PolishForums   Poland Now and Then 
Home . Polls . Search Witamy,  [Guest 38.103.63.58]  Latest Discussions . Unanswered Posts . Random Topic
 Please register or login below:

 » Username  » Password 
Polish Forums / General Polish Language /

can / be able to vs may / be allowed to


posts: 21
Mufasa
  Nov 17, 07, 09:22  #1

Some help please.
I know can / be able to = móc. (In English, this is about your physical ability to go to the party - yes you can)
Do you also use móc for may / be allowed to, or is there another word. (In English, this is about whether your parents allow you to go - no, you may not)
I know that this is in a strict sense, and that the two words in english are sometimes used as synonyms, although it's not entirely correct.

Reply
Member
Posts: 465
Joined: Oct 21, 07
z_darius
  Nov 17, 07, 09:36  #2

the precise meaning of móc depends on the conetxt so it can be used to express the meaning of both.
There are other words which are more specific though:

potrafić - to be able too
wolno - is/was/will be allowed.

Wolno is kinda funny to explain. It probably can be translated as "it is allowed for [me, you etc] to do something".
Here are the forms:
The (*) symbol explained below


wolno mi (*) - I may
wolno ci (*) - you may
wolno mu/jemu (*) - he/it may
wolno jej (*) - she may
wolno mu (*) - he may

wolno nam (*) - we may
wolno wam (*) - you may
wolno im (*) - they may

a) for the present tense (*) needs to be replaced with an infinitive (I am allowed)
b) for the past tense (*) needs to be replaced with "bylo" + infinitive (I was allowed
c) for the future tense (*) needs to be replaced with "bedzie + infinitive (I will be allowed)

Most of the time version a use used, the other ones being rare in colloqial (colloquial is not necessarilly slang) speech

Reply
Member
Posts: 2904
Joined: Oct 18, 07
Mufasa
  Nov 17, 07, 09:44  #3

In other words:

Quoting: z_darius
wolno mi (*) - I may


wolno mi imprezować - I may party
wolno ci imprezować - You may party

itd.?

Reply
Member
Posts: 465
Joined: Oct 21, 07
z_darius
  Nov 17, 07, 09:47  #4

Quoting: Mufasa
wolno mi imprezować - I may party

I can't answer that question. I am not in a poisition to contro you, so have all the fun ;)

In terms of grammar, perfect.

Reply
Member
Posts: 2904
Joined: Oct 18, 07
Mufasa
  Nov 17, 07, 09:58  #5

Quoting: z_darius
I can't answer that question. I am not in a poisition to contro you, so have all the fun ;)


Dziękuję bardzo, Pan Dariu¶. I don't mind if I do ;)

Seems that you know me a little by now ;)

Reply
Member
Posts: 465
Joined: Oct 21, 07
z_darius
  Nov 17, 07, 10:19  #6

Quoting: Mufasa
Dziękuję bardzo, Pan Dariu¶. I don't mind if I do ;)

You're welcome. I don't mind at all, and I'm glad I can help.

Now... the teacher in me... I hope you understand ;)

The thing with the first name:

Official form: Dariusz (I'd this is too official for every day speech)
Diminutive forms:

Darek (OK for anybody to use)
Daru¶ (affectionate)
Dareczek (mildly affectionate)

"Pan Dariu¶" should be "Panie Darusiu" (vocative). "panie" + "darusiu" sounds funny, but not incorrect. Kinda tongue in cheek expression, since the diminutive and affectionate "daru¶" is gently cancelled by "pan".

So, the expected forms would be:

Dziękuję bardzo, Daru¶.
Dziękuję bardzo, Darusiu.
Dziękuję bardzo, Panie Darku.
Dziękuję bardzo, Panie Dariuszu.

Quoting: Mufasa
Seems that you know me a little by now ;)

Heck, I know you're really working hard here. And you even include such nice, and unexpected touches as "itd.?" in your post.

Signed: Daru¶ z Kanady :))

Reply
Member
Posts: 2904
Joined: Oct 18, 07
Shawn_H
  Nov 17, 07, 10:24  #7

Quoting: z_darius
"itd.?"

Co to jest?

Reply
Member
Posts: 1201
Joined: Apr 6, 07
z_darius
Edited by: z_darius  Nov 17, 07, 10:26  #8

Quoting: Shawn_H
Co to jest?

i tak dalej, used in Polish as etc., but etc is also correct.

oops, let me add another one similar to etc:

itd - i tak dalej (and so on)
itp - i tym podobne (and the like)

Sometimes you will here people combine the two in one sentence (itp itd), much like English "and so on and so forth"

Reply
Member
Posts: 2904
Joined: Oct 18, 07
Shawn_H
  Nov 17, 07, 10:28  #9

Dzieki z_d. Learned something new :)

Reply
Member
Posts: 1201
Joined: Apr 6, 07
Mufasa
  Nov 17, 07, 10:33  #10

Quoting: z_darius
Kinda tongue in cheek expression, since the diminutive and affectionate "daru¶" is gently cancelled by "pan".


At least I got the tongue in cheek feeling through to you - no matter how crooked!

You have helped with almost all my langauge questions so far, therefore you have become an 'old friend' (the informal part)

You are 'the teacher' (formal part) - so yes - it was meant tongue in cheek.

