Michel Thomas Polish Advanced
Michel Thomas Polish Advanced
Advanced Course
www.michelthomas.co.uk
Polish
Advanced Course
Jolanta Cecua
www.michelthomas.co.uk
and learn another language the way you learnt your own
Developed over 50 years, the amazing teaching methods of the worlds
greatest language teacher completely takes the strain out of language
learning. Michel Thomas all-audio courses provide an accelerated method
for learning that is truly revolutionary.
Introduction
What is the Michel Thomas Method?
The Michel Thomas Method* all-audio courses, published by Hodder
Education, provide an accelerated method for language learning that is truly
revolutionary. And they promise a remarkable educational experience that
will make your learning both exciting and pleasurable.
The Michel Thomas Method is in tune with the way your brain works, so
you assimilate the language easily and dont forget it! The Method teaches
you through your own language, so theres no stress, and no anxiety. The
teacher builds up the new language, step by step, and you dont move on till
youve absorbed and understood the previous point. As Michel Thomas said,
What you understand, you know, and what you know, you dont forget.
With parallels to the way you learnt your own language, each language is
learnt in real-time conditions. There is no need to stop for homework,
additional exercises or vocabulary memorization.
*US patent 6,565,358
spoken language. They are also appropriate for anyone who has studied a
language before, but has forgotten much of it or does not have confidence
in speaking.
The Introductory course comprises the first two hours of the Foundation
Course. The Advanced course follows on from the Foundation course and
expands on structures touched on in the earlier course to improve your
understanding and mastery of complex language.
The Michel Thomas Method teaches the everyday conversational language
that will allow you to communicate in a wide variety of situations, empowered
by the ability to create your own sentences and use the language naturally.
You will absorb the vocabulary and grammatical structures and, in addition,
will be introduced to elements of writing and reading.
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Kim Novak, Otto Preminger, Max von Sydow, Peter Sellers, Franois Truffaut,
Sophia Coppola.
Diplomats, dignitaries and academics: Former U.S. Ambassador to France,
Walter Curley; U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Joseph V. Reed; Cardinal John
OConnor, Archbishop of New York; Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, Archbishop
of Philadelphia; Armand Hammer; Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York;
Professor Herbert Morris, Dean of Humanities at UCLA; Warren Keegan,
Professor of Business at Pace University in New York; Professor Wesley
Posvar, former President of the University of Pittsburgh.
Executives from the following corporations: AT&T International,
Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Chase Manhattan Bank, American Express,
Merrill Lynch, New York Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Boeing
Aircraft, General Electric, Westinghouse Electric, Bank of America, Max
Factor, Rand Corporation, Bertelsmann Music Group-RCA, Veuve Clicquot
Inc., McDonalds Corporation, Rover, British Aerospace.
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Track listing
Abbreviations
: no ending; A: accusative; D: dative; f / fem: feminine; G / gen: genitive;
I: instrumental; impf: imperfective; inf: informal; L: locative; m / masc:
masculine; n: neuter; N: nominative; pf: perfective; pl: plural; sg: singular;
V: vocative
Men and women
Adjectives and verb endings given below for men and women are also
used for boys and girls, respectively.
Word order
Word order in Polish is quite flexible. The word order as given in all the
phrases, sentences and questions printed below (and heard in the
recording) are just examples of many different possible word orders to
help you to get started. Feel free to experiment with them to help you
develop your own linguistic abilities in Polish. Communication, after all, is
about expressing our thoughts and ideas and sharing them with others
and each of us does it in a different way. So enjoy finding your own way
of expressing yourself!
CD1 Track 1
Zaczynajmy Lets start; co something; kto somebody; na wakacjach
on holiday; Byem na wakacjach I (masc) was on holiday. The ending of
wakacje holiday has changed to -ach because there is no movement
involved (na on is followed by the locative case here).
raz once, one time; ile? how much, how many?; ile razy? how many
times? Razy is in the genitive plural here. The genitive case normally
expresses possession and belonging, so ile razy? literally means how
many of times? The letter z sounds like s when it is at the end of a word.
tylko only; tylko raz only once; wiele many; wiele razy many times (lit.
many of times).
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CD1 Track 2
bywa to be (somewhere) often, to frequent; Bywam tam codziennie I am
there every day. In codziennie every day, the double n is pronounced as
two separate consonants. Here the second n is followed by the vowel i,
which softens it, so it sounds like the consonant . dziennie a / per day;
Bywaem / bywaam tam wiele razy dziennie I (masc / fem) was there many
times a day.
morze sea; nad morzem by the sea. The preposition nad takes the
instrumental case, the ending for which is -em (for most masculine and
neuter singular nouns): nad oceanem by the ocean.
CD1 Track 3
artyku article; Czytaam ciekawy artyku I (fem) was reading an
interesting article; te these; te gazety these newspapers.
oglda to watch, look at; pani ogldaa you (fem formal) were
watching; ogldaem I (masc) was watching; Co pan oglda? What
were you (masc formal) watching? telewizja television; oglda telewizj
to watch television. telewizj is the direct object of the verb and so is in
the accusative case.
od from; do to; od czasu do czasu from time to time. Od and do are
prepositions and take the genitive case. Ona ogldaa telewizj od czasu
do czasu She used to watch TV from time to time.
