis helps to understand the meaning of the statement. Even if you cannot understand the meaning of a word or several words, but you know the case endings of different genders or understand tense forms of the verb, you can roughly understand what the statement is about.

Grammar makes communication easier. One knowledge of words allows you to express an idea in the most general terms. In principle, the alternate pronunciation of words from the dictionary is not too different from sign language. Knowing the basics of grammar will make your statement clear and precise. And this will ease the fate of your interlocutors. Of course, you can say things like "I want a bottle of water" all the time. I think that they will even understand you, but you will cause problems to your interlocutor. Perhaps he will endure a short exchange of primitive phrases with you, but in the future he will not want to talk to you.

Is it necessary to learn grammar in Pole's card ?

Yes need. The consul should see that you are not pronouncing a memorized set of words, but that you understand what you are saying and can formulate your thought into a simple but meaningful statement. And it is very easy to check your understanding, it is worth asking a question in a different form, not in the one that you have memorized, or starting a simple dialogue with you.

How to make it easier for yourself to study grammar, which method is better to turn to? There are many options, but in the end they all come down to two: the traditional school approach and the intuitive approach. In the first case, you will learn the rules, study grammar tables, conjugate, decline. Well, and do many, many exercises ... In the second case, it is proposed to read a lot of texts, constantly listen to the language. It seems like after a while on a subconscious level a person learns to build the right statements.

In my opinion, the truth lies in the middle of these two extremes. I love the traditional approach to learning grammar, it pays off, but after the tablets and exercises to automate new material, I definitely reinforce the material with a significant number of exercises for the development of conversational speech. Otherwise, a situation will turn out when a person ideally does written exercises, but cannot use knowledge in a conversation. For example, I need to reinforce the use of past tense verbs in speech. I propose to describe the pictures, tell what the person did yesterday, a month ago, and so on. You can offer to write a text about your last vacation and ask him to tell. A lot of options to make sure that the automation of skills occurs in colloquial speech.

Linguistic intuition will begin to appear when a person understands the principles of functioning of a living organism, which is language. It's like with a person's experience: first we fill bruises over and over again, we get "nuts" from life, and then we acquire it and use it. By the way, I heard the opinion that intuition is an extensive life experience that tells us how to act correctly.

This article is intended both for those who begin a serious and thorough study of the language, and for those who want to master the elementary skills of reading, writing, translating and conducting a simple conversation in a short time.

Self-study is facilitated by numerous comparisons with the Russian language, minimized by linguistic terminology.

The article contains the necessary minimum of linguistic information, which, hopefully, will serve as an incentive for further study of the language and culture of such an interesting country as Poland.

Polish alphabet

The modern Polish alphabet consists of 32 letters (9 vowels and 23 consonants). The letters of the Latin alphabet Q, V, X are also used in borrowed words.

Polish alphabet

Letter	Name	Example
A a	a	a niol (angel)
ą	ą	mą dry (smart)
Bb	be	beczka (barrel)
C C	ce	c orka (daughter)
Ć ć	cie	ć ma (mol)
D d	de	d om (house)
e e	e	e dukacja (education)
ę	ę	dzię kuję (thank you)
F f	ef	f arba (paint)
G g	gie	g ość (guest)
H h	ha	h ak (hook)
I i	i	i stnienie (existence)
Jj	jot	raj (paradise)
Kk	ka	k wiat (flower)
l l	el	l as (forest)
Ł ł	el	ł oś (moose)
M m	em	m iłość (love)
N n	en	n oga (leg)
ń	en	koń (horse)
O o	o	o kno (window)
Ó ó	about kreskowane	bó l (pain)
Pp	pe	piłka (ball)
(Qq)	ku
R r	er	róża (rose)
S s	es	s ol (salt)
Ś ś	es	ś roda (Wednesday)
T t	te	talerz (plate)
U u	u	u niwersytet (university)
(vv)	fall
W w	wu	w oda (water)
(xx)	iks
Y y	igrek	syn (son)
Zz	zet	z ywód (profession)
Ż ż	ziet	żelazo (iron)
Ź ź	Zet	ź le (bad)

About Polish accent

Polish stress fixed, permanent. It usually falls on the penultimate syllable. The stressed syllable is distinguished with less force than in Russian. It should be remembered that vowels in unstressed syllables do not change either qualitatively or quantitatively, i.e. there is no reduction of vowels (“akanie”). In any position, regardless of the stress-unstress of the syllable, all vowels are pronounced equally clearly.

But not all words are stressed on the penultimate syllable. The exception is some grammatical forms and words, as a rule, borrowed.

The stress on the third syllable from the end has borrowed words with the suffix -ik(a), -yk(a): ‘technika, ‘fabryka, ‘fizykiem and some others ( ‘opera, re'pertuar, uni'wersytet).

The same stress (on the third syllable from the end) is characteristic of individual verb forms (for example, forms 1 and 2 of the past plural person: ‘byliśmy, czy'taliscie) and some numerals ( ‘czterysta, ‘siedemset, ‘osiemset, ‘dziewięćset).

In modern colloquial language, however, there is trend towards unification accent points ( czyta'licie, o'siemset, which, however, is not yet included in the norm).

Vowels "a", "o", "u (ó)"

There are 8 vowels in Polish, of which 2 are nasal and 6 are so-called pure. The "pure" include, in particular, vowels "a", "o", "u (ó)".

Vowel " a"- pronounced like Russian [a] in a stressed syllable.

Vowel " o"- is pronounced almost like Russian [o] in a stressed syllable, but with less labialization.