I'll absorb the rest of your teaching slowly so that wolono mi pamiętać następny ras.

Następny ras is without doubt not correct, but anyway ;)

Reply
Member
Posts: 465
Joined: Oct 21, 07
z_darius
Edited by: z_darius  Nov 17, 07, 10:40  #11

Quoting: Mufasa
I'll absorb the rest of your teaching slowly so that wolono mi pamiętać następny ras.

Anytime.
Do następnego razu! (Till next time!)

(another tricky one, eh? Remember, Polish voiced consonant become voiceless when followed by either a voiceless one, or by silence, hence your spelling error.)

Reply
Member
Posts: 2904
Joined: Oct 18, 07
Mufasa
  Nov 17, 07, 12:41  #12

Quoting: z_darius
razu!


I knew that! damn! :)

Reply
Member
Posts: 465
Joined: Oct 21, 07
Mufasa
Edited by: Mufasa  Nov 17, 07, 14:23  #13

Another question: where does można fit into this equation?

Reply
Member
Posts: 465
Joined: Oct 21, 07
Mufasa
  Nov 17, 07, 14:33  #14

Panie Darku? Yoo-hooooo? are you here somewhere???? ;)

Reply
Member
Posts: 465
Joined: Oct 21, 07
rafik
  Nov 17, 07, 14:39  #15

Quoting: Mufasa
Another question: where does można fit into this equation?

what question?the one about a party?

Reply
Member
Posts: 836
Joined: Jun 22, 06
z_darius
Edited by: z_darius  Nov 17, 07, 14:41  #16

Quoting: Mufasa
where does można fit into this equation?

można+infinitive is impersonal, like English "one may" or "something is allowed".

Reply
Member
Posts: 2904
Joined: Oct 18, 07
rafik
  Nov 17, 07, 14:43  #17

Quoting: Mufasa

wolno mi imprezować - I may party
wolno ci imprezować - You may party

moge imprezowac-i may go to the party
ona moze imprezowac-she may go to the party

Reply
Member
Posts: 836
Joined: Jun 22, 06
Mufasa
  Nov 17, 07, 14:53  #18

Quoting: rafik
what question?the one about a party?


yeah yeah rafik - nice try! ;)

you're such a nice koalah, but unfortunately imprezuję tylko z psem. ;)

(I'm sure gramatyka is again in it's .... in)

Reply
Member
Posts: 465
Joined: Oct 21, 07
Michal
Edited by: Michal  Nov 17, 07, 17:01  #19

Quoting: Mufasa
I know can / be able to = móc. (In English, this is about your physical ability to go to the party - yes you c

It seems that this question has been made too complicated and has become side tracked. Anyway, we have had this whole topic somewhere else not so long ago and this is just a repetition. To answer the question simply móc-to be able from which we get the verb ending mogę meaning I can do something (in a physical sense) mogę otworzyć okno and ja umiem, from the verb umieć means I have the mental ability to do something such as umiem mówić po polsku meaning that I have the mental ability to speak Polish through education. Potrafić is used again differently and I can not understand where wolno and można come in to it with the verb móc.

Reply
Member
Posts: 2420
Joined: Feb 27, 07
z_darius
  Nov 17, 07, 20:05  #20

Quoting: Michal
I can not understand where wolno and można come in to it with the verb móc.

It has to do with what is called "semantic fields". Read up on the subject and you'll realize that all those words will be in the same symantic field (don't confuse with synonym), and therefore naturally discussed as one topic.

Reply
Member
Posts: 2904
Joined: Oct 18, 07
Michal
Edited by: Michal  Nov 18, 07, 04:45  #21

Quoting: Mufasa
I know can / be able to = móc. (In English, this is about your physical ability to go to the party - yes you can)

It is still a matter of ja mogę versus ja umiem in effect. Now semantic fields? Why make a simple question so impossibly complicated?
To know is znać or wiedzieć which is yet another totally different matter from that of the verb móc.
To answer the original question mogę jechać means that physically you are able to go and are free from other obligations at the time in question.
Umiem is similar to dam sobie radę in a mental ability to perform a task.

Reply
Member
Posts: 2420
Joined: Feb 27, 07
 
Similar Threads | Latest | Unanswered | Random  Go UPtop of page

Home / General Polish Language /

Your Reply re: can / be able to vs may / be allowed to 

Bold  Italic  Horizontal Line  Cite Source 
Ą  ą  Ć  ć  Ę  ę  Ł  ł  Ń  ń  Ó  ó  Ś  ś  Ź  ź  Ż  ż

If you read this, you are probably not a registered user yet and cannot access all forums and features!

 - Before creating a new topic, make sure to follow the Topic Title Creation Rules.
 - Your message must comply with the General Forum Rules.
 - If you have further questions, check the Forum FAQ & Feedback section.

To post anonymously, please enter a temporary and unique Username (without password).


Please register or login below:

 » Username  » Password 



Newer thread in this forum: Older thread in this forum:
Sending SMS messages without using Polish characters How do people mispronounce your Polish names?


59 users online in the last hour [Guests - 43 / Members - 16] All times are CST (GMT -6)

Home . Latest Discussions . Unanswered Posts . Random Topic . Statistics
© 2005-08 PolishForums.com | About Us | Contact Us | Privacy, TOS, Rules | Poland Advertising |