CD1 Track 4
ksika book; On kupi gazet a ona kupia ksik He bought a
newspaper and she bought a book. gazet and ksik are direct objects
of the verb, and so are in the accusative case: the -a of the nominative is
changed to -. The accusative case of ona she, it (referring to a feminine
noun) is j her, it.
The accusative case of feminine adjectives ends in -: Czy pan kupi now
map? Have you (masc formal) bought a new map?
CD1 Track 5
The accusative case of all neuter nouns and of masculine inanimate
nouns (i.e. nouns that dont refer to humans or animals) is the same as
the nominative, or dictionary, form: Kupiam wino I (fem) bought (some)
wine; Kupiem nowy dom I (masc) bought a new house.
The accusative form of on he, it (referring to a masculine noun) is go
him, it: Dlaczego go kupie? Why did you buy it? (the it refers to a
masculine thing).
In the plural, the nominative and the accusative of feminine nouns are the
same: Kupiymy mapy We (fem) bought (some) maps.
CD1 Track 6
zamwi to order, book; takswka taxi; Zamwiem takswk I (masc)
ordered a taxi; Czy pani zamwia takswk dla mnie? Have you (fem
formal) ordered a taxi for me?; Kto zamwi takswk? Who ordered the
taxi?; Nikt nic nie zamwi Nobody ordered anything. kto who and nikt
nobody always take the masculine verb form.
herbata tea; Czy pan zamwi kaw czy herbat? Did you (masc formal)
order coffee or tea?
CD1 Track 7
woda water; (On) zamwi wod He ordered (some) water; ksiki
books; Zamwiem ksiki, gazety i mapy I (masc) ordered books,
newspapers and maps.
Zamwiam gazet I (fem) ordered a newspaper; Nie zamwiam gazety I
(fem) didnt order a newspaper. The ending of newspaper in the
negative sentence is different from its ending in the positive sentence.
This is because in positive sentences the direct object goes (usually) into
the accusative case, but then in negative sentences the direct object goes
into the genitive case. For most feminine nouns the genitive singular is the
same as the nominative and accusative plural: Zamwiam gazety I (fem)
ordered newspapers; Nie zamwiam gazety I (fem) didnt order a
newspaper.
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After prepositions, the personal pronouns him, her and them add the
letter n at the beginning to make them easier to say: jej her; dla niej for
her; dla niego for him (c.f. jego his); dla nich for them (cf. ich them):
Czy pani zamwia to dla niego? Have you (fem formal) ordered it for
him?; Dlaczego pan nie zamwi tego dla nich? Why havent you (masc
formal) ordered it for them?
CD1 Track 8
zaprosi to invite; Zaprosiem go I (masc) invited him; Czy ona zaprosia
ich na obiad? Has she invited them for dinner?. Note that the n is only
added to pronouns after prepositions, not when him, her and them are
the object of the verb; ich them, dla nich for them.
kogo? whom? (from kto who); Kogo zaprosie? Whom did you (masc
informal) invite?; dla kogo? for whom?; Dla kogo przygotowaa kolacj?
For whom have you (fem informal) prepared the supper?
CD1 Track 9
czas time (passing of time); Miaam czas wczoraj I (fem) had time
yesterday; o tym about it; Nie wiedziaem nic o tym I (masc) didnt know
anything about it (lit. not I knew nothing about it); widzie to see;
widziaem I (masc) saw / have seen; Nie widziaam tego I (fem) didnt
see it; Kogo widziaa? Whom did you (fem informal) see?
pana paszport your passport (masc formal): pan is a noun (lit. gentleman),
not a pronoun. pana brat your (masc formal) brother. brat is the nominative
form; in the accusative it is brata: Widziaam pana brata I (fem) saw your
brother. The accusative case of most masculine animate nouns (i.e. nouns
that refer to humans or animals) is the same as the genitive case.
twj brat your (inf) brother (nominative case); twojego brata your brother
(accusative / genitive case); Widziaam twojego brata wczoraj I (fem) saw
your brother yesterday; Nie widziaem twojego brata wczoraj I (masc)
didnt see your brother yesterday. For most masculine animate nouns
that are the direct object of the verb, the endings in positive and negative
sentences are the same (because accusative and genitive case endings
are the same for such nouns).
CD1 Track 10
The accusative case of neuter nouns is the same as the nominative case in
positive sentences: widziaa moje piwo / wino? have you (fem informal)
seen my beer / wine? In negative sentences, as with masculine and
feminine nouns, the direct object goes into the genitive case: Nie widziaam
twojego piwa I (fem) havent seen your (informal) beer; Nie widziaa
mojego wina? Havent you (fem informal) seen my wine?
The genitive case of inanimate masculine nouns usually ends in -u: Nie
miaam czasu I (fem) didnt have time; Nie kupiem domu / telefonu I
(masc) didnt buy the house / telephone.
tego is the genitive case of to it, this: Dlaczego nie kupie tego telefonu?
Why didnt you (masc informal) buy this telephone? (genitive case
because this is a negative sentence).
CD2 Track 1
zamkn to close, lock; drzwi door (always plural in Polish); okno
window; On zamkn drzwi He closed the door; Ona zamkna drzwi
She closed the door. Note the vowel change from to in the past
tense of zamkn, which also occurs in the plural forms: Oni zamknli
okno They (masc) closed the window; Dlaczego one nie zamkny okna?