Vowel " u”- pronounced like Russian [y], but the lips are more advanced. The sound has a double graphic image: " u» — « ó ". "ó" in a closed syllable alternates with "o" in an open one: bob — bobu. « ó ” most often corresponds to Russian [o], and Polish “u” to Russian [y].

Vowel "e"

Vowel " e"- is pronounced like a Russian substressed [e] (for example, in the word this is). Before "e" consonants are not softened:

Eva	meta	te	potem	metoda
Edek	mewa	ten	poeta	moment
epoka	topic	tent	nowe	decade
effect	apteka	magnetophone	cometa	moneta

Vowels "y", "i". Soft and hard consonants

Vowels " y», « i» - variants of one sound. The consonants before "u" are hard, those before "i" are soft.

Vowel " y"- front row, medium rise. When pronouncing "u", the tongue is less elevated than when pronouncing Russian [s]:

ty	hymn	system	nowy	mommy
wy	wyraz	dywan	stary	znamy
my	cyrk	dobry	difficult	kochamy
syn	Crimea	kuzyn	tygrus	pyramy
dym	ryby	Edyta	wystawa	wystawy

Vowel " i"- front row, high rise. Depending on the position in the word, the letter "i" is pronounced differently or not pronounced at all.

At the beginning of a word or syllable(in position after a vowel) " i» is pronounced iotized, which is not indicated spelling (letter combination ji only possible after z, s, With):

ich	moi-moimi	boisko	Ukraine
im	twoi-twoimi	naive	stoisko
inny	swoi—swoimi	uspokoi	zaimek
import	stoi - stoimy	kraina	Aida

Between two consonants or at the end of a word the letter "i" denotes a sound similar to Russian [i]. At the same time, it is an indicator of the softness of the preceding consonant, and the labial consonants b-p; w-f; m before [i] soften more "intensely" than in Russian:

cinema	egzamin	jaki	Victor	piwo
pani	niski	taki	pismo	wino
minutes	wysoki	Chiny	nazwisko	robi
nic	drugi	kwit	firma	mowi

In combination [ consonant + "i" + vowel] « i" does not denote a sound: it is only a graphic indicator of the softness of the preceding consonant, a kind of "Polish soft sign". Before vowels a, o, u (o), e consonants can soften b, p, w, f, m, n; before e also g, k. Of the listed consonants at the end of a word or syllable, only " n» ( blood, steppe — Crew, step). Before "e" consonants "k", "g" are most often soft ( -kie-, -gie-). For example, the pronunciation of words Kopernik — piernik; bada — Biada; pasek — piasec; zdrowe — zdrowie. More examples:

In combination [ consonant + "i" + vowel] the letter "i" can stand for [j]. (As already noted, "j" is written only after prefixes and consonants z, s, c). This pronunciation is typical mainly for words of foreign origin ("j" is written only after prefixes and consonants z, s, c).

Consonants " d», « t», « r” are only hard, so the “i” between them and vowels (in borrowed words) is also pronounced as [j] (separating hard sign).

Nasal vowel "ą" (at the end of a word and before fricative consonants)

nasal vowel " ą » - labialized, back row, has a nasal resonance in position before the consonants "w", "f", "z", "s", "ż (rz)", "sz", "ź", "ś", "ch ' and at the end of the word. Does not occur at the beginning of a word. When articulating "ą", it is necessary, while pronouncing [o], to prepare for pronunciation [n] and make sure that the articulation [n] is not completed:

Nasal vowel "ę" (before fricatives and at the end of a word)

nasal vowel " ę » - non-labialized, back row. Has nasal resonance before fricative consonants. Articulatory similar to "ą". At the end of a word, nasal resonance is lost. It is useful to keep in mind that the nasal "ę", "ą" often correspond to Russian [y], [yu], [ya]:

(The return component " się» is written in Polish separately from the verb, may precede it and be separated from it by other words. In the presence of several reflexive verbs " się", as a rule, is used once. Does not affect the location of the accent.)

Consonants "m", "n", "b", "p", "d", "t", "w", "f", "g", "k"

Polish consonants, like Russian ones, can be hard and soft, voiced and deaf. Voiced consonants, as in Russian, are stunned at the end of a word and before voiceless consonants.

Consonants " m», « n» - sonorous, nasal, solid. Pronounced like Russian [m], [n]:

Consonants " d», « t» - anterior lingual teeth, hard. Form a pair of sonority / deafness. Pronounced like Russian [d], [t] respectively:

Consonants " g», « k» - posterior lingual, hard. Form a pair of sonority / deafness. Pronounced like Russian [g], [k]:

Consonants "r", "z", "s", "c", semi-vowel "j"

Consonant " r» - front-lingual, hard. Pronounced like Russian [r]:

Consonant " c» - front-lingual, hard. Pronounced like Russian [ts]:

co	radca	cena	concert	scene
cud	praca	ocena	processes	ocean
noc	wraca	Jacek	percent	French
koc	owca	corka	centrum	censorship

Semivowel " j» - middle language, slotted. In Russian, it corresponds to the sound [y] (the letter "y" at the end of the word and before consonants) or - in combination with vowels - iotized vowels "e", "ya", "ё", "yu": day — give, wojna — war; moja — my:

Sound " j» meets and after consonants, however, with the letter "j" it is depicted only after the prefixes ( obj azd) and consonants " z», « s», « c(mostly in loanwords). Pronounced like Russian [ b] (separating solid sign):

Consonant "ch" ("h")

Consonant " ch» - posterior lingual, hard, deaf. Pronounced like Russian [x].

