Learn Polish quickly. Accusative case of nouns ending in -a, -i and agreed feminine adjectives. Present tense of the verb "to be"

This article is intended both for those who are embarking on a serious and thorough study of the language, and for those who want to master the basic skills of reading, writing, translating and conducting a simple conversation in a short time.

Self-study is facilitated due to numerous comparisons with the Russian language, linguistic terminology reduced to a minimum.

The article contains minimum required linguistic information, which, hopefully, will serve as an incentive for further study of the language and culture of such interesting country what Poland is like.

Polish alphabet

The modern Polish alphabet consists of 32 letters (9 vowels and 23 consonants). The letters of the Latin alphabet Q, V, X are also used in borrowed words.

Polish alphabet

Letter	Name	Example
A a	a	a niol (angel)
ą	ą	mą dry (smart)
B b	be	b eczka (barrel)
C C	ce	c órka (daughter)
Ć ć	cie	ć ma (mol)
D d	de	d om (house)
E e	e	e dukacja (education)
ę	ę	dzię kuję (thank you)
F f	ef	f arba (paint)
G g	gie	g ość (guest)
H h	ha	hak (hook)
I i	i	i stnienie (existence)
J j	jot	raj (paradise)
K k	ka	kwiat (flower)
Ll	el	l as (forest)
Ł ł	eł	łoś (moose)
M m	em	m iłość (love)
Nn	en	n oga (leg)
ń	eń	koń (horse)
O o	o	o kno (window)
Ó ó	o kreskowane	bó l (pain)
P p	pe	p iłka (ball)
(Q q)	ku
R r	er	r óża (rose)
Ss	es	s ól (salt)
Ś ś	eś	środa (Wednesday)
T t	te	t alerz (plate)
U u	u	u niwersytet (university)
(Vv)	fał
W w	wu	w oda (water)
(X x)	ix
Y y	igrek	sy n (son)
Z z	zet	z ywód (profession)
Ż ż	ziet	ż elazo (iron)
Ź ź	żet	ź le (bad)

About Polish accent

Accent in Polish fixed, constant. It usually falls on the penultimate syllable. The stressed syllable is emphasized with less force than in Russian. It should be remembered that vowels in unstressed syllables do not change either qualitatively or quantitatively, i.e. there is no reduction of vowels (“akanie”). In any position, regardless of the stressed or unstressed syllable, all vowels are pronounced equally clearly.

But not all words have stress on the penultimate syllable. The exception is some grammatical forms and words, usually borrowed.

Borrowed words with the suffix have stress on the third syllable from the end -ik (a), -yk (a): ‘technika, ‘fabryka, ‘fizykiem and some others ( 'opera, re'pertuar, uni'wersytet).

The same stress (on the third syllable from the end) is characteristic of individual verb forms (for example, forms of the 1st and 2nd person plural of the past tense: 'byliśmy, czy'taliście) and some numerals ( ‘czterysta, 'siedemset, ‘osiemset, ‘dziewięćset).

In modern spoken language, however, there is trend towards unification stress points ( czyta'liście, o'siemset, which, however, is not yet included in the norm).

Vowels “a”, “o”, “u (ó)”

The Polish language has 8 vowels, of which 2 are nasal and 6 are so-called pure. The “pure” ones include, in particular, vowels “a”, “o”, “u (ó)”.

Vowel " a" - pronounced like Russian [a] in a stressed syllable.

Vowel " o"—pronounced almost like Russian [o] in a stressed syllable, but with less labialization.

Vowel " u“—pronounced like Russian [у], but the lips are more forward. The sound has a double graphic image: “ u» — « ó " “ó” in a closed syllable alternates with “o” in an open syllable: bob — bobu. « ó " most often corresponds to Russian [o], and Polish "u" to Russian [у].