Why didnt they (fem) close the window? Note the use of the genitive
okna in negative sentences: Oni nie zamknli okna They (masc) didnt
close the window; Dlaczego one nie zamkny okna? Why didnt they
(fem) close the window?; the accusative case, for the direct object in
positive sentences, would be okno.
CD2 Track 2
czsto often; Robiem / robiam to bardzo czsto I (masc / fem) did it
very often, I used to do it very often; ciemne piwo dark beer; jasne piwo
light beer. Here ciemne and jasne are adjectives. ciemno dark is an
adverb, and is used after it is and it is getting: Jest ciemno It is dark;
Robi si ciemno It is getting dark; Robio si ciemno It was getting dark.
The verb form it was getting dark indicates a process. Polish does not
have the range of tenses that English has (it got dark, it has got dark, it
had got dark etc.); to indicate that an action has been completed, Polish
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uses another verb form, which is often the familiar verb with a prefix.
Zrobio si ciemno It has got dark, it became dark. So, the two Polish
verbs for the English verb to do are robi / zrobi; they form their tense
endings in the same way. The first verb of the pair describes ongoing or
continuous actions, the second verb describes completed actions.
nagle suddenly; Nagle zrobio si ciemno It suddenly became dark, it
has suddenly got dark. zupa soup; Zupa robia si zimna The soup was
getting cold; Zupa zrobia si zimna The soup became cold. The verb
and adjective have feminine endings to agree with zupa soup. Co
robia? What were you (fem informal) doing? (a continuous action); Co
zrobie? What did you (masc informal) do, what have you done?
(a completed action).
CD2 Track 3
budowa to build; Budowaam dom I (fem) was building a house;
Mieszkam sam / sama I (masc / fem) live alone; Oni mieszkali sami They
(masc) lived alone; One mieszkay same They (fem) lived alone. Sami
budowalimy dom We (masc) were building a house ourselves. The other
verb in this pair is zbudowa to build (completed action, also called
perfective). Same zbudowaymy dom We (fem) (have) built the house
ourselves. Oni budowali hotel They (masc) were building a hotel; Oni
zbudowali hotel They (masc) (have) built the hotel.
CD2 Track 4
skanowa / zeskanowa to scan. In this case the prefix is ze-, not just z-,
as this would be too difficult to say before sk-. Skanowaa dokument She
was scanning the document; Zeskanowa dokument He (has) scanned
the document.
koczy / skoczy to finish. In this case the prefix is s-, not z-, because
it precedes an unvoiced consonant (k is the unvoiced equivalent of the
voiced g). Koczyam gotowa obiad I (fem) was finishing cooking
dinner; Skoczyem czyta ksik I (masc) have finished reading the
book. In both sentences koczy / skoczy is followed by the
imperfective verb czyta to read and can never be followed by its
perfective counterpart przeczyta.
jzyk language; jzyk polski the Polish language. Polski comes after
jzyk here because it is an adjective that has no opposite. Adjectives that
do have an opposite, e.g. dark, come before the noun: ciemne piwo
dark beer.
uczy si to learn takes the prefix na to form its perfective form: nauczy
si to learn. The object of uczy si / nauczy si to learn is in the
genitive: Uczyam si jzyka polskiego I (fem) was learning Polish (note
that the genitive ending of jzyk is -a, not -u, even though it is a masculine
inanimate noun ); Nauczyem si jzyka polskiego bardzo szybko I (masc)
learnt Polish very quickly (i.e. completed action).
CD2 Track 5
i to go (on foot), walk. The past tenses of this verb, like in English, are
irregular: Szed He was going; Pan szed You (masc formal) were going;
Sza She was going; Szam I (fem) was going; Szedem I (masc) was
going; Szy they (fem) were going; Szli they (masc) were going. The d
(plus its helping vowel e) only appear in the masculine singular forms:
Szed He was going; Pan szed You (masc formal) were going; Szedem
I (masc) was going. Szed tam He was going there; Pan szed do teatru
You (masc formal) were walking to the theatre; Czy oni szli do teatru
kiedy pani ich widziaa? Were they (masc) going to the theatre when you
(fem formal) saw them?; Widziaam pana kiedy pan szed do teatru I (fem)
saw you (masc formal) when you were going to the theatre.
CD2 Track 6
Almost all Polish verbs have two forms, or aspects: the imperfective,
which is used for continuous actions, and the perfective, used for
completed actions. The perfective form of i to go is pj: oni poszli
they (masc) went; one poszy they (fem) went.
dokd where, where to. This can be used instead of gdzie where in
sentences with a verb of motion. Both dokd and gdzie are correct, but
dokd is of higher register and therefore more precise: Gdzie one poszy
wczoraj wieczorem? = dokd one poszy wczoraj wieczorem? Where did
they (fem) go last night? Wszyscy poszli do teatru Everybody went to
the theatre.
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(pl informal)?; Oni nie powiedzieli wam nic? Didnt they (masc) say
anything to you (pl informal)?