The sound has a double graphic image: " ch», « h»:

hak	humor	fach	herbata	chmura
hook	herbs	dach	ucho	Chustka
huta	chata	gmach	kocha	rachunek
chor	huragan	mucha	choroba	horoscope

The correctness of spelling will help to check the Russian language: the Russian “x” corresponds to the Polish language “ch” ( chata, mucha), in place of the Polish "h" there is "g" ( hymn — hymn) or "zero sound" ( harfa — harp). There are also exceptions: hokej.

Consonants "ż (rz)" - "sz", "dż" - "cz", "dz". Letter combinations "szcz"; "żdż"; "dzdz"

Consonants " ż », « sz» - anterior lingual hard. Form a pair of sonority / deafness. Pronounced respectively as Russian [zh], [sh]. At the end of a word and before voiceless consonants, "ż" is stunned into "sz":

zona	duzy	ważny	noz	subroz
Zakiet	polar	każdy	ryz	pasazer
szeroki	Warzawa	sztuka	nasz	kochasz
szosty	zeszyt	mieszkam	wasz	proszek

Consonant " rz» - does not differ in pronunciation from "ż" (when stunning "sz"). In cognate Russian words to Polish " rz"corresponds to a soft sound [p '] (as already indicated, the sound "r" in Polish words is only hard), consonant " ż "- Russian [zh], less often [h] or [s]: morz e — sea ​​e; moze — maybe. After "ż" ("rz") and "sz" do not write "i":

It is useful to take into account some other regularities. So, for example, Russian letter combinations [ -here-], [-oro-], [-olo-] often correspond to Polish without the first vowel: Coast — brzeg, freezing — mroz, road — droga etc. Russian prefixes re- , pre- , pro- corresponds in Polish prefix prze- ; prefix at- – Polish przy- :

drzewo	przyroda	przewoz	przepiszesz
brzeg	przerwa	przyprawa	przeczytasz
brzoza	przod	przecena	przechytrzysz

Consonants " dz», « cz» - hard, front-lingual. Form a pair of sonority / deafness. Consonant " dz» is found mainly in loanwords: dżem, dżentelmen, dżudo, dżokej. Consonant " cz"much harder than the Russian" h ". Pronounced approximately like [hsh] in the word " better". After "dż", "cz" in Polish words "i" is not written:

Consonant " dz» - voiced pair of consonant "c". Pronounced together, approximately as in the word " bridgehead". At the end of a word and before voiceless consonants, it is pronounced as "c":

Consonants "ń", "l", "ł"

Consonant " ń » - unlike "m", "b", "p", "w", "f", "g", "k", it can be soft not only before a vowel, but also at the end of a word or before a consonant. In this case, softness is indicated by a special superscript (" kreska"). The softness of the consonant "ń" is somewhat "more intense" than the Russian [n ']:

Consonant " l» - pronounced like Russian soft [l '] only before "i": lipa — Linden. In other cases, "l" does not have a match in Russian (this is the so-called "European sound l"). After "l" is not written "y":

list	byli	stolica	rabbit	liceum
plik	bliski	tablica	climate	policy
liters	line	ulica	polityk	szalik

Other examples:

Watch for the correct articulation of "l"

la-	las	lampa	class	chwila	Polak
lo-	lot	lotnik	diploma	samolot	lody
le-	lek	chleb	ticket	problem	ale
lu-	lod	love	bluzka	ludowy	club
l-	Wilk	kilka	Polska	tylko	wolny
-l	style	handel	rubel	szpital	sol

(The names of nationalities are capitalized: Polak, Rosjanin)

Consonant " ł » - solid, pronounced as a non-syllable (very short) [y] (very close to the Belarusian "ў"). Does not match with "i":

Watch out for the pronunciation of "ł"

La-	Ladny	latwy	bylam	byla	Wisla
lo-	czolo	slownik	zloty	mlody	krzeslo
Le-	Leb	male	bylem	zle	stolek
Lu-	Luk	glowy	dugo	glupi	slucham
Ly-	Lyk	Lysy	maly	zly	plyta
ł-	Zolty	żółw	łza	polnoc	malpa
-ł	byl	title	stoł	artykul	dol

Consonants "ź", "ś"

Consonants " ź », « ś » - medium-tongue, soft. Form a pair of sonority / deafness. Historically correspond to Russian [з'], [s']. There are no similar sounds in Russian. The softness of "ź", "ś" before vowels is indicated with the letter "i", before consonants and at the end of the word with an accent: Kasia — Kaska. Examples:

zia-	ziarno	busia	Zuzia	Kazia
zio-	ziola	koziol	jezioro	Jozio
zie-	ziemia	ziewa	zielony	przywiezie
ziu-	Ziuta	ziolko	bliziutko	Kaziu!
zi-	winter	zimno	grozi	Kazimierz
-ź-	źle	poźno	groźba	przyjazń
sia-	siano	siatka	Zosia	prosiak
sio-	siostra	siodlo	osioł	jesiotr
sie-	siedem	osiem	jesien	Sienkiewicz
siu-	siodmy	Jasiu!	Kasiu!	Marysiu!
si-	strong	prosi	posilek	sito
-ś-	Jas	Sroda	glośno	Sniadanie

Consonants "ć", "dź"

Consonants " ć », « dź» - affricative, soft. They form a pair of deafness / sonority. Historically correspond to Russian [t'], [d'] ( byc — to be, gdz.ie — where).

