may/might (expression)

chazaThreads: 49 Posts: 266 Joined: Dec 21, 09 ♂	Aug 23, 10, 19:34 #1
if i wanted to express something that i may or might not do or want to do, would i use the word ' moc' and would i be correct in saying that, this word means both 'may' and ' might'. i.e i might not go there today i may want to see you today you might not like it thanks chaza

♂

Edited by: SeanBM Aug 23, 10, 20:30 #2

chaza:

would i use the word ' moc'

"Moc" means 'strength' or 'power', not 'may' or 'might'.
You can use it for physical strength or mental, same as in English, you can even use it to describe strong wodka ;)

'może' is the word I think you are looking for, meaning 'might' or 'may'.

i might not go there today = może pójdę tam dziś.

i may want to see you today = może będęą chciala cie zobaczyć dziś.

you might not like it = może ci się nie spodoba.

chazaThreads: 49 Posts: 266 Joined: Dec 21, 09 ♂	Aug 23, 10, 21:04 #3
thanks for that, the word i thought it was is 'moć' but does the word moźe also mean ' maybe' i suppose the person you are talking to will know which word i mean by the context of the conversation. thanks chaza

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08 ♂	Aug 23, 10, 21:06 #4
chaza: but does the word moźe also mean ' maybe' i suppose the person you are talking to will know which word i mean by the context of the conversation. Yes, 'moźe' also means 'maybe', 'it's possible', 'may' 'might', 'it could be'. All these mean the same thing.

chazaThreads: 49 Posts: 266 Joined: Dec 21, 09 ♂	Aug 23, 10, 21:25 #5
thanks sean its a great help chaz

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08 ♂	Aug 23, 10, 21:26 #6
Sometimes we all need a hand and if I am able I will always lend it :)

chazaThreads: 49 Posts: 266 Joined: Dec 21, 09 ♂	Aug 23, 10, 21:29 #7
i was just looking at my book 301 verbs, and i see mogę, moźe, they both mean , can, may, able. i suspect i may have missed some point here. chaza

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08 ♂	Edited by: SeanBM Aug 23, 10, 21:33 #8
chaza: mogę mogę is different to moźe. Mogę means "I can" or "I have the ability" or "I am allowed". For the sake of confusion, I think it's better if you tackle one word at a time. I have had Polish people tell me of the confusion they had in English with similar sounding words "cat, sat, mat, that, pat" etc... It's the same for us.

chazaThreads: 49 Posts: 266 Joined: Dec 21, 09 ♂	Aug 23, 10, 21:58 #9
thanks sean i have been learning polish for 14mnth, i can hold a conversation now, but there are still some little bits of confusion like this one. on the whole i think i'm doing good. but every bit helps as they say. word order is my biggest battle right now, but the fight goes on. thanks chaza

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08 ♂	Aug 23, 10, 22:03 #10
chaza: word order is my biggest battle right now, but the fight goes on. I still have a problem with this. Trying to find out who is doing what to whom, is a pain in the neck. My Polish grammar still has a lot to be desired.

chazaThreads: 49 Posts: 266 Joined: Dec 21, 09 ♂	Aug 23, 10, 22:50 #11
so you can see where i am coming from, at the end of the day, as long as my polish friends can understand what i want to say, thats the job done. all the rest will fall into place as it comes. i write better polish then i do speaking it. chaza

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Aug 23, 10, 22:56 #12
Moć is urine if I'm not mistaken ;) Moc is power/strength

chazaThreads: 49 Posts: 266 Joined: Dec 21, 09 ♂	Aug 23, 10, 23:02 #13
i just chjecked my book and the word is móc/ potrafić

zetigrekThreads: 59 Posts: 2,709 Joined: May 20, 10 ♂	Aug 23, 10, 23:06 #14
Seanus: Moć is urine if I'm not mistaken ;) Mocz seanus, mocz ;D

dtaylor5632Threads: 49 Posts: 4,459 Joined: May 2, 09 ♂	Aug 23, 10, 23:06 #15
móc, to be able, may ect

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Aug 23, 10, 23:10 #16
As I was saying, moć and mocz are similar. Some sounds I have a problem with :)

zetigrekThreads: 59 Posts: 2,709 Joined: May 20, 10 ♂	Aug 23, 10, 23:15 #17
Seanus: As I was saying, moć and mocz are similar. Some sounds I have a problem with :) czeszę vs cieszę It can sound pretty funny if you say "Czeszę się bardzo" - does it happens to you? ;)

♂

Edited by: SzwedwPolsce Aug 23, 10, 23:17 #18

Może "is" actually 2 different words.

Może (number 1) means maybe (and it's never conjugated or declined). So it's easy to handle.

-------------------------------------------

Może (number 2) is the 3rd person singular of the verb you mentioned moć (on/ona/ono/to może). This word means to be able to.

To be able to (moć):
Ja mogę
Ty możesz
on/ona/ono/to może
etc...

This conjugation you can find in 301 Polish Verbs.

-------------------------------------------

Może (number 1) = maybe
Może (number 2) = to be able to

You must look at the context to determine which of the 2 meanings is the correct one in a given sentence.

chaza:

i might not go there today
i may want to see you today
you might not like it

In these cases you use Może number 1 (see above).

pgtxThreads: 49 Posts: 6,327 Joined: Feb 14, 09 MEMBER ♀	Aug 23, 10, 23:20 #19
SzwedwPolsce: Może is actually 2 different words. and don't confuse it with "morze" which means "sea" and sounds the same...

enderThreads: 13 Posts: 528 Joined: Nov 7, 09 ♂	Edited by: ender Aug 24, 10, 02:56 #20
chaza: i might not go there today sorry that one is much more difficult then they describe above I might go there today. = Może pójdę tam dzisiaj. but I might not go there today. = Może tam dzisiaj nie pójdę. Is very specific and can not be used easily much safer is Możliwe że tam dzisiaj nie pójdę.

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08 ♂	Aug 24, 10, 07:51 #21
SzwedwPolsce: Może (number 2) is the 3rd person singular of the verb you mentioned moć (on/ona/ono/to może). This word means to be able to. Darn, I missed that one... good call. ender: I might not go there today. = Może tam dzisiaj nie pójdę. Double darn, missed that one too.

ZiemowitThreads: 10 Posts: 1,063 Joined: May 8, 09 ♂	Aug 24, 10, 11:12 #22
chaza: i might not go there today i may want to see you today Such sentences often use the expression "[jest] możliwe, że ..." in Polish. (a) Jest możliwe, że dzisiaj tam nie pójdę. (b) Możliwe, że będę chciała cię dziś zobaczyć. / Możliwe, że będę się chciała dziś z tobą spotkać.

cinekThreads: 1 Posts: 264 Joined: Nov 16, 07 ♂	Aug 24, 10, 16:28 #23
SzwedwPolsce: Może (number 1) = maybe It's just short for 'być może' which means literarily 'may be'. Cinek

chazaThreads: 49 Posts: 266 Joined: Dec 21, 09 ♂	Aug 25, 10, 11:18 #24
yes, one of the liittle issues i have is getting my mouth to say all the strange sounds, like szcs, prze.... and stuff but im getting there

SzwedwPolsceThreads: 13 Posts: 1,915 Joined: Feb 21, 09 ♂	Edited by: SzwedwPolsce Aug 26, 10, 22:53 #25
chaza: yes, one of the liittle issues i have is getting my mouth to say all the strange sounds, like szcs, prze.... and stuff but im getting there It's one of the main problems. Many people have problems with ć, ń, ś, ź, ni, si, ci, zi. The so called softening of consonants.

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