Vowel "e"

Vowel " e" - pronounced like a Russian substressed [e] (for example, in the word This). Before “e” the consonants are not softened:

Ewa	meta	te	potem	method
Edek	mewa	ten	poeta	moment
epoka	topic	tent	nowe	decade
effect	apteka	magnetofon	cometa	coin

Vowels “y”, “i”. Soft and hard consonants

Vowels " y», « i» - variants of one sound. The consonants before “u” are hard, the consonants before “i” are soft.

Vowel " y» - front row, middle rise. When pronouncing “u” the tongue is less raised than when pronouncing Russian [ы]:

ty	hymn	system	nowy	mamy
wy	wyraz	dywan	stary	znamy
my	cyrk	good	trudny	kochamy
syn	Krym	kuzyn	Tygrus	pyramid
dym	ryby	Edyta	wystawa	wystawy

Vowel " i» - front row, high lift. Depending on its position in the word, the letter “i” is pronounced differently or not pronounced at all.

At the beginning of a word or syllable(in position after a vowel) " i" is pronounced iotically, which is not spelled (letter combination ji possible only after z, s, With):

ich	moi-moimi	boisko	Ukraine
im	twoi - twoimi	naiwny	stoisko
inny	swoi-swoimi	uspokoi	zaimek
import	stoi - stoimy	kraina	Aida

Between two consonants or at the end of a word the letter “i” denotes a sound similar to Russian [i]. At the same time, it is an indicator of the softness of the preceding consonant, and labial consonants b-p; w-f; m before [i] they are softened more “intensely” than in Russian:

cinema	egzamin	jaki	Victor	piwo
pani	niski	taki	pismo	wino
minute	wysoki	Chiny	nazwisko	robi
nic	drugi	kwit	firma	mowi

In combination [ consonant + “i” + vowel] « i" does not indicate a sound: it is only a graphic indicator of the softness of the preceding consonant, a kind of "Polish soft sign" Before vowels a, o, u(ó), e consonants can soften b, p, w, f, m, n; before e Also g, k. Of the listed consonants at the end of a word or syllable, only “ n» ( blood, steppe — crew, step). Before “e” the consonants “k” and “g” are most often soft ( -kie-, -gie-). For example, pronunciation of words Kopernik — piernik; bada — biada; pasek — piasek; zdrowe — zdrowie. More examples:

In combination [ consonant + “i” + vowel] the letter "i" can stand for [j]. (As already noted, “j” is written only after prefixes and consonants z, s, c). This pronunciation is typical mainly for words foreign origin(“j” is written only after prefixes and consonants z, s, c).

Consonants " d», « t», « r" - only hard ones, so the “i” between them and vowels (in borrowed words) is also pronounced as [j] (a hard separating sign).

Nasal vowel “ą” (at the end of words and before fricative consonants)

Nasal vowel " ą » - labialized, back row, has nasal resonance in the position before the consonants “w”, “f”, “z”, “s”, “ż (rz)”, “sz”, “ź”, “ś”, “ch” " and at the end of a word. The word does not appear at the beginning. When articulating “ą”, when pronouncing [o], you need to prepare to pronounce [n] and make sure that the articulation of [n] is not completed:

Nasal vowel “ę” (before fricatives and at the end of words)

Nasal vowel " ę » - nonlabialized, posterior row. Has nasal resonance before fricative consonants. Articulationally similar to “ą”. At the end of a word, the nasal resonance is lost. It is useful to keep in mind that the nasal “ę”, “ą” often correspond to Russian [у], [у], [я]:

(Return component " się"is written in Polish separately from the verb; it can precede it and be separated from it by other words. If there are several reflexive verbs " się", as a rule, is used once. Does not affect the place of stress.)

Consonants “m”, “n”, “b”, “p”, “d”, “t”, “w”, “f”, “g”, “k”

Polish consonants, like Russian ones, can be hard and soft, voiced and voiceless. Voiced consonants, as in the Russian language, are deafened at the end of a word and before voiceless consonants.