Consonant " ć » - softer than Russian [h]. This sound is transmitted in writing with the letter "ć" only at the end of a word and before consonants. Before vowels, it is represented by a combination of letters [ ci-]:

cia-	ciasno	chiastko	Sciana	babcia
cio-	ciocia	cios	ciosak	szescioro
cie-	cieplo	zycie	ojciec	ciekawy
ciu-	ciuchy	ciuchcia	kciuk	kościól
ci-	cisza	cicho	trzeci	przecinek
-ć-	ćma	gość	byc	ćwierć

More examples:

Pay attention to the pronunciation and spelling of the hard "cz" and soft "ć"

nauczyciel	wycieczka	ćwiczenie
uczciwy	czcionka	uroczyscie
czyscic	uczycie	czuć
uccucie	oczywiscie	czcic
placzecie	Czech	na poczcie
czy-ci	zasilacz - yasilać	gracz - grać
bicz-bicz	odtwarzacz - odtwarzać	miec - miec
leczy—leci	słuchacz — słuchacz	badac - badac

Consonant " dź» — very soft, fused sound. The letter "dź" is used at the end of a word and before consonants; before vowels, the combination [ dzi-]:

dzia-	dziadek	Jadzia	wydzial	poniedzialek
dzio-	dziadzio	Włodzio	zadziorny	rozwiedziona
dzie-	dzien	dziecko	gdzie	Niedziela
dziu-	dziura	dziob	dziupla	Jadziu!
dzi-	dzis	godzina	chodzi	goździk
-dź-	dźwig	Lodz	gwoźdź	niedźwiedź

Nasal vowel breakdown

Vowels " ą », « ę ”, as already noted, retain nasal resonance only before fricative consonants and at the end of the word (“ą”). In other cases, one can speak of nasal disintegration.

Before the consonants g», « k» - nasal "ą", "ę" break up into "pure" [o], [e] and a nasal consonant similar to [ŋ] in English combination or in Russian words gong, paragraph:

Before labial consonants b», « p» - nasal "ą", "ę" break up into "pure" [o], [e] and nasal consonant [m]:

Before front-lingual " d», « t», « dz», « With» - nasal "ą", "ę" break up into "pure" [o], [e] and consonant [n]:

Pronounce "ą", "ę" as [on], respectively

pred	predko	poczatek	chatnie
bad	blędy	piatek	pietro
rzad	wedka	dziesiaty	zajęty
porządek	kolęda	whatpic	pamitac
skad	tedy	wyjatek	Swięto
pieniadze	pieniedzy	miesiac	wicej
Grudziadz	spedzać	tysiac	skręcac
ksiadz	ksidza	zajac	ręce
mosiadz	miedzy	brzdac	wiec

Before soft anterior lingual " dź», « ć » - nasal "ą", "ę" break up into "clean" [o], [e] and soft nasal [ń]:

Before the consonants l», « ł » - nasal "ą", "ę" are pronounced as "pure" vowels [o], [e]:

Assimilation of consonants

The pronunciation of consonants can be influenced by both preceding and following sounds. When reading groups of consonants, one must keep in mind the results of the so-called consonant assimilation.

As in Russian, in the consonant group [voiced + deaf], both sounds are pronounced as deaf: podp is[-tp-], czekoladk a[-tk-], wt orek .

In the [voiced + voiced] group, both sounds are pronounced loudly: prośb a[-zb-], liczb a[-dzb-], takz e[-gż-].

The consonants "w", "rz" after the deaf ones are pronounced as [f], respectively: k.w.iat , lekarstw o[-tf-], krz eslo .

When reading the letter combinations [-nk-], [-ng-], a nasal resonance appears: bank[-ŋk], English lia[-ŋg-].

odp owiada	Swiat	chw ila	Mongolia
książk a	k.w.iat	czw artek	kong res
wojewodzt wo	sw oj	kw adrat	okienk o
powt arza	utw or	Swiadek	Rosjank a

Softness of "d", "t", "z", "s", "r" in loanwords

Consonants " d», « t», « z», « s», « r”, as already mentioned, do not have soft pairs. However, in words of foreign origin, and, above all, proper names , , , , there are, for example, the pronunciation of words (geographical names) Sieradz[se-] and Sierra Leone .

It should also be borne in mind that in Polish, foreign proper names, written in Latin, most often retain the original spelling: Miterrand (Mitterrand), Chopin (Chopin), Churchill, Freetown, Cannes (Cannes), line Maginota (Maginot line) etc.

Tirana	dinar	Zimbabwe	riksza
tik	diuna	Zanzibar	riposta
tiul	diwa	Singapore	Riepin
festival	dinosaur	Sierow	ring

However, in the word Nazism, for example, pronounced [źi].

gender of nouns

In Polish, nouns differ by gender. As in Russian, masculine, feminine and neuter are distinguished. It should be borne in mind that Russian and Polish words that are close in sound and meaning do not always belong to the same grammatical gender (Russian “ panel"- feminine, Polish. " panel"- masculine):

masculine		Feminine		Neuter gender
dom	on	woda	ona	windows	ono
cat		mapa		eye
tata		Anna		dno

Nouns in -um belong to the middle gender (except album, costium) and in the singular do not decline: forum.

gender of adjectives

Adjectives and other agreed definitions, depending on the gender, have endings -y , -i ; -a ; -e (-ie ).

masculine		Feminine		Neuter gender
jaki?	nowy	jaka?	nowa	jakie?	nowe
	stary		stara		stare
	niski		niska		niskie
	wysoki		wysoka		wysokie

Animate and inanimate nouns

In Polish, as in Russian, they differ animate and inanimate nouns. The first answers the question Who to jest? ", the second - " With to jest? ". Unlike the Russian language, the linking verb in such constructions is rarely omitted:

• Who is it? — Who to jest?
• This is a student. —To jest student.

