Words difference - 'ale' and 'przecież'

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chazaThreads: 49 Posts: 266 Joined: Dec 21, 09 ♂	Edited by: Moderator Jul 15, 11, 12:56 #1
what is the difference between ' ale' and 'przecież'. both mean ' but' clarification please. thanks chaza

Lyzko	Jul 15, 11, 13:56 #2
Ale = but Przecież = however

Polonius3Threads: 1,005 Posts: 4,834 Joined: Apr 11, 08 ♂	Jul 15, 11, 14:00 #3
przecież is closer to after all, isn't it?

Lyzko	Jul 15, 11, 14:09 #4
Perhaps also "yet", "still", more or less.

SzwedwPolsceThreads: 13 Posts: 1,915 Joined: Feb 21, 09 ♂	Jul 15, 11, 18:25 #5
If you are unsure, it is more safe to use ale. Most situations with English but, can be translated as ale.

jyjkhfa

Jul 15, 11, 20:38 #6

Asia kupiła psa, ale nie ma gdzie go trzymać.
(Asia has bought a dog but she don't have a place to keep him)

In above sentence you can't use przecież.

But you can use it in such conversation:
- Asia kupiła psa.
- Przecież nie ma gdzie go trzymać!

(usage of ale in this conversation wouldn't be correct)

So maybe it's that you can't use przecież in the middle of the sentence as a linking word, unlike ale. However ale and przecież aren't quite the synonims. Przecież gives an impression of an astonishment or a reproof:

Przecież ci mówiłem! Ile razy mam ci to powtarzać!?
(I've already told you! How many times you want me to repeat it to you!?)

- Przecież chciałeś żebym kupiła mandarynki
- Tak, ale zmieniłem zdanie!

(- I thought you said you want me to buy tangerines
- Yes, but I've changed my mind)

Notice that those translations aren't very accurate - I used such expressions: "I thought you said", "I've already" out of lack of better phrases which would suite the situation. So as you see the word przecież is not very easy to translate and one must use a substitude pharses (or maybe I'm not right, dear English native speakers?)

jyjkhfa	Jul 15, 11, 20:41 #7
jyjkhfa: I've already told you! How many times you want me to repeat it to you!? (But) I've already told you! How many times you want me to repeat it to you!? jyjkhfa: - I thought you said you want me to buy tangerines - Yes, but I've changed my mind - (But) I thought you said you want me to buy tangerines - Yes, but I've changed my mind

chazaThreads: 49 Posts: 266 Joined: Dec 21, 09 ♂	Aug 21, 11, 19:28 #8
what is the correct usage of the word 'lecz' chaza

ZiemowitThreads: 10 Posts: 1,063 Joined: May 8, 09 ♂	Aug 21, 11, 19:51 #9
Lekarzu, lecz się sam! This is a translation from the well known Latin proverb: medice, cura te ipsum!

chazaThreads: 49 Posts: 266 Joined: Dec 21, 09 ♂	Aug 21, 11, 20:05 #10
nie rozumie chaza

ZiemowitThreads: 10 Posts: 1,063 Joined: May 8, 09 ♂	Edited by: Ziemowit Aug 21, 11, 20:09 #11
This was a joke! Basically, 'lecz' is quite similar to 'ale'. However, not always you can replace one with the other, for example in this sentence: "Ale z Ciebie głuptas!" You can't say: "Lecz z Ciebie głuptas!"

chazaThreads: 49 Posts: 266 Joined: Dec 21, 09 ♂	Aug 21, 11, 20:16 #12
therefore byłem iść do praca, lecz zdecyduję do iść dom. byłem iść do praca, ale zdecyduję do iść dom. correct? i know the grammar is bad. chaza

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Aug 21, 11, 20:17 #13
miałem iść do pracy is correct

ZiemowitThreads: 10 Posts: 1,063 Joined: May 8, 09 ♂	Aug 21, 11, 20:20 #14
This is so, Chaza! Except for the bad grammar, you've grasped the idea perfectly in those two sentences of yours.

chazaThreads: 49 Posts: 266 Joined: Dec 21, 09 ♂	Aug 21, 11, 20:26 #15
is it then a matter of choice which i use, or are there some gramatical rules which determine which i use.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Aug 21, 11, 20:34 #16
Przecież is often used at the start or end of a sentence for emphasis. Ale is used after a comma and is just like but.

musicwriterThreads: 7 Posts: 110 Joined: Jan 7, 10 ♂	Apr 4, 12, 05:29 #17
jyjkhfa: Asia has bought a dog but she don't have It's better to say Asia has bought a dog but she doesn't have.... [past perfect tense]

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