CD2 Track 10
rozumie / zrozumie to understand; Zrozumiaem to I (masc)
understood it. The same English tense can translate either aspect
(imperfective or perfective); (Czy) rozumiaa co ona mwia? Did you (fem
informal) understand what she was saying? (i.e. were you following what
she was saying?) and Zrozumiae co on mwi? Did you (masc informal)
understand what he was saying (i.e. have you understood the result is
more important than the process); Zrozumiaa co ona powiedziaa? Did
you (fem informal) understand what she said?.
Mieszkaem w Polsce, kiedy sprzedaem dom I (masc) was living in
Poland when I sold the house.
CD3 Track 1
kilka a few. Expressions of quantity like this in the nominative and the
accusative case (also wiele many, ile? how much / how many?) are
followed by the genitive case: kilka gazet a few newspapers (lit. a few of
newspapers).
To form the genitive plural of feminine nouns ending in -a and neuter nouns
ending in -o, just drop the final vowel: wiele gazet many / a lot of
newspapers; ile piw? how many beers? The helping vowel -e is added to
separate final consonants where the word would be difficult to say
otherwise: ksika book, kilka ksiek a few books. This can affect the
pronunciation: in ksika the is voiceless and sounds sz, as it precedes a
voiceless consonant; in ksiek the is voiced because it precedes a vowel.
The perfective form of czyta to read is przeczyta; Przeczyta kilka
ksiek He read a few books; Ile ksiek przeczytaa? How many books
have you (fem informal) read?
To form the genitive plural of masculine nouns ending in a consonant, just
add -w: wiele komputerw a lot of computers; wiele domw many
houses.
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CD3 Track 7
czu to feel; czuj to I feel it. The reflexive verb czu si means to feel
when talking about your health or feelings: Czuj si dobrze I feel fine (lit.
I feel myself fine); Jak si pani czuje dzisiaj? How do you (fem formal)
feel today?; Czujemy si dobrze We feel fine.
lepiej better; najlepiej best; Czuj si lepiej Im feeling better; On czu
si najlepiej wczoraj He felt best yesterday. Lepiej better and najlepiej
best are adverbs. Better and best as adjectives (masculine form) are
lepszy better and najlepszy best; To piwo jest dobre, ale to wino jest
jeszcze lepsze This beer is good but this wine is even (lit. still) better
(adjectives here are in the neuter form because they describe the neuter
noun); Ta wdka jest najlepsza This vodka is the best (the adjective here
is in the feminine form because it describes the feminine noun).
CD3 Track 8
Words that end in -ure in English end in -ura in Polish: kultura culture;
literatura literature; struktura structure. kurs course. The direct object
of the verb uczy to teach is in the genitive case: Kursy Michela
Thomasa ucz struktury jzyka Michel Thomas courses teach the
structure of the language.
dzikuj I thank; dzikuj, e thank you for (lit. thank you that);
Dzikuj, e to zrobie Thank you (masc informal) for doing it (lit. thank
you that you have done it); Dzikuj, e pani to zrobia Thank you (fem
formal) for doing this.
CD3 Track 9
go him is the genitive form of on he as well as the accusative; Nikt nie
wie dlaczego nie ma go tutaj jeszcze Nobody knows why he is not here
yet (lit. why there is no of him); Nikt nic o tym nie wie Nobody knows
anything about it. The prepositional phrase o tym about it, when spoken,
is treated as a single word in Polish, so, since it is usually the penultimate
syllable of words that is stressed, the o of o tym carries the stress.
widzie to see; widz I see; Co widzisz? What can you (inf) see? (lit.
what do you see); Czy pan ich widzi? Can you (masc formal) see
them?; Oni widz wszystko They (masc) can see everything.
CD3 Track 10
skd where from; Skd pan wraca? Where are you (masc formal) coming
back from?; Skd jeste? Where are you (informal) from?; Skd pan jest?
Where are you (masc formal) from? do domu home (i.e. to home); Id
do domu Im going home; praca work (noun); do pracy to work.
CD3 Track 11
chodzi to go (on foot) (habitually); do teatru to the theatre; Chodz do
teatru czsto I often go to the theatre. Compare this sentence with Id
do teatru Im going to the theatre (i.e. now).
samochd car; samochodem by car: samochodem here is in the
instrumental case. jedzi to go (by vehicle) (habitually); Ona czsto
jedzi do pracy samochodem She often goes to work by car. Compare
this with Ona jedzie do pracy jutro She is going to work tomorrow.
CD4 Track 1
zawsze always; ona jedzi she goes; wy jedzicie you go (pl informal);
Czy wy zawsze jedzicie do pracy samochodem? Do you (pl informal)
always go to work by car?; jed I go. All of these verb forms are from
jedzi to go (habitually) (by vehicle).
na jak dugo? for how long?; jak czsto? how often?; Jak czsto pani
jedzi do Polski? How often do you (fem formal) go to Poland?
CD4 Track 2
zamawia to order is the imperfective aspect of zamwi. The present
tense is formed from the imperfective aspect; perfective verbs cannot be
used in the present. danie dish; dania dishes. Oni czsto zamawiaj te
same dania They (masc) often order the same dishes; Co pastwo
zamawiaj? What are you (mixed group, formal) ordering?
CD4 Track 3
Londyn London; w Londynie in London; On czsto bywa w Londynie
He is often in London, he (often) frequents London.