In the design " So to za…? » the linking verb is usually absent.

Interrogative pronoun "czyj". Possessive pronouns

In response to a question about ownership, including pronouns czyj, czyja, czyje, can be used similar to Russian possessive pronouns:

• moj, moja, moje / nasz, nasza, nasze;
• twoj, twoja, twoje / wasz, wasza, wasze;
• jego, jej / ich;
• swoj, swoja, swoje.

In the function of possessive pronouns when referring to the interlocutor "to you" in Polish, the words are used pan, pani in the genitive case:

• Czyj to syn, pani? (referring to interlocutor) Yes, my;
• Czyj to syn, Pani Annie? (question about the "third" person) - Yes, jej.

The same words replace the polite "You" in different cases and in other cases:

• So pan czyta?(referring to interlocutor) Czytam czasopismo.
• Cocyta tenpan? (question about the "third" person) - On czyta czasopismo.

More examples (pay attention to the use of possessive pronouns and words pan, pani):

• Czyj to zeszyt? — To jest moj zeszyt.
• Czyja to rzecz? — To jest twoja rzecz.
• Czyja to teczka? — To jest jego teczka.
• Czyj to wiersz? — To jest jej wiersz.
• Czyja to gazeta? — To jest pana gazeta.
• Czyje to pioro? — To jest pani pioro.
• Czyj to bagaz? — To jest nasz bags.
• Czyje to miejsce? — To jest wasze miejsce.
• Czyja to corka? — To jest ich corka.

Interrogative sentences with the particle "czy". Negative "nie"

In Polish, a question is usually constructed with an interrogative word ( who, co, czyj, jaki etc.) or interrogative particle czy, which is placed at the beginning of the sentence: Czy masz brata?» into Russian czy not translated or translated by the particle " whether» ( You have a brother? — Do you have a brother?). Particle in another position czy can be translated as " or»: « (Czy) masz psa czy kota?»

The negatives “no” and “not” are translated into Polish in the same way: “ nie»: Czy znasz tego pana? — Nie, nie znam(if a one-syllable word follows the negation, the stress “transfers” to “ nie"). Examples:

• Czy pan Czechowicz mieszka w Warszawie?
  • Tak, on mieszka w Warszawie.
  • Nie, on mieszka w Krakowie.
• Czy pani dawno mieszka w Moskwie?
  • Tak, mieszkam tu dawno.
  • Nie, niedawno.
• Przepraszam, czy to jest Szczytno?
  • Tak, to jest Szczytno.
  • Nie, to jest Bydgoszcz.

Constructions mieć na imię, nazywać się

Read and memorize the structures.

"Thank you", "please", "sorry"

Russian polite " please», « Thanks», « sorry» correspond in Polish to personal forms of verbs prosic, dziękować, przepraszać: "dziękuję" - "I thank", "dziękujemy" - "we thank", etc.:

• Dziękuję (bardzo)! (dziękujemy)
  • Prosze (bardzo)!
  • Nie ma za co!
  • Nie ma sprawy!
• Przepraszam (bardzo)! (przepraszamy)
  • Nie szkodzi!
  • Nie ma sprawy!

Present tense of the verb "to be"

As already mentioned, the linking verb in Polish is rarely omitted: He (she) is already healthy (healthy) — On (ona) juz jest zdrowy (zdrowa).

This also applies to the 1st person singular present tense " jestem»: I'm already healthy (healthy) — Juz jestem zdrowy (zdrowa).

Verb "być" in present tense has the forms of all faces (complete paradigm). Remember the famous and get acquainted with some new forms:

1. jestem / jesteśmy;
2. jesteś / jestescie(remember that the 3rd person singular verb is used to address “on you”. The 2nd person plural is addressed to a group of people with whom we are “on you”, for example, children);
3. jest.

Past tense of the verb "to be"

Unlike Russian, Polish past tense forms of the verb "to be" have not only generic endings, but also personal ones. Here are some of these forms (1st and 3rd person singular):

• bylem- I was;
• bylam- I was;
• byl- he was;
• byla- She was;
• bylo- (it was.

Past tense of the verb to be" (singular):

masculine	Feminine	Neuter gender
(ja) bylem	(ja)bylam	bylom
(ty)byleś	(ty) bylaś	byłoś
on (pan) był	ona (pani) była	ono bylo

Personal pronouns 1 and 2 persons are used much less frequently in Polish than in Russian. They are obligatory only when contrasted and in a position under logical stress ( Ja tam bylem, a ty nie byleś.).

neuter forms bylom, byłoś are used extremely rarely.

Future tense of the verb "być"

The future tense of the verb " byc»:

1. będę / będziemy;
2. będziesz / będziecie;
3. bębzie / będą.

The future tense forms of the verb "być" can be used independently ( I will be at home — będę w domu), and - with the infinitive - to form the complex future tense of imperfective verbs ( I will read — będę czytac).

Past tense of the verb "być" (plural forms)

As already mentioned, in the Polish language, the so-called personal-masculine form is distinguished in the plural:

• wszyscy oni- people with the obligatory presence of men;
• wszystkie one- women, children, animals, objects.

Verbs in the past tense and, in particular, the verb "być" also have a personal-masculine form in the plural, opposed to "impersonal":

• Jacek i Agata byli w kinie.
• Magda i Anna byly w kinie.

