Polish grammar made easy

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Nov 22, 08, 09:01 #1

My fiancee brought my attention to a quality site. There is really much to learn here, I recommend this site to anyone who wants to improve their grammatical knowledge. Osioł, you are foremost in my mind at the moment of writing.

It may have been listed before but I'm not sure. Here it is, polishgrammar.com

It comes complete with tests which are tricky. English grammar I have down to a tee but parts of this site are a whole new world. Enjoy!!

dcchrisThreads: 11 Posts: 687 Joined: Oct 29, 07 ♂	Nov 22, 08, 10:01 #2
cheers for that i will give it a try

osiolThreads: 59 Posts: 4,714 Joined: Jul 25, 07 ♂	Nov 22, 08, 11:38 #3
Thanks, sheepie. I just went through/on/at/by one of the 100 question multiple choice quizzes on there. I got loads right first time and most of the rest of them right on the second attempt. It's easier when it's multiple choice. It's also easier to work from Polish into English than the other way around.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,160 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Nov 22, 08, 14:28 #4
Great point. It's much easier from Polish to English. The same goes for translations. I have major problems converting from English to Polish. I'm currently getting grammar lessons to give my Polish some polish.

osiolThreads: 59 Posts: 4,714 Joined: Jul 25, 07 ♂	Nov 22, 08, 14:31 #5
Actually, the best thing about the one exercise I did on there is that I have learnt one new word. Za! How could I have not known this word before. Not that definition of it anyway!

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,160 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Nov 22, 08, 16:09 #6
Which definition are you referring to specifically? Geez, I've started to write are you and to, rather than r u and 2. PD really got to me then ;)

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Edited by: osiol Nov 22, 08, 16:20 #7

I just liberally throw it into sentences where it doesn't belong.

Za dużo / za mało - I say these all the time.
Będę za pięć minut - I'll be five minutes (I actually use this to mean anything between 30 seconds and a couple of hours)

But now I know it can mean behind as well.
Does it go with the instrumental?

Seanus:

I've started to write are you and to, rather than r u and 2. PD really got to me then ;)

Good 4 u.

One criticism of the site is that in the questions about case endings, it asks for the endings by the name of the case, for example:

Instrumental singular masculine animal: śledzi_
em
ego
owi
iem

which is only good if you know the cases by name rather than by what they do.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,160 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Nov 22, 08, 16:29 #8
Locative, yes. Za can also mean that you are for (u r 4 sth) something. Jestem za aborcją. So, yes, the instrumental case too.

JJBUZIAKThreads: 2 Posts: 5 Joined: Apr 11, 10 ♀	Apr 28, 10, 00:24 #9
Two years later but thanx :) lol

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,160 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Nov 11, 11, 17:39 #10
This thread might be useful to chaza et al.

gumishuThreads: 13 Posts: 3,627 Joined: Apr 6, 09 ♂	Nov 11, 11, 20:16 #11
Polish grammar made easy - eh - you can't make Polish grammar easy - you can explain it more accessibly or transparently but making it easy? nah

Lyzko

Nov 11, 11, 20:47 #12

I agree, gumishu. One can't make the grammar into something other that what it is, but it can be introduced more digestibly-:) As far as the cases, numbering system and aspects, the learner is reliant upon a solid instructor ro break things down into bite-size elements or pity the poor beginner Polish student!
My first teacher stressed cases in their contexts, usually preferring to show their practical use instead of laboring over their names or morphosyntactic structure. Learning was instinctive, almost 'organic', so that I saw the individual endings in use, not in the abstract. Same with numbers and counting..

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,160 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Nov 11, 11, 22:12 #13
Made easier then ;)

♂

Nov 20, 11, 17:29 #14

gumishu:

you can't make Polish grammar easy

Well said. As a learner of Polish it is a very difficult language, but maybe because I'm new to it. For my perspective I have to learn through examples AND using textbooks. I was going to my Polish mate's house and wanted to say 'I am on the bus'. Texted 'Jestem na autobusem'.... What I should have said was
'Jestem w autobusie'. I'd used the instrumental case, rather than the locative case! This, only a small, example helped a great deal.

Personally I learn through as many examples as possible. Coming here is an invaluable boost!

Lyzko	Nov 20, 11, 20:15 #15
An invaluable boost indeed, because gradually you're beginning to think IN Polish, and not translate from your native tongue. In the end, it's not about what would YOU use in the above example sentence, but what/how would a Polish native speakers use the respective case structure-:) Two thumbs up, beetle old man!

ChrzaszczThreads: 19 Posts: 133 Joined: Jul 4, 11 ♂	Nov 21, 11, 20:47 #16
Lyzko Cheers Lyzko! This forum is has has been a fantastic 'lifeline', or should I say the very helpful people out there who are willing to give feekback. I am somewhat moved by this, and again I say thanks. There will be a few more questions coming up ...

Lyzko	Nov 21, 11, 23:24 #17
Keep 'em comin', Chrząszcz! Polish is, as Dana Bielec reminds all us foreign-born Polish learners priviledged enough to be able to learn the language, a challenge for most Anglo-Saxons. But remember; the deeper the mine, the richer the ore-:)

ChrzaszczThreads: 19 Posts: 133 Joined: Jul 4, 11 ♂	Nov 22, 11, 00:04 #18
Lyzko: the deeper the mine, the richer the ore-:) Well said Lyzko! I'm still working through her [Diana Bielec] book. It's fantastic but there's a lot of 'ore to mine' so to speak :-)

Lyzko	Nov 22, 11, 13:55 #19
Noone would ever deny this to be the case, Chrząszcz. And yet therein, lies the beauty of Polish, not merely it's intoxicatingly gorgeous pronunciation, but the texture of its rich morphology....

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