Consonants " m», « n» - sonorous, nasal, hard. Pronounced like Russian [m], [n]:

Consonants " d», « t» - anterior lingual teeth, hard. They form a pair based on voicedness/voicelessness. Pronounced like Russian [d], [t] respectively:

Consonants " g», « k» - posterior lingual, hard. They form a pair based on voicedness/voicelessness. Pronounced like Russian [g], [k]:

Consonants “r”, “z”, “s”, “c”, semi-vowel “j”

Consonant " r» - anterior lingual, hard. Pronounced like Russian [r]:

Consonant " c» - anterior lingual, hard. Pronounced like Russian [ts]:

co	radca	cena	concert	scene
cud	praca	ocena	processes	ocean
noc	wraca	Jacek	percentage	Francuz
koc	owca	corka	cenrum	censorship

Semivowel " j» - middle lingual, fricative. In Russian, it corresponds to the sound [y] (the letter “y” at the end of a word and before consonants) or, in combination with vowels, the iotated vowels “e”, “ya”, “e”, “yu”: daj — give, woj na — war; moja — my:

Sound " j» meets and after consonants, however, it is depicted with the letter “j” only after prefixes ( obj azd) and consonants " z», « s», « c"(mostly in borrowed words). Pronounced like Russian [ ъ] (separating solid character):

Consonant "ch" ("h")

Consonant " ch» - posterior lingual, hard, deaf. Pronounced like Russian [x].

The sound has a double graphic image: “ ch», « h»:

hack	humor	fach	herbata	chmura
huk	herb	dach	ucho	chustka
Huta	chata	gmach	kocha	rachunek
chór	huragan	mucha	Choroba	horoscop

The correct spelling will help you check the Russian language: Russian “x” corresponds to “ch” in Polish ( chata, mucha), in place of the Polish “h” there is “g” ( hymn — hymn) or "zero sound" ( harfa — harp). There are exceptions: hockeyj.

Consonants “ż (rz)” - “sz”, “dż” - “cz”, “dz”. Letter combinations “szcz”; "żdż"; "dżdż"

Consonants " ż », « sz» - front lingual hard. They form a pair based on voicedness/voicelessness. Pronounced accordingly as Russian [zh], [sh]. At the end of a word and before voiceless consonants, “ż” is deafened to “sz”:

żona	duży	ważny	noż	podroż
żakiet	pożar	każdy	ryż	passer
szeroki	Warsaw	sztuka	nasz	kochasz
szósty	zeszyt	mieszkam	wasz	proszek

Consonant " rz» - in pronunciation it does not differ from “ż” (with the deafening “sz”). In Russian words with the same root as Polish “ rz» corresponds soft sound[р’] (as already indicated, the sound “r” in Polish words is only hard), consonant with “ ż " - Russian [zh], less often [z] or [s]: morz e — sea e; może — Maybe. After “ż” (“rz”) and “sz” no “i” is written:

It is useful to take into account some other patterns. So, for example, Russian letter combinations [ -ere-], [-oro-], [-olo-] often correspond to Polish without the first vowel: shore — brzeg, freezing — mroz, road — droga etc. Russian prefixes re- , pre- , pro- corresponds to the prefix in Polish prze- ; console at- - Polish przy- :

drzewo	przyroda	przewóz	przepiszesz
brzeg	przerwa	przyprawa	przeczytasz
brzoza	przód	przecena	przechytrzysz

Consonants " dż», « cz» - hard, anterior lingual. They form a pair based on voicedness/voicelessness. Consonant " dż"occurs mainly in borrowed words: dżem, dżentelmen, dudo, dżokej. Consonant " cz" is much harder than the Russian "ch". Pronounced approximately like [chsh] in the word " better" After “dż”, “cz” in Polish words “i” is not written:

Consonant " dz» - voiced pair of consonant “c”. Pronounced together, approximately as in the word “ bridgehead" At the end of a word and before voiceless consonants it is pronounced as “c”:

Consonants “ń”, “l”, “ł”