The I form of pisa to write is pisz I write. pisywa to write habitually
behaves like an -owa verb: on pisuje he writes. wieczorem in the
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CD4 Track 7
The perfective future tense is formed by adding present tense endings to
the perfective infinitive of the verb. It translates will (do) in the sense of
get it (done) i.e. it is the result of the action that is important.
zrobi I will do (from zrobi to do); Kto to zrobi? Who will do it?; Nie
bd tego robi teraz, zrobi to jutro Im not going to do it now, Ill do it
tomorrow; Zrobimy to pniej We will do it later; Kiedy one to zrobi?
When will they (fem) do it?
CD4 Track 8
poprosi to ask for, request is the perfective form of the imperfective
verb prosi; Poprosz kaw / herbat Please could I have a coffee / tea?
(lit. I will ask for).
z + instrumental case with. The singular masculine and neuter
instrumental ending is -em and the feminine is -. mleko milk; z mlekiem
with milk; cukier sugar (the i is present in this form to soften the sound
of the k before the e); z cukrem with sugar; cytryna lemon; z cytryn
with lemon.
CD4 Track 9
napisa to write is the perfective form of pisa; napisz I will write (i.e. I
will finish writing); napisze he will write; Oni napisz (artyku do gazety)
They (masc) will write (an article for the newspaper).
The command form of the verb can, in theory, be formed from either verb
aspect, depending on whether you want to stress the result (perfective),
or the process (imperfective). However, in practice, positive commands
are usually created from perfective verbs, as those created from
imperfective verbs can be interpreted as rushed or even impolite.
Negative commands are mostly created from imperfective verbs and only
exceptionally from perfective.
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Czy pani mogaby mi powiedzie? Could you (fem formal) tell me?; Czy
pan mgby mi powiedzie, o ktrej godzinie zaczyna si konferencja
Could you (masc formal) please tell me at what time the conference
starts? (lit. starts itself). There is no need to add please in Polish, as
the form with mgby etc. is already polite enough.
CD4 Track 13
English sentences of the type I would like you to (do something) are
translated into Polish as I would like that (you would have done
something). e that adds the by plus personal endings in such
sentences: Chciaabym, eby jej powiedziaa, e on tam by I (fem) would
like you (fem informal) to tell her that he was there (lit. I would like that to
her you would tell).
rok year; temu ago. gdyby if in unreal conditions (e.g. if I had known);
this word, like e that, adds the personal verb endings: gdybym wiedziaa
if I (fem) had known.
The conditional in Polish translates I would have (done) as well as I
would (do): kupiabym I (fem) would buy / would have bought; umiabym
ju I (fem) would already be able / would already have been able.
Gdybym wiedziaa, e kursy Michela Thomas s tak efektywne, kupiabym
kurs jzyka polskiego rok temu... i umiabym ju mwi bardzo dobrze po
polsku If I (fem) had known that Michel Thomas courses were (lit. are)
so effective, I (fem) would have bought the Polish course (lit. course of
Polish language) a year ago... and I (masc) would already be able to
speak Polish very well.
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Grammar reference
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Imperfective
Perfective
apologise, to
ask, request, to
be, to
be able, to; can
be called, to
begin, start, to
build, to
buy, to
close, lock, to
come back, return, to
congratulate, to
cook, to
cost, to
do, make, to
drink, to
eat, to
feel, to
feel oneself, to
find out, to
finish, to
frequent, to
give, to
give back, return, to
go, to (on foot)
go, to (on foot) habitual
go, to (by transport)
go, to (by transport)
habitual
przeprasza
prosi
by
mc
nazywa si
zaczyna
budowa
kupowa
zamyka
wraca
gratulowa
gotowa
kosztowa
robi
pi
je
czu
czu si
dowiadywa si
koczy
bywa
dawa
oddawa
i
chodzi
jecha
jedzi
przeprosi
poprosi
nazwa si
zacz
zbudowa / wybudowa
kupi
zamkn
wrci
pogratulowa
ugotowa
zrobi
wypi
zje
poczu
poczu si
dowiedzie si
skoczy
da
odda
pj
pojecha
32
have, to
have to, to; must
help, to
invite, to
know (somebody or
something), to
know how to, be able to, to
know (a fact), to
learn, to
like, to
live, to
observe, to
operate, to
organize, to
order, book, to
plan, to
prefer, to
prepare, to
read, to
reserve, to
scan, to
see, to
sell, to
speak, say, tell, to
teach, to
thank, to
think, to
understand, to
want, to
wait, to
watch, look at, to
work, to
write, to
write habitually, to
mie
musie
pomaga
zaprasza
zna
pomc
zaprosi
umie
wiedzie
uczy si
lubi
mieszka
obserwowa
operowa
organizowa
zamawia
planowa
wole
przygotowywa (si)
czyta
rezerwowa
skanowa
widzie
sprzedawa
mwi
uczy
dzikowa
myle
rozumie
chcie
czeka
oglda
pracowa
pisa
pisywa
nauczy si
polubi
zaobserwowa
zoperowa
zorganizowa
zamwi
zaplanowa
przygotowa (si)
przeczyta
zarezerwowa
zeskanowa
zobaczy
sprzeda
powiedzie
nauczy
podzikowa
pomyle
zrozumie
zechcie
poczeka / zaczeka
obejrze
napisa
Imperative
The formal commands use the appropriate third-person form for pan,
pani, pastwo etc. with niech.
