Table of Contents
Introduction 1 About This Book 1
Why I Wrote This Book 2
Conventions Used in This Book 2
Foolish Assumptions 4
How This Book Is Organised 4
Part I: Getting Started 4
Part II: Polish in Action 5
Part III: Polish on the Go 5
Part IV: Polish in the Workplace 5
Part V: The Part of Tens 5
Part VI: Appendixes 5
Icons Used in This Book 6
Where to Go from Here 6
Part I: Getting Started 7
Chapter 1: Introducing Polish 9
Spotting the Polish You Already Know 9
The Polish Alphabet: Reciting Your ABCs 10
Checking Out Consonant Pronunciation 12
C 12
Ć and Ci 12
Cz 13
Dz 13
Dź and Dzi 13
Dż 13
H and Ch 14
J 14
Ł 14
Ń and Ni 15
R 15
Ś and Si 16
Sz 16
W 16
Ź and Zi 17
Ż and Rz 17
Pronouncing Voiced and Silent Consonants 17
Saying Polish Vowels 18
Nasal vowels 19
The nasal ą and ę in the fi nal position 20
Searching for Stress and Blending Prepositions 21
Counting prepositions 21
Placing unusual stress 22
Some Basic Phrases to Know 23
Chapter 2: Getting Down to Essential Polish Grammar 25
The Case of Polish Cases 26
Nominative case 27
Genitive case 28
Dative case 30
Accusative case 31
Instrumental case 32
Locative case 33
Vocative case 33
Recognising Perfective and Imperfective Verbs 34
Finding Your Way in Polish Tenses 35
Being in the now with present tense 35
Remembering the past tense 39
Looking into the future tense 44
Part II: Polish in Action 49
Chapter 3: Dzień dobry! Cześć! Greetings and Introductions 51
Being Formal or Informal 51
Saying ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ 52
Avoiding trite greetings 53
Replying to ‘How are you?’ 55
Getting Introductions Right 56
Making informal introductions 56
Presenting yourself and enquiring about others formally 58
Presenting other people informally and formally 59
Describing Yourself and Others 60
Getting familiar with the verb być, to be 60
Saying goodbye to personal pronouns – except sometimes 62
Talking about countries and nationalities 63
Jumping In to mówiȩ po polsku (Speak Polish) 67
Chapter 4: Getting to Know You: Making Small Talk 73
Asking Key Questions 73
Finding out who, what, where and ‘how do you say?’ 74
Discovering the secret to forming ‘yes’/‘no’ questions 75
Sharing Basic Contact Information 76
Living with mieszkać: The verb to live 76
Telling people how to reach you 76
Counting Numbers 78
Getting to Know People and Families 81
Showing ownership with possessive pronouns 82
Describing people and objects 84
Keeping an Eye on the Weather 86
Chapter 5: Dining Out and Going to the Market 91
Smacznego! Enjoy your Meal! 91
Is it time to eat yet? All about meals 91
Tackling table terms 92
Eating and drinking phrases 93
Using two verbs at the table: Jeść and pić 93
The Case of the Accusative Case 94
Objectifying masculine nouns and adjectives 94
Changing feminine endings 96
Tabling the accusative case 96
Eating Out: Trying Polish Food in a Restaurant 96
Making reservations 98
Arriving and being seated 100
Decoding the menu 102
Asking for what you want 104
Preferring, liking and disliking 106
Finding your way to the ‘Ladies’ and ‘Gents’ 109
Shopping for Food 110
Shopping at the supermarket and other grocery shops 110
Finding what you need 111
Knowing the measures: Weight, volume and package 113
The Case of the Genitive Case 115
Owning masculine nouns and adjectives 115
Showing possession of neuters 116
Generating feminine genitives 116
Tabling the genitive case 116
Making plurals 118
Chapter 6: Shopping Made Easy 121
Introducing Places to Shop 121
Shopping for Clothes 124
Getting assistance and trying clothes on 125
Colour me Polish 128
Checking fabrics and patterns 129
Identifying yourself by what you’re wearing 130
Making Comparisons: Good, Better, Best and More 131
Comparing with the comparative degree 131
Besting the superlative degree 132
Dealing with irregular comparatives and superlatives 132
Paying Compliments 133
Chapter 7: Going Out on the Town 137
Understanding that Timing Is Everything 137
Counting ordinal numbers 137
Using the 24-hour clock 143
Splitting the day and talking about the future 143
Listing the Days of the Week 144
Inviting and Being Invited 145
Making the Most of the Nightlife 147
Enjoying yourself at shows and events 150
Purchasing tickets 152
Discussing the show 155
Chapter 8: Enjoying Yourself: Recreation 159
Liking the Verb Lubić 159
Being Interested in the Refl exive Verb 161
The Case of the Instrumental Case 164
Using ‘Often’ Often: Adverbs of Frequency 165
Exploring the Outdoors 166
Hiking in the mountains 166