Consonant " ń » - unlike “m”, “b”, “p”, “w”, “f”, “g”, “k”, it can be soft not only before a vowel, but also at the end of a word or before a consonant. In this case, softness is indicated by a special superscript (“ kreska"). The softness of the consonant “ń” is somewhat “more intense” than the Russian [n’]:

Consonant " l» - pronounced like Russian soft [l’] only before “i”: lipa — Linden. In other cases, “l” has no correspondence in Russian (this is the so-called “European sound l”). There is no “y” after “l”:

list	byli	stolica	królik	liceum
plik	bliski	tablica	climate	police
liter	line	ulica	polityk	szalik

Other examples:

Ensure correct articulation of “l”

la-	las	lampa	class	chwila	Polak
lo-	lot	lotnik	diploma	samolot	lody
le-	lek	bread	ticket	problem	ale
lu-	lód	lubi	bluzka	ludowy	club
l-	wilk	kilka	Poland	tylko	wolny
-l	style	handel	rubel	szpital	sol

(The names of nationalities are written with a capital letter: Polak, Rosjanin)

Consonant " ł » - hard, pronounced as a non-syllabic (very short) [у] (very close to the Belarusian “ў”). Cannot be combined with "i":

Watch the pronunciation of “ł”

ła-	ładny	łatwy	byłam	była	Wisła
ło-	czoło	słownik	gold	młody	krzesło
łe-	łeb	little	byłem	złe	stołek
łu-	łuk	główny	długo	głupi	slucham
ły-	łyk	łysy	mały	zły	please
ł-	żółty	żółw	łza	północ	małpa
-ł	był	title	stół	artykuł	doł

Consonants “ź”, “ś”

Consonants " ź », « ś » - middle language, soft. They form a pair based on voicedness/voicelessness. Historically correspond to Russian [з’], [с’]. There are no similar sounds in the Russian language. The softness of “ź”, “ś” before vowels is indicated by the letter “i”, before consonants and at the end of a word by a superscript: Kasia — Kaśka. Examples:

zia-	ziarno	buzia	Zuzia	Kazia
zio-	zioła	kozioł	jezioro	Józio
zie-	ziemia	ziewa	zielony	przywiezie
ziu-	Ziuta	ziółko	bliziutko	Kaziu!
zi-	winter	winter	grozi	Kazimierz
-ź-	źle	poźno	grźba	przyjaźń
sia-	siano	siatka	Zosia	prosiak
sio-	siostra	siodło	osioł	jesiotr
sie-	siedem	osiem	jesień	Sienkiewicz
siu-	siódmy	Jasiu!	Kasiu!	Marysiu!
si-	strong	prosi	positive	sito
-ś-	Jaś	środa	głośno	śniadanie

Consonants “ć”, “dź”

Consonants " ć », « dź» - affricatives, soft. They form a pair based on deafness/voice. Historically correspond to Russian [t’], [d’] ( być — be, gdz ie — Where).

Consonant " ć » - softer than Russian [h]. This sound is represented in writing by the letter “ć” only at the end of a word and before consonants. Before vowels it is represented by a combination of letters [ ci-]:

cia-	ciasno	ciastko	ściana	babcia
cio-	ciocia	cios	ciosak	sześcioro
cie-	ciepło	życie	ojciec	ciekawy
ciu-	ciuchy	ciuchcia	kciuk	kościół
ci-	cisza	cicho	trzeci	przecinek
-ć-	ćma	gość	być	ćwierć

More examples:

Pay attention to the pronunciation and spelling of the hard “cz” and soft “ć”

nauczyciel	wycieczka	Cwiczenie
uczciwy	czcionka	uroczyście
czyścić	uczycie	czuć
uczucie	oczywiście	czcić
płaczecie	cześć	na poczcie
czy - ci	zasilacz - yasilać	gracz - grać
bicz - bić	odtwarzacz - odtwarzać	miecz - miec
leczy - leci	słuchacz - słuchać	badacz - badacz

