Polish Phrase by Phrase

Have you watered the plants?

2012-02-29T08:35:00.000-05:00

Somebody has to do it. I mean, if you want your flowers to remain green. "Have you watered the plants?"

Czy podlałeś kwiaty?

Key Words:

podlałeś - to water
kwiaty - plants (flowers)

Grammar Point:

This sentence is in the mascline form.
You must first determine the gender of the person you are speaking to.
To put it into the fenimine form say: Czy podlałaś kwiaty?

Long Time, No See

2012-02-27T08:43:00.000-05:00

I find that most languages in the World have some equivalent for the saying, "Long Time, No See". Well, I guess Polish is no exception.

Dawno się nie widzieliśmy!

Key Words:

Dawno - long time
nie -no, have not
widzieliśmy - to see (first person plural, past tense)

Green is my favorite color

2012-02-25T11:24:00.000-05:00

What is your favorite color? As for me, "Green is my favorite color".

Zielony to mój ulubiony kolor.

Key Words:

zielony - green
to - is
mój - my (masculine)
ulubiony - favorite
kolor - color

Grammar Point:

Zielony to mój ulubiony kolor. - mój here is masculine because the noun (kolor (color)) is masculine.

Can you turn off the light?

2012-02-22T12:34:00.000-05:00

So you want the light off but you don't want to get up. Try this phrase with your Polish speaking spouse. I wouldn't recommend being so lazy with your in-laws.

Czy możesz zgasić światło?

Key words:

możesz - can you?
zgasić - turn off
światło - light

Key Grammar:

możesz zgasić (can you turn off) is a construction featuring two verbs. Whenever there are two verbs back to back, the second will always be in its infinitive form.

Can you wash the dishes?

2012-02-22T08:59:00.000-05:00

You know the rule, if she cooks then you clean. However, try to impress her with this new phrase and you might just get a free pass. Warning, this works one time only.

Can you wash the dishes?

Czy możesz pozmywać naczynia?

Key Words:

możesz - can (second person singular)
pozmywać - to wash
naczynia - dishes

Really Comfortable!

2012-02-20T11:24:00.000-05:00

So you go to sit down in your chair, your favorite spot in the the whole house. Why do you always sit there? You can say, because "it's really comfortable!"

Jest naprawdę wygodne!

Key Words:

Jest - is
naprawdę - really
wygodne - comfortable

Grammar Point:

The word wygodne (comfortable) takes the neuter form because it is talking about a chair (krzesło) which is a neuter noun.

If talking about a noun that is masculine say:
Jest naprawdę wygodny.

If talking about a noun that is feminine say:
Jest naprawdę wygodna.

If talking about a noun that is neuter (chair/krzesło) say:
Jest naprawdę wygodne.

Where are you from?

2012-02-17T11:29:00.000-05:00

It's a simple question really?

Where are you from?

Skąd pochodzisz?

Key Words

Skąd - Where
pochodzisz - from (2nd person)

How are you feeling?

2012-02-17T09:57:00.000-05:00

So she doesn't look so good, or maybe she is not in a good mood. Before you make some sly remark, you can be nice and ask, "How are you feeling?"

Jak się czujesz?

Keywords

Jak - how
czujesz - to feel

Where is that?

2012-02-15T20:56:00.003-05:00

Your friend tells you about a great tourist spot but you haven't a clue as to what they are talking about? Trying asking them where such and such a place is.

Where is that?

Gdzie to jest?

Key Words

gdzie - where

to - is
jest - that

Not Yet

2012-02-15T04:52:00.000-05:00

Have you eaten yet? Are you tired? Can you speak Polish? Sometimes a question is best answered without saying yes or no? Try this: "not yet"

Jeszcze nie

Key Words:

Jeszcze - still
nie - no /not

When is the Meeting?

2012-02-13T07:38:00.000-05:00

So what time was that meeting? I always forget and I am always running late. It's not my fault really, the line at Starbucks is always way too long...

What time is the meeting?

Kiedy jest spotkanie?

Key Words

Kiedy - When
jest - is
spotkanie - meeting

Grammar Point:

Kiedy - A question word (when) always used at the beginning of a sentence.

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Good idea

2012-02-10T09:41:00.000-05:00

Here's a simple but effective way to show that you agree with another person. Say, "good idea".

To dobry pomsył

Key Words:

To - This (can be omitted)
dobry - good (in masculine form)
pomsył - idea

Can you close the door?

2012-02-08T09:15:00.000-05:00

Following the same format as the question "can you open the window?", let's learn how to say "can you close the door?"

Czy możesz zamknąć drzwi?

Key Words:

możesz - can, able to (-esz denotes second person singular)
zamknąć - to close
drzwi - door

Grammar Points:

Czy - denotes a question
możesz zamknąć- when two verbs are listed together, the second takes the infinitive form

Extra:

drzwi - While door is a singular object, drzwi is written in the plural form (like the English word pants)

What time does the train leave for Warsaw?

2012-02-06T03:22:00.000-05:00

I find that no matter where I am in Poland, I can always get to Warsaw without the need to rent or own a car. Most of the time by train, but if not by train, then by bus. Let's ask the question, "What time does the train leave for Warsaw?"

O której godzinie ojeżdża pociąg do Warszawy?

Key Words:

O której godzinie - (at) what time
ojeżdża - departing
pociąg - train
do Warszawy? - to Warsaw