Sunbathing on the beach 169
Going to the countryside 171
Skiing in the mountains 171
Sailing in the summertime 174
Going camping 176
Chapter 9: Talking on the Phone 179
Dealing with the Preliminaries 179
Asking who you’re talking to 180
Making the connection 182
Leaving Messages 182
Asking someone to repeat themselves 185
Setting up your voicemail greetings 186
Making Appointments 186
Part III: Polish on the Go 191
Chapter 10: Money, Money, Money 193
Cashing In with Some Basic Info about Money 193
Spending złoty and grosz 195
Operating cash machines 196
Exchanging Currency 199
Chapter 11: Asking Directions 203
Finding Your Way Around 203
Understanding the Answer 205
Knowing How Far You Go 208
Mapping the Place 209
Going with the Four Verbs ‘To Go’ 211
Travelling by Car or another Vehicle 212
Describing a Position or Location 215
Locating the locative case 215
Exploring prepositions of location and position 219
Chapter 12: Checking into a Hotel 225
Choosing a Hotel 225
Describing the room you want 225
Making a reservation 226
Discussing services and facilities 227
Checking into a Hotel 230
Checking Out 234
Chapter 13: Getting Around: Planes, Trains, Taxis and More 239
Arriving in Poland by Air 239
Dealing with customs 240
Sorting out check-in and boarding 240
Travelling Around in the City 244
Finding a taxi 244
Taking a train or bus 245
Renting a car 251
Scheduling Issues: Running Late, Being Early or Arriving on Time 253
Chapter 14: Planning a Trip 255
Making Travel Plans with a Travel Agent 255
Timing Your Trip 258
Mastering Visas and Passports 262
Packing For Your Visit 263
Taking Your Computer Along 266
Chapter 15: Help! Handling Emergencies 269
Shouting for Help – Pomocy! 269
Handling Health Problems 270
Helping out 270
Giving advice 271
Expressing pain when you’re hurt 272
Braving the dentist 276
Ensuring that you get reimbursed 279
Dealing with Car Accidents 279
What Bad Luck! Getting Help with Legal Problems 282
Reporting to the police 282
Dealing with Domestic Emergencies 284
Part IV: Polish in the Workplace 287
Chapter 16: Using Polish in the Office 289
Finding Your Way around the Office 289
Office furniture and accessories 290
Dealing with faulty office equipment 291
Planning Your Day 293
Arranging a meeting 294
Setting a date 298
Cancelling meetings and apologising 300
Getting Down to Business with Business Travelling 300
Leaving for Good 301
Chapter 17: Polish on the Worksite 305
Getting Hired and Getting Fired 305
Talking about how much you work 309
Getting fired 309
Getting Familiar with Workers and their Tools 310
Getting down to tools and construction equipment 312
Dealing with problems at home 313
Health and Safety 314
Reporting Accidents 316
Chapter 18: Polish for Public Servants and Professionals 319
Talking About Your Job 319
The verb pracować (to work) 321
Industries and departments 322
Working in a Hospital or Pharmacy 324
Working for the Police and Fire Department 327
Connecting People 329
Part V: The Part of Tens 333
Chapter 19: Ten Ways to Pick Up Polish Quickly 335
Reading Polish Magazines and Easy Books 335
Watching Polish Films 336
Using Stickers or Flashcards 336
Listening to Polish Music and Radio 336
Surfing the Internet 336
Using Language CDs and Computer Programs 337
Looking Up Words in the Dictionary 337
Visiting Poland 337
Mingling with Poles 337
Taking Polish Classes 338
Chapter 20: Ten Everyday Polish Expressions 339
No 339
Pa/Pa, pa 340
Smacznego! 340
Na zdrowie! 340
To niemożliwe! 340
Chyba 341
Naprawdę 341
Dokładnie 341
Masz rację 342
Palce lizać!/Pycha!/Mniam, mniam! 342
Chapter 21: Ten Polish Holidays to Remember 343
Polish Weddings 343
Name Days 343
Fat Thursday 344
Easter 344
Prima Aprilis 345
Constitution Day – 3 May 1791 345
All Saints’ Day 346
Independence Day 346
St Andrew’s Day 346
Christmas 346
Chapter 22: Ten Phrases That Make You Sound Fluent in Polish 349
Nie ma mowy! 349
Nie ma sprawy 349
Być może and Może być 350
Wszystko (mi) jedno 350
Nie mam (zielonego/bladego) pojęcia 351
O co chodzi? 351
Szkoda!/Jaka szkoda! 351
Co za pech! 351
Pozdrów go/ją ode mnie 352
Udanej zabawy! 352
Part VI: Appendixes 353
Appendix A: Mini-Dictionaries 355
Polish–English Mini-Dictionary 355
English–Polish Mini-Dictionary 365
Appendix B: Verb Tables 375
Regular Polish Verbs 376
Irregular Verbs 380
Verbs with No Perfective Form 383
Modal verbs 385
Conditional mood 386
Appendix C: Polish Facts 389
Appendix D: Audio Tracks 393
Discovering What’s On the Audio Tracks 393
Index 395