Consonant " dź» - very soft, harmonious sound. It is represented by the letter “dź” at the end of a word and before consonants; before vowels the letter combination [ dzi-]:

dzia-	dziadek	Jadzia	wydzial	poniedzialek
dzio-	dziadzio	Włodzio	zadziorny	rozwiedziona
dzie-	dzień	dziecko	gdzie	niedziela
dziu-	dziura	dziób	dziupla	Jadziu!
dzi-	dziś	godzina	Chodzi	goździk
-dź-	dźwig	Łódź	gwoźdź	niedźwiedź

Nasal vowel decay

Vowels " ą », « ę ", as already noted, retain nasal resonance only before fricative consonants and at the end of the word ("ą"). In other cases we can talk about nasal decay.

Before consonants " g», « k» - nasal “ą”, “ę” break down into “pure” [o], [e] and a nasal consonant, similar to [ŋ] in an English combination or in Russian words gong, paragraph:

Before labial consonants " b», « p» - nasal “ą”, “ę” break down into “pure” [o], [e] and nasal consonant [m]:

Before the front-lingual " d», « t», « dz», « With» - nasal “ą”, “ę” break down into “pure” [o], [e] and consonant [n]:

Pronounce “ą”, “ę” as [оn], respectively

prąd	prędko	początek	chętnie
bład	błędy	piątek	piętro
rząd	wędka	dziesiąty	zajęty
porządek	kolęda	wątpić	pamiętać
skąd	tędy	wyjątek	święto
pieniądze	pieniędzy	miesiąc	więcej
Grudziądz	spędzać	tysiąc	skręcać
ksiądz	księdza	zając	ręce
mosiądz	między	brzdąc	więc

Before the soft anterior lingual " dź», « ć » - nasal “ą”, “ę” break down into “pure” [o], [e] and soft nasal [ń]:

Before consonants " l», « ł » - nasal “ą”, “ę” are pronounced like “pure” vowels [o], [e]:

Consonant assimilation

The pronunciation of consonants can be influenced by both preceding and following sounds. When reading groups of consonants, one must keep in mind the results of the so-called consonant assimilation.

As in the Russian language, in the group of consonants [voiced + voiceless] both sounds are pronounced as voiceless: podp is[-tp-], czekoladk a[-tk-], wt orek .

In the group [voiceless + voiced], both sounds are pronounced voiced: prośb a[-zb-], liczb a[-dzb-], takż e[-gż-].

The consonants “w”, “rz” after voiceless ones are pronounced as [f], respectively: kw iat , lekarstw o[-tf-], krz eslo .

When reading the letter combinations [-nk-], [-ng-], nasal resonance appears: bank[-ŋk], Anglia[-ŋg-].

odp owiada	św iat	chw ila	Mong olia
książk a	kw iat	czw artek	kong res
województ wo	sw ój	kw adrat	okienk o
powt arza	utw or	św iadek	Rosjank a

Softness of “d”, “t”, “z”, “s”, “r” in borrowed words

Consonants " d», « t», « z», « s», « r", as already indicated, do not have soft pairs. However, in words of foreign origin, and, above all, proper names , , , , there are, for example, the pronunciation of words (geographical names) Sie radz[še-] and Sie rra Leone .

It should also be borne in mind that in Polish foreign proper names, written in Latin letters, most often retain the original spelling: Miterrand (Mitterrand), Chopin, Churchill (Churchill), Freetown, Cannes, line Maginota (Maginot Line) and so on.

Tirana	dinar	Zimbabwe	riksza
tik	diuna	Zanzibar	riposta
tiul	diwa	Singapore	Riepin
festival	dinozaur	Sierow	ring

However, in the word nazizm, for example, pronounced [źi].

Gender of nouns

In Polish, nouns are differentiated by gender. As in the Russian language, there are masculine, feminine and neuter genders. It should be borne in mind that Russian and Polish words that are similar in sound and meaning do not always belong to the same grammatical gender (Russian " panel" - feminine, Polish. " panel" - masculine):

Masculine		Feminine		Neuter gender
dom	on	water	ona	window	ono
kot		mapa		oko
tata		Anna		dno

Nouns on -um belong to the neuter gender (except album, kostium) and in the singular are not declined: forum.