Past tense of the verb byc" (plural):

Pay attention to the use of polite words panie, panowie, państwo with the 3rd person plural of the verb być:

• Czy panie byly w kinie?- You ( to women) have been to the cinema?
• Czy panowie byli w kinie?- You ( to men) have been to the cinema?
• Czy państwo byli w kinie?- You ( to men and women) have been to the cinema?
• In spoken language, the 2nd person plural form is also possible: czy bylicie państwo…

Nominal compound predicate

Nominal compound predicate represented in Polish by different models:

• bundle to and a noun with or without a definition in nominative case: Krakow- to stare miasto.
• linking verb in present, past, or future tense and a noun with or without a modifier in instrumental: Krakow jest starym miastem.
• linking verb in the present, past, or future tense and an adjective or other agreed definition in nominative case: Krakow jest story.

Conjugation of the verbs "być", "mieć" (present tense). Verbs III conjugation

The present tense of the verb byc» :

1. jestem / jesteśmy;
2. jesteś / jesteście;
3. jest / są.

As already mentioned, personal pronouns ja, ty, my, wy are used in Polish less frequently than similar ones in Russian.

In the third person plural, the so-called personal-masculine (pronoun oni) and “impersonal” (pronoun one) forms. Depending on the belonging to these forms, the word "everything" is translated as " wszyscy" and " wszystkie" respectively:

• Oni wszyscy są naszymi kolegami.
• One wszystkie są naszymi koleżankami.

The present tense of the verb miec» :

1. mam / mamy;
2. masz/macie;
3. ma / maja.

Verbs are conjugated in the same way. czytac, mieszkac, sign, opowiadać, odpowiadać, pomagac, ogladać, powtarzać, wyjeżdżac and others. A group of such verbs is combined into a common type of conjugation (III).

Instrumental case

Forms instrumental neuter and masculine nouns have a consonant in the singular, ending -em/ 'em (before "-e" consonants are softened k, g: chemik — chemikiem; God — Bogiem). Agreed definitions accept endings -ym , -im (Jan był dobrym pracownikiem). In the plural for nouns of all genders, the ending is the same -ami , for definitions - -ymi , -imi (Jan i Maria byli dobrymi pracownikami).

As in Russian, the forms instrumental may make suggestions. Preposition " z» (« ze”) is used, in particular, to denote the “compatibility” of an action: with son — z synem.

AT instrumental singular nouns are feminine, masculine in -a and male surnames -o take the ending -ą . The same ending is also used for agreed definitions of the feminine gender, for example:

• Ona jest moją koleżanką.
• On jest my kolegą.

Forms instrumental case with prepositions z, above, pod, za, przed and others are used in different meanings, for example: z kolega(compatibility), over ziemi, pod-domem, za miastem(place), przed wojna(time), etc.

Alternation of consonants in the prepositional case

In Polish there are no soft consonants , , , , . Instead of them, "ź", "ś", "dź", "ć", "rz" appear. The grammatical position where alternations occur z-ź, s-s, d - dź, t-ć, r - rz, as well as l-ł, is, first of all, prepositional singular nouns with a stem into a solid consonant (except for "k", "g", "ch"), having an ending '-e : class — w classie, teatr — w teatrze, zeszyt — w zeszycie etc. The remaining hard consonants before this ending are successively replaced by their soft “pairs”: [b] - , [p] - , [w] - , [f] - [f], [m] - , [n] -[n]: mapa — on mapie, film — about filmie, cinema — w kinie(exceptions - dom, syn, pan ending - " — u» :w domu).

Groups of consonants can alternate: maslo — masl e(sł - śl), pism o — pismie(sm - śm’), etc., as well as vowels [ -a] — [-e]: mia sto — w mie Scie, la s — w le sie, cia lo — na cie le.

Agreed Definitions masculine and neuter have endings in the prepositional case -ym , -im , female -ej .

In plural noun endings -ach , agreed definitions - -ych , -ich .

Accusative case of nouns ending in -a, -i and feminine agreed definitions

AT accusative singular nouns feminine to vowel, masculine to -a and male surnames -about have an ending -ę . Exception: pani — pania.

Agreed feminine definitions end in -ą . Exception: ta — te.

Accusative forms answer questions who? with?, i.e. in the masculine gender, as in the Russian language, it is important that the word belongs to animate or inanimate nouns:

• mom nową książkę;
• mom nowe czasopismo;
• mom nowy text;
• mom nowego lektora (kolegę).

Unstressed elements

Some monosyllabic words and elements of words do not carry stress and do not affect its place in the preceding or following word, although they are pronounced together with it. Unstressed are:

• reflexive and monosyllabic personal pronouns: ‘zwali go, ‘daj mi to, ‘znamy sę:
• particles no, Zee(no is written separately, Zee- merged): ‘daj no to, prze'czytajze.
• negation nie and monosyllabic prepositions (do, u, z, above, w etc.), except when they are followed by a monosyllabic word: nie ‘mamy — 'nie mam; nie'znamy — 'nieznam; do 'niego — ‘do niej etc.

Cardinal and ordinal numbers, date notation

Cardinal numbers 1-20:

1-jeden	6 - szesk	11 - jedenaście	16 - szesnascie
2-dwa	7-siedem	12 - dwanaście	17 - siedemnascie
3-trzy	8-osiem	13 - trzynaście	18 - osiemnascie
4-cztery	9 - dziwięć	14 - czternascie	19 - dziewiętnaście
5 - pięć	10 - dziesięć	15 - piętnaście	20 - dwadzieścia

In Polish, as in Russian, there are generic forms of numerals jeden — jedna — jedno, inflected as adjectives, and forms dwa(male and neuter), dwie(female).