(1) Verbs with the infinitive ending in:
-a (e.g. to read czyta / przeczyta)
-owa (e.g. to cook gotowa / ugotowa)
short verbs (e.g. to drink pi / wypi)
Informal command: to read czyta / przeczyta: drop the - ending from
the they form: czytaj / przeczytaj przeczytaj / czytaj
Formal command
Informal command
Read this!
(formally to a
man / woman)
Przeczytaj to!
Read this!
Niech pastwo
(formally to a
to przeczytaj!
group of people)
Dont read this! Niech pastwo
(formally to a
tego nie czytaj!
group of people)
(2) Verbs with the infinitive ending in:
-e (e.g. to say, tell powiedzie)
-i (e.g. to speak mwi )
33
34
Informal command
Niech pan / pani Tell it to her!
jej to powie!
(informally to a
friend)
Tell it to her!
Niech pastwo
formally to a
jej to powiedz!
group of people)
Informal command: -i verbs e.g. to speak mwi: drop the -i ending
from the they form: mwi mw or drop the -i ending from s/he
form: mwi mw (see also below)
Formal command
Dont say
anything!
(formally to a
man / woman)
Informal command
Niech pan / pani Dont say
nic nie mwi!
anything!
(informally to a
friend)
Nie mw nic!
Dont say
Niech pastwo
anything!
nic nie mwi!
(formally to a
group of people)
Verb
Informal
command
(to a friend)
s/he
Informal
command
(to a friend)
Alternations
wrci
Wr szybko!
ci
to go on foot,
habitually
chodzi
Come here!
chodzi
Chod tutaj!
dzi d
to call,
telephone
dzwoni /
zadzwoni
Call me
tomorrow!
dzwoni /
zadzwoni/
Zadzwo do
mnie jutro!
ni
to ask for,
request
prosi /
poprosi
prosi /
poprosi
Popro o menu
(kart)!
si
to transport
wozi (impf
habitual)
Transport it
slowly!
wozi
Wo to wolno!
zi
(4) Verbs with the infinitive ending in -y (e.g. to finish, end koczy /
skoczy)
Informal command: to finish, end koczy / skoczy: drop the - ending
from the they form: kocz / skocz kocz / skocz or drop the -y
ending from the s/he form: koczy / skoczy kocz / skocz
Formal command
Finish this!
(formally to a
man / woman)
Informal command
Niech pan /
pani to skoczy
Finish this!
Niech pastwo
(formally to a
to skocz!
group of people)
Finish this!
(informally to
a friend)
Skocz to!
35
36
(5) Verbs with the stem ending in a consonantal cluster and their infinitives
ending in:
- (e.g. to start, begin zacz (pf))
-n (e.g. to close zamkn (pf))
some -e verbs (e.g. to watch, look at obejrze (pf))
Informal command: to close zamkn (pf): drop the - ending from they
form: zamkn and add -ij
Formal command
Close the door!
(formally to a
man / woman)
Informal command
Niech pan /
pani zamknie
drzwi!
Zamknij drzwi!
Informal command
Have a look
at this! (formally
to a man /
woman)
Niech pan /
pani to obejrzy!
Have a look at
this! (formally
to a group of
people)
Niech pastwo
to obejrz!
Have a look at
this! (informally
to a friend)
Obejrzyj to!
(6) Verbs which have o as the core vowel sometimes replace it with :
Verb
Informal
command
(to a friend)
s/he
to do, make
robi / zrobi
Informal
command
(to a friend)
Alternations
37
Verb
to be by
Bd tam wieczorem!
Zjedz co!
Nie jedz tego!
to give dawa /
da
Give it to me!
Dont give it to her!
Daj mi to!
Nie dawaj jej tego!
to have mie
to understand
zrozumie (pf)
Have hope!
Understand me!
Miej nadziej!
Zrozum mnie!
Informal
command (to a
friend)
Informal
command (to a
group of friends)
Lets...
Zamknij drzwi!
Zamknijcie drzwi!
Zamknijmy
drzwi!
Nie zamykaj
drzwi!
Nie zamykajcie
drzwi!
Nie zamykajmy
drzwi!
Conditional
38
X=
you (m / f sg formal)
him / her
us (m or mixed / f)
Nouns
Glossary of cases
(1a) subject
Marta is reading / reads a book.
to jest, to s
This is a newspaper.
To s gazety (f).
(2c) to express of
your (m and f formal) passport (lit.
passport of gentleman / lady)
39
40
Tell it to Adam!
by
41
42
na, nad, z
na, w, o, po
Porozmawiajmy o ciekawych
filmach i dobrych ksikach (pl).