Gender of adjectives

Adjectives and other agreed adjectives have endings depending on gender -y , -i ; -A ; -e (-ie ).

Masculine		Feminine		Neuter gender
jaki?	nowy	jaka?	nowa	jakie?	nowe
	stary		stara		stare
	niski		niska		niskie
	wysoki		wysoka		wysokie

Animate and inanimate nouns

In Polish, as in Russian, there are differences animate and inanimate nouns . The first ones answer the question “ Who's to best? ", the second - " What's next? " Unlike the Russian language, the linking verb in such constructions is rarely omitted:

Who is this? — Who to best?
This is a student. —To best student.

In the design " So to za...? "The linking verb is usually absent.

Interrogative pronoun "czyj". Possessive pronouns

In response to an affiliation question that includes pronouns czyj, czyja, czyje, can be used similar to Russian possessive pronouns:

moj, moja, moje / nasz, nasza, nasze;
two, two, two / wasz, wasza, wasze;
jego, jej / ich;
swoj, swoja, swoje.

In function possessive pronouns When addressing your interlocutor “you” in Polish, the words are used pan, pani in the genitive case:

Czyj to syn, pani? (address to the interlocutor) - Yes, moi;
Czyj to syn, pani Anny? (question about the “third” person) - Yes, jej.

The same words replace the polite “You” in different cases and in other cases:

Co pan czyta?(address to the interlocutor) - Czytam czasopismo.
Co czyta ten pan? (question about the “third” person) - On czyta czasopismo.

More examples (note the use of possessive pronouns and words pan, pani):

Czyj to zeszyt? — To best mój zeszyt.
Czyja to rzecz? — To best twoja rzecz.
Czyja to teczka? — To best jego teczka.
Czyj to wiersz? — To best jej Wiersz.
What about gazeta? — To best pana gazeta.
Why not? — To best pani pióro.
What about bagaz? — To best nasz bagaż.
Czyje to miejsce? — To best wasze miejsce.
Czyja to corka? — To best ich corka.

Interrogative sentences with the particle “czy”. Negation of "nie"

In Polish, a question is usually constructed using a question word ( who, co, czyj, jaki etc.) or interrogative particle czy, which is placed at the beginning of the sentence: “ Czy masz brata?» Into Russian czy not translated or translated by the particle " whether» ( You have a brother? — Do you have a brother?). In a different position the particle czy can be translated as " or»: « (Czy) masz psa czy kota?»

The negations “no” and “not” are translated into Polish language the same: " nie»: Czy znasz tego pana? — Nie, nie znam(if a monosyllable word follows the negation, the emphasis “shifts” to “ nie"). Examples:

Czy pan Czechowicz mieszka w Warszawie?
- So, on mieszka w Warszawie.
- Nie, on mieszka w Krakowie.
Czy pani dawno mieszka w Moskwie?
- Tak, mieszkam tu dawno.
- Nie, niedawn.
Przepraszam, why not?
- So, to best Szczytno.
- Nie, to best Bydgoszcz.

Constructions mieć na imię, nazywać się

Read and memorize the constructions.

“Thank you”, “please”, “sorry”

Russian polite " Please», « Thank you», « Sorry» correspond to the personal forms of verbs in Polish prosić, dziękować, przepraszać: “dziękuję” - “I thank”, “dziękujemy” - “we thank”, etc.:

Dziękuję (bardzo)! (dziękujemy)
- Proszę (bardzo)!
- Nie ma za co!
- Nie ma sprawy!
Przepraszam (bardzo)! (przepraszamy)
- Nie szkodzi!
- Nie ma sprawy!

Present tense of the verb "to be"

As already indicated, the linking verb is rarely omitted in Polish: He (she) is already healthy (healthy) — On (ona) już best zdrowy (zdrowa).