In numerals 15, 19 "ę" is pronounced like [e].

Quantitative numbers answer the question ile? , for example:

• Ile pan (-i) ma lat? (Ile masz lat?) — How old are you (you)?
• Mam 20 (dwadzieścia) lat. — I am 20 (twenty) years old.

Ordinal numbers 1-20:

1st - pierwszy	6th - szosty	11th - jedenasty	16th - szesnasty
2nd - drugi	7th - siódmy	12th - dwunasty	17th - siedemnasty
3rd - trzeci	8th - osmy	13th - trzynasty	18th - osiemnasty
4th - czwarty	9th - dziewiąty	14th - czternasty	19th - dziewiętnasty
5th - pity	10th - dziesiąty	15th - piętnasty	20th - dwudziesty

Ordinal numbers sequentially answer the question ktory?(in contrast to the Russian language, where the question “ which?»).:

• jaki? — duży, mały, dobry, zly, wysoki, niski, ładny …
• ktory? - pierwszy, ósmy, dwudziesty, ostatni, ten ...

Ordinal numbers change in the same way as adjectives: by gender, case and number: trzeci rząd, w siodmej klasie, w pierwszych dniach, do dwudziestego wieku etc.

Using ordinal numbers to build date designations(day of the month, year):

• Who to był rok?- 2005. (Dwatysiące piąty).
• W ktorym to było roku?- W 2005. (W dwa tysiące piątym).
• Ktory (dzień) jest dziś?— Dziś jest 12.10. (dwunasty paż-dziemika).
• Ktorego będzie dyktando?— 12.10. (dwunastego paz-dziemika).

Similar to the Russian language and constructions containing names days of the week and seasons:

• Dziś jest środa (czwartek). Jest winter, jesień- Nominative case;
• W środę (w czwartek) będzie deszcz- accusative,
• zima; jesienia- creative case.

To the question " when?” in both Russian and Polish can be answered by correlating one event with another in time:

• before the war — przed wojna;
• during the war- podczas (w czasie) wojny;
• after the war — po wojnie.

Please note that the suggestion po used with the prepositional case ( upon arrival).

Tens and hundreds names (30-1000):

• 30 - trzydzieści / trzydziesty;
• 40 - czterdzieści / czterdziesty;
• 50 - pięćdziesiąt / pięćdziesiąty;
• 60 - sześćdziesiąt / sześćdziesiąty;
• 70 - siedemdziesiąt / siedemdziesiąty;
• 80 - osiemdziesiąt / osiemdziesiąty;
• 90 - dziewięćdziesiąt / dziewięćdziesiąty;
• 100 - sto / set;
• 200 - dwiescie;
• 300 - trzysta;
• 400 - czterysta;
• 500 - pięćset;
• 600 - sześćset;
• 700 - siedemset;
• 800 - osiemset;
• 900 - dziewięćset:
• 1000 - tysiąc.

As already noted, ordinals have gender, number, and case forms. Unlike the Russian language, the declined element in compound numbers is not only units, but also tens:

• on the 21st (twenty-first) floor — na 21 (dwudziestym pierwszym) piętrze;
• May 28 (twenty eighth) — 28 (dwudziestego osmego) maja;
• 1945 (one thousand nine hundred and forty-five) — 1945.

In this article, we publish a selection of 15 books that we think will help you learn Polish. Here you will find books that contain not only theory, but also exercises in Polish. All Polish textbooks have been tested by us and believe me, they work. The article also contains links to stores where you can easily purchase all the textbooks and books listed below.

So let's start.

Hurra Po Polsku 1. Aneta Szymkiewicz, Małgorzata Malolepsza

A modern edition filled with practical tasks that are aimed at developing various communication skills. Be it speech or writing. Also in the book there are exercises that develop a better perception of the language by ear and visually.

Hurra Po Polsku 2. Aneta Szymkiewicz, Małgorzata Malolepsza

A very popular textbook. It is divided into 4 main parts that develop the following skills: speaking, writing, reading and understanding the language. The topics are quite modern and not hackneyed. Here you will get acquainted not only with the Polish language, but also with the customs, holidays and national characteristics of Poland. Also in the book there are interesting crossword puzzles, quizzes and contests, which in a playful way will allow you to better learn the material.

Hurra Po Polsku 3. Aneta Szymkiewicz, Małgorzata Malolepsza

Third edition of the popular textbook. The textbook is intended for students. It will reveal your knowledge of Polish and teach you how to communicate on various topics: everyday life, sports, society, etc. Also in the textbook there is an opportunity to independently practice vocabulary and grammar.

Wasilewska D., Karoljak S. "Polish Language Textbook"

The textbook is perfect for those who are just starting to learn a language or for those who want to strengthen their existing knowledge. The main emphasis of the textbook is on getting acquainted with the phonetics, spelling and grammar of the Polish language. There is also a section with exercises and keys to these exercises so that you can always test yourself and your knowledge.

"Exam for the Pole's Card"

This material will help you prepare for the . There are all the questions that you may be asked and there are detailed and understandable answers to them. All questions are related to the history, culture and geography of Poland. There is also a quick guide to questions and answers. This material should certainly help you prepare for the Polish Card exam.

D.Vasilevskaya. "Polish language. Textbook"

This book is structured in an unusual way. First you read a simple text in Polish, then you look up a dictionary and a translation of the text. Gradually, you come to the fact that the translation becomes less and less, and fewer words are translated in the dictionary. And the text is getting more and more difficult every time.