(7) Vocative
Woacz
43
44
Case endings
(a) Feminine nouns
Case
woda water
ksika book
gazeta
newspaper
Singular
N
G
D
A
I
L
V
wo - d - a
wo - d - y
wo - dzi - e
wo - d -
wo - d -
wo - dzi - e
wo - d - o
ksi - k - a
ksi - k - i
ksi - c - e
ksi - k -
ksi - k -
ksi - c - e
ksi - k - o
gaze - t - a
gaze - t - y
gaze - ci - e
gaze - t -
gaze - t -
gaze - ci - e
gaze - t - o
Plural
N
G
D
A
I
L
V
wo - d - y
w - d -
wo - d - om
wo - d - y
wo - d - ami
wo - d - ach
wo - d - y
ksi - k - i
ksi - e - k -
ksi - k - om
ksi - k - i
ksi - k - ami
ksi - k - ach
ksi - k - i
gaze - t - y
gaze - t -
gaze - t - om
gaze - t - y
gaze - t - ami
gaze - t - ach
gaze - t - y
Case
restauracja restaurant
pani you/lady
noc night
Singular
N
G
D
A
I
L
V
restauracj - a
restauracj - i
restauracj - i
restauracj -
restauracj -
restauracj - i
restauracj - o
pan - i
pan - i
pan - i
pan - i -
pan - i -
pan - i
pan - i
noc
noc - y
noc - y
noc
noc -
noc - y
noc - y
Plural
N
G
D
A
I
L
V
restauracj - e
restauracj - i
restauracj - om
restauracj - e
restauracj - ami
restauracj - ach
restauracj - e
pan - i - e
pa -
pan - i - om
pan - i - e
pan - i - ami
pan - i - ach
pan - i - e
noc - e
noc - y
noc - om
noc - e
noc - ami
noc - ach
noc - e
brat brother
ojciec father
komputer
computer
Singular
N
G
D
A
I
L
V
bra - t
bra - t - a
bra - t - u
bra - t - a
bra - t - em
bra - ci - e
bra - ci - e
oj - ci - e - c
oj - c - a
oj - c - u
oj - c - a
oj - c - em
oj - c - u
oj - cz - e
kompute - r
kompute - r - a
kompute - r - owi
kompute - r
kompute - r - em
kompute - rz - e
kompute - rz - e
45
46
Plural
N
G
D
A
I
L
V
Case
bra - ci - a
bra - ci
bra - ci - om
bra - ci
bra - - mi
bra - ci - ach
bra - ci - a
ojc - owie
ojc - w
ojc - om
ojc - w
ojc - ami
ojc - ach
ojc - owie
telefon telephone
kolega colleague
Singular
N
G
D
A
I
L
V
telefo - n
telefo - n - u
telefo - n - owi
telefo - n
telefo - n - em
telefo - ni - e
telefo - ni - e
kole - g - a
kole - g - i
kole - dz - e
kole - g -
kole - g -
kole - dz - e
kole - g - o
Plural
N
G
D
A
I
L
V
telefo - n - y
telefo - n - w
telefo - n - om
telefo - n - y
telefo - n - ami
telefo - n - ach
telefo - n - y
kompute - r - y
kompute - r - w
kompute - r - om
kompute - r - y
kompute - r - ami
kompute - r - ach
kompute - r - y
kole - dz - y
kole - g - w
kole - g - om
kole - g - w
kole - g - ami
kole - g - ach
kole - dz - y
47
morze sea
niadanie breakfast
okno window
Singular
N
G
D
A
I
L
V
morz - e
morz - a
morz - u
morz - e
morz - em
morz - u
morz - e
niada - ni - e
niada - ni - a
niada - ni - u
niada - ni - e
niada - ni - em
niada - ni - u
niada - ni - e
ok - n - o
ok - n - a
ok - n - u
ok - n - o
ok - n - em
ok - ni - e
ok - n - o
Plural
N
G
D
A
I
L
V
Case
morz - a
mrz -
morz - om
morz - a
morz - ami
morz - ach
morz - a
niada - ni - a
niada - -
niada - ni - om
niada - ni - a
niada - ni - ami
niada - ni - ach
niada - ni - a
imi name
centrum centre
Singular
N
G
D
A
I
L
V
imi -
imi - eni - a
imi - eni - u
imi -
imi - eni - em
imi - eni - u
imi -
centrum
centrum
centrum
centrum
centrum
centrum
centrum
ok - n - a
ok - ie - n -
ok - n - om
ok - n - a
ok - n - ami
ok - n - ach
ok - n - a
48
Plural
N
G
D
A
I
L
V
imion - a
imion -
imion - om
imion - a
imion - ami
imion - ach
imion - a
centr - a
centr - w
centr - om
centr - a
centr - ami
centr - ach
centr - a
As with feminine nouns, most other consonants get softened by the letter
i before the -e ending in Locative singular: klub klubie; ryba rybie
(fish).
Neuter nouns: some consonants get softened by the letter i before the -e
ending in Locative singular: okno w oknie (n ni (= )), piwo piwie
(w wi)
(e) Vocalic alternations
This section exemplifies examples of vocalic alternations (changes of
vowels) governed by the various noun declensions (cases) and is by no
means complete.
Feminine nouns: szkoa szk (gen pl): o school of schools
Masculine nouns: samochd samochody: o car cars
(f) Simultaneous consonantal and vocalic alternations
Sometimes both types of alternation (i.e. vocalic and consonantal) occur
simultaneously in one word.