This also applies to the 1st person form singular present tense " jestem»: I'm already healthy (healthy) — Już jestem zdrowy (zdrowa).

Verb "być" in the present tense has the forms of all persons (complete paradigm). Remember the well-known ones and get acquainted with some new forms:

jestem / jesteśmy;
jesteś / jesteście(remember that to address “on your terms” a verb in the 3rd person singular is used. The 2nd person plural is addressed to a group of people with whom we are on friendly terms, for example, children);
best.

Past tense of the verb "to be"

Unlike the Russian language, Polish past tense form of the verb "to be" have not only generic endings, but also personal. Here are some of these forms (1st and 3rd person singular):

byłem- I was;
byłam- I was;
był- he was;
była- She was;
było- (it was.

Past tense of the verb " be" (singular):

Masculine	Feminine	Neuter gender
(ja) byłem	(ja) byłam	byłom
(ty) byłeś	(ty) byłaś	byłoś
on (pan) był	ona (pani) była	ono było

Personal pronouns of the 1st and 2nd persons are used much less frequently in Polish than in Russian. They are required only in opposition and in a position under logical stress ( Ja there byłem, a ty nie byłeś.).

Neuter forms byłom, byłoś are used extremely rarely.

Future tense of the verb "być"

Future tense of the verb " być»:

będę / będziemy;
będziesz / będziecie;
bębzie/będą.

The future tense forms of the verb "być" can be used independently ( I will be at home — będę w domu), and - with the infinitive - to form the complex future tense of verbs imperfect form (I will read — będę czytać).

Past tense of the verb "być" (plural forms)

As already mentioned, in the Polish language there is a so-called personal-masculine form in the plural:

wszyscy oni- people with the mandatory presence of men;
wszystkie one- women, children, animals, objects.

Verbs in the past tense and, in particular, the verb “być” also have a personal-masculine form in the plural, opposed to the “impersonal”:

Jacek i Agata byli w kinie.
Magda i Anna były w kinie.

Past tense of the verb " być» ( plural):

Pay attention to the use of polite words panie, panowie, państwo with the 3rd person plural of the verb być:

Why panie były w kinie?- You ( to women) were you at the cinema?
Why panowie byli w kinie?- You ( to men) were you at the cinema?
Czy państwo byli w kinie?- You ( to men and women) were you at the cinema?
In spoken language, the 2nd person plural form is also possible: czy byliście państwo…

Nominal compound predicate

Nominal compound predicate represented in Polish in different models:

bunch to and a noun with or without a definition in nominative case: Kraków to stare miasto.
linking verb in the form of present, past or future tense and a noun with or without a modifier instrumental case: Krakow best starym miastem.
linking verb in the present, past or future tense and an adjective or other agreed modifier in nominative case : Krakow best story.

Conjugation of verbs “być”, “mieć” (present tense). Verbs of III conjugation

Present tense of the verb " być» :

jestem/jesteśmy;
jesteś / jesteście;
jest/są.

As already indicated, personal pronouns ja, ty, my, wy are used in Polish less frequently than similar ones in Russian.

In the third person plural, the so-called personal-masculine (pronoun) are distinguished oni) and “impersonal” (pronoun one) shapes. Depending on the belonging to these forms, the word “all” is translated as “ wszyscy" And " wszystkie" respectively:

Oni wszyscy są naszymi kolegami.
One wszystkie są naszymi koleżankami.

Present tense of the verb " miec» :

mam/mamy;
masz/macie;
ma/mają.

Verbs are conjugated in the same way czytać, mieszkać, znać, opowiadać, odpowiadać, pomagać, ogladać, powtarzać, wyjeżdżać etc. A group of such verbs is combined into general type conjugations (III).

Instrumental case

Forms instrumental case neuter and masculine nouns with a consonant have a singular ending -em/ '-em (consonants are softened before “-e” k, g: chemik — chemikiem; Bóg — Bogiem). Agreed definitions take endings -ym , -im (Jan był dobrym pracownikiem). In the plural, nouns of all genders have the same ending -ami , for definitions - -ymi , -imi (Jan i Maria byli dobrymi pracownikami).