Przemysław E. Gębal "Od słowa do słowa toczy się rozmowa" (The conversation goes from word to word)

A textbook by Polish authors, designed specifically for foreigners. From word to word, we go to the conversation. The textbook will prepare you to level B1 and B2, its main goal is to develop the necessary communication skills. After the course, you will be able to carry on a simple conversation.

M. Kowalska Marzena "O biznesie po Polsku" (About business in Polish. Intermediate level B1, B2. Polish language guide, introduction to business)

A very interesting textbook that will introduce you to Business Polish at B1 and B2 levels. Suitable for those who are going to work in Poland, with this textbook you will increase your knowledge and be able to conduct dialogues in a business environment. The textbook is divided into 14 specific topics, which together cover a wide range of business topics.

Stempek, A. Stelmach, S. Dawidek, A. Szymkiewicz "Krok po Kroku Polski A1+A2" (Step per step PolishA1+A2)

A textbook from a large series, written by Poles especially for foreigners. It is important to note that the textbook meets all standards and is certified as a material recommended for learning Polish as a foreign language.

The books listed below are self-study textbooks. Each book develops certain language skills in you. The selection is suitable for those who are just starting to learn the Polish language from scratch, as well as for those who want to hone their skills to perfection!

Język polski. Korepetycje maturzysty. (Polish language. Tutor.)

The new series of textbooks for high school tutoring "OLDSCHOOL - the good old school" is an effective study of what you really need. The series has been prepared by experienced teachers and methodologists in collaboration with teachers and students themselves.

The textbook is intended for all high school students who need constant study of the Polish language and the desire to know all the questions and answers useful in the exam in high school. This book will also be of great help to teachers and educators.

Ilustrowany sł ownik phraseologiczny(Illustrated dictionary of phraseological units)

Phraseological expressions are the most interesting, most fascinating and amazing combinations of words in any language. They are not governed by any laws or regulations, sometimes look funny, sometimes illogical, and of course almost always have different meanings. Getting to know them and knowing how to use them correctly will undeniably help in learning the Polish language.

T.S. Mochalova. Polish from scratch

The textbook "Polish from scratch" is intended for beginners and can be used both at the initial stage of a deep and thorough study of the language, and in order to master the elementary skills of reading, writing and speaking in the shortest possible time

"Ilustrowany słownik przysłów" (Illustrated Dictionary of Proverbs)

The illustrated dictionary of proverbs contains the most interesting and important proverbs that can be found in everyday life. The dictionary was created mainly for elementary school students, but it will be useful for both children and adults. Proverbs are explained in an accessible way, each of which contains a story illustrating the proverb. All stories are written with humor. This makes you read the dictionary like a book, so it will be very difficult for you to stop reading it. In addition, beautiful and funny illustrations make reading especially enjoyable.

A.Częścik, J.Częścik “Gramatyka co z głowy nie umyka”

In this book you will find: a complete Polish grammar course written for students, many great methods for memorizing the material (highlighted in bold), a number of interesting facts about the language (highlighted in color), non-traditional problems and puzzles (marked with a question mark) , a table of contents that will allow you to quickly find the material you need.

Translation of an article from www.thepolyglotdream.com.

I am often asked the question “Why did you decide to learn such and such a language?”. I confess that I do not have a universal answer to this question. I have learned each of the languages ​​I speak for different reasons and under different circumstances.

How I started learning Polish

If the reason for learning a foreign language is different for everyone - subjective and personal, then the question"how to teach"will be of interest to many. Especially for those who plan to study independently and from the basics.

The first thing I did after visiting Poland was to buyPolish course from the famous company ASSIMIL, which publishes a series of courses on the study of European and other languages.

I chose this particular course because it is the most suitable for my method of learning foreign languages.

Here are the top benefits of ASSIMIL books:

• Funny dialogues from life
• Texts in two languages
• Phonetics explanations
• Grammar on the fingers
• Effective Exercises
• Lots of pictures
• Audio recordings in target language only

Polish pronunciation - the first difficulties

When you just start to dive into another language, everything seems new and unfamiliar.

As for the Polish pronunciation, two things (both aurally and visually) struck me:nasal sounds and consonant combinations. The nasal sounds were familiar to me, since I already spoke French and Portuguese. The nasal “en” in Polish is written as “ę” in such a word as “węch” (smell).

But I was much more surprised by the combinations of consonants:

Cz, dz, dż, dzi, dż, drz, sz, ść, szc

Learning to pronounce these sounds separately will not take you much time. But imagine them in a sentence:

“Skąd moge wiedzieć dlaczego przestal pisać do ciebe?”

At first it seems that learning to pronounce all this is almost impossible, but with a certain approach there will be no great difficulties. But more on that in future articles.

Is Polish grammar difficult or easy?

As in any Slavic language, Polish has cases and declensions. But those who know Russian, Ukrainian or Belarusian can perceive the meanings of many words even by ear. Learning grammar will also be much easier for them.

Tip: don't pay too much attention to grammar, it will come latently with the gradual mastering of the language.

Be positive

Although Polish may seem difficult to learn at first glance, remember how many people learned how to communicate in it before you. The main thing is the attitude to the language. I won't say anything new, but regular classes for 20-30 minutes in a few months they will bring such a result that you will even be surprised. There is another way - to immerse yourself in the language environment for several months in Poland. If you have the opportunity, I recommend you go.

Conclusion

You can learn to speak Polish in 2-3 months if your native language is part of the Slavic group. Watch a video lesson of Polish for beginners.