Neuter nouns: lato w lecie summer in the summer; miasto w
miecie (town in the town)
Pronouns
Personal pronouns
Case
you (inf)
she
he
it
N
G
D
A
I
L
ja
mnie
mi
mnie
mn
mnie
ty
ci
ci
ci
tob
tobie
ona
jej
jej
j
ni
niej
on
go
mu
go
nim
nim
ono
go
mu
je
nim
nim
49
50
Case
we
you (inf)
they (men
and mixed)
they (non
men)
N
G
D
A
I
L
my
nas
nam
nas
nami
nas
wy
was
wam
was
wami
was
oni
ich
im
ich
nimi
nich
one
ich
im
je
nimi
nich
Case
you (inf)
he
it
G
D
A
mnie
mnie
mnie
ciebie
tobie
ciebie
jego
jemu
jego
jego
jemu
Examples:
I / he / you inf wasnt / werent there mnie / ciebie / jego tam nie byo
(Genitive)
I (m / f) gave it to you (inf) / him tobie / jemu to daem / daam (Dative)
I (m / f) saw you (inf) / him there ciebie / jego tam widziaem /
widziaam (Accusative)
Demonstrative pronouns
51
this, that*
Case
N
G
D
A
I
L
ta
tej
tej
t
t
tej
ten
tego
temu
tego / ten
tym
tym
to
tego
temu
to
tym
tym
these, those*
Case
non-m personal
m personal
N
G
D
A
I
L
te
tych
tym
te
tymi
tych
ci
tych
tym
tych
tymi
tych
*The above are used to express both this / these and that / those;
however, there are separate pronouns for that: tamten, tamta, tamto,
tamte (non m personal) and tamci (m personal) (lit. there this) inflected
as above.
52
Interrogative pronouns
Indefinite pronouns
Case
who
what
nobody
nothing
N
G
D
A
I
L
kto
kogo
komu
kogo
kim
kim
co
czego
czemu
co
czym
czym
nikt
nikogo
nikomu
nikogo
nikim
nikim
nic
niczego / nic
niczemu
nic
niczym
niczym
Possessive pronouns
Singular
Case
English
meaning
my
your (inf)
our
your (pl inf)
moja
twoja
nasza
wasza
mj
twj
nasz
wasz
moje
twoje
nasze
wasze
my
your (inf)
our
your (pl inf)
mojej
twojej
naszej
waszej
mojego
twojego
naszego
waszego
mojego
twojego
naszego
waszego
my
your (inf)
our
your (pl inf)
mojej
twojej
naszej
waszej
mojemu
twojemu
naszemu
waszemu
mojemu
twojemu
naszemu
waszemu
my
your (inf)
our
your (pl inf)
moj
twoj
nasz
wasz
mojego / mj
twojego / twj
naszego / nasz
waszego / wasz
moje
twoje
nasze
wasze
my
your (inf)
our
your (pl inf)
moj
twoj
nasz
wasz
moim
twoim
naszym
waszym
moim
twoim
naszym
waszym
my
your (inf)
our
your (pl inf)
mojej
twojej
naszej
waszej
moim
twoim
naszym
waszym
moim
twoim
naszym
waszym
Plural
Case
English meaning
non-m personal
m personal
my
your (inf)
our
your (pl inf)
moje
twoje
nasze
wasze
moi
twoi
nasi
wasi
my
your (inf)
our
your (pl inf)
moich
twoich
naszych
waszych
moich
twoich
naszych
waszych
my
your (inf)
our
your (pl inf)
moim
twoim
naszym
waszym
moim
twoim
naszym
waszym
my
your (inf)
our
your (pl inf)
moje
twoje
nasze
wasze
moich
twoich
naszych
waszych
my
your (inf)
our
your (pl inf)
moimi
twoimi
naszymi
waszymi
moimi
twoimi
naszymi
waszymi
53
54
my
your (inf)
our
your (pl inf)
moich
twoich
naszych
waszych
moich
twoich
naszych
waszych
The pronouns jego, jej, ich (his, her, their) are not inflected.
Adjectives
dobry, drogi good, dear
Singular
Case
N
G
D
A
I
L
f
dobra, droga
dobrej, drogiej
dobrej, drogiej
dobr, drog
m
dobry, drogi
dobrego, drogiego
dobremu, drogiemu
dobrego, drogiego
(animate = G)
dobry, drogi
(inanimate = N)
dobr, drog dobrym, drogim
dobrej, drogiej dobrym, drogim
n
dobre, drogie
dobrego, drogiego
dobremu, drogiemu
dobre, drogie (= N)
dobrym, drogim
dobrym, drogim
55
Plural
Case
non-m personal
m personal
N
G
D
A
I
L
dobre, drogie
dobrych, drogich
dobrym, drogim
dobre, drogie (=N)
dobrymi,drogimi
dobrych, drogich
dobrzy, drodzy
dobrych, drogich
dobrym, drogim
dobrych, drogich
dobrymi, drogimi
dobrych, drogich
Numerals
Case Question
Indefinite numbers
how much,
how many
(a) few
ile, ilu
kilka, kilku
G
D
A
ilu
ilu
ile, ilu
ilu / iloma
ilu
a dozen or so many
kilkanacie /
kilkunastu
kilku
kilkunastu
kilku
kilkunastu
kilka, kilku
kilkanacie /
kilkunastu
kilku / kilkoma kilkunastu /
kilkunastoma
kilku
kilkunastu
wiele / wielu
wielu
wielu
wiele / wielu
wielu /
wieloma
wielu
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