As in Russian, the forms instrumental case can make prepositions. Preposition " z» (« ze") is used, in particular, to denote the “jointness” of an action: with son — z synem.

IN instrumental case singular nouns female, male on -a and male surnames -o accept the ending -ą . The agreed upon definitions of the feminine gender have the same ending, for example:

Ona jest moją koleżanką.
On the best day of my life.

Forms instrumental case with prepositions z, nad, pod, za, przed etc. are used in different meanings, For example: z kolegą(togetherness), nad ziemią, pod dome, za miastem(place), przed wojną(time), etc.

Alternation of consonants in the prepositional case

In Polish there are no soft consonants , , , , . Instead, they are replaced by “ź”, “ś”, “dź”, “ć”, “rz”. The grammatical position where alternations occur z - ź, s - ś, d-dź, t - ć, r - rz, and l - ł, is, first of all, prepositional singular case of nouns with a base on a solid consonant (except for “k”, “g”, “ch”), which has an ending '-e : class — w classie, teatr — w teatrze, zeszyt — w zeszycie etc. The remaining hard consonants before this ending are successively replaced by their soft “pairs”: [b] - , [p] - , [w] - , [f] - [f], [m] - , [n] - [n]: mapa — na mapie, film — about filmie, cinema — w kinie(exceptions - dom, syn, pan with the ending - " — u» : w domu).

Groups of consonants can alternate: masł o — maśl e(sł - śl), pism o — piśm ie(sm - śm’), etc., as well as vowels [ -a] — [-e]: mia sto — w mie ście, la s — w le sie, cia Lo — na cie le.

Agreed Definitions masculine and neuter gender have endings in the prepositional case -ym , -im , female -ej .

In plural noun endings - -ach , agreed definitions - -ych , -ich .

Accusative case of nouns ending in -a, -i and agreed feminine adjectives

IN accusative singular feminine nouns with a vowel, masculine with a vowel -A and male surnames -O have an ending -ę . Exception: pani — pania.

Agreed definitions of the feminine gender end in -ą . Exception: ta — tę.

Accusative case forms answer questions who? co?, i.e. in the masculine gender, as in the Russian language, it is important that the word belongs to animate or inanimate nouns:

mam nową książkę;
mam nowe czasopismo;
mam nowy text;
mam nowego lektora (kolegę).

Unstressed elements

Some monosyllabic words and elements of words do not carry an accent and do not affect its place in the preceding or subsequent word, although they are pronounced together with it. Unstressed are:

reflexive and monosyllabic personal pronouns: ‘zwali go, ‘daj mi to, 'know why:
particles no, że(no is written separately, że— together): ‘daj no to, prze'czytajże.
negation nie And monosyllabic prepositions (do, u, z, nad, w etc.), except when they are followed by a monosyllabic word: nie'mamy — 'nie mam; nie 'know — 'nie znam; do 'niego — 'do niej etc.

Cardinal and ordinal numbers, date designation

Cardinal numbers 1-20:

1 - jeden	6 - sześć	11 - jedenaście	16 – szesnaście
2 - dwa	7 - siedem	12 – dwanaście	17 - siedemnaście
3 - trzy	8 - osiem	13 - trzynaście	18
4 - cztery	9 - dziwięć	14 – czternaście	19 – dziewiętnaście
5 — pięć	10 – dziesięć	15 — piętnaście	20 – dwadzieścia

In Polish, as in Russian, there are generic forms of numerals jeden — jedna — jedno, inflected as adjectives, and forms dwa(masculine and neuter), dwie(female).

In numerals 15, 19 “ę” is pronounced as [e].

Cardinal numbers answer the question ile? , For example:

Ile pan (-i) ma lat? (Ile masz lat?) — How old are you (you)?
Mam 20 (dwadzieścia) lