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Help with Sentence Structure!



FoxxiGoldThreads: 6
Posts: 36
Joined: Apr 30, 08 		  Apr 30, 08, 05:33 /  #
Can anyone help with rules/principles of good Sentence Structure? I've just started learning Polish - it is sooo hard! Its one thing to try and remember meanings and phonetics but I can't even have a good guess at short sentences as I don't understand simple sentence structure. Please help!
lowfunk99Threads: 18
Posts: 435
Joined: Jan 7, 08 		  Apr 30, 08, 07:54 /  #
I am in the same place as you Foxxi. The sentence structure is the same as English.

subject verb object

However adjectives can come before or after the noun.

What gets tricky is that adjectives have to match nouns for gender.

Then verbs have to be declined. I made the mistake of buying 301 Polish verbs and it confused me.
FoxxiGoldThreads: 6
Posts: 36
Joined: Apr 30, 08 		  May 1, 08, 03:49 /  #
thank you lowfunk for your reply, I have printed it off for future reference, don't think i've ever been so excited talking about sentence structure! thank you.
SajaThreads: -
Posts: 9
Joined: Mar 2, 08 		  May 1, 08, 04:54 /  #
Post your problems (details). I will help you.
FoxxiGoldThreads: 6
Posts: 36
Joined: Apr 30, 08 		  May 1, 08, 07:28 /  #
thank you Saja, I don't have anything specific at the moment to discuss, but if I come across anything I will be keep you in mind. Thank you.
Polonius3Threads: 1,005
Posts: 4,834
Joined: Apr 11, 08 		  May 1, 08, 10:57 /  #
Polish is an inflected language and that means that word order is far more flexilble than in positional languages such as English or Chinese. That is because the ending tells you which function a word performs.
Usually, one does use the standrad word order in Polish (as in English): subject, predicate and object. eg: On widzi psa (he sees the dog). However, for the sake of emphasis things can be switched about.
Psa /on/ widzi (which in English would be translated as: It's a dog he sees /not a cat or horse/).
In other words, it is important to learn your endings. On the other hand, in practical terms, Poles (unlike the French) are quite tolerant of foreigners butchering their tongue and bend over backwards to try to understand. So even if you engage in Kali-speak (me go, me want, etc.), named after a savage in Sienkiewicz's 'In Desert and Wilderness', you should be able to get by with a pocket dicionary and phrase book at your fingertips.
FoxxiGoldThreads: 6
Posts: 36
Joined: Apr 30, 08 		  May 1, 08, 15:55 /  #
thank you, that was a very informative and comprehensive reply. I will take on board your suggestion and try to recognise and remember word endings. Rome wasn't built in a day, and Polish wasn't learnt in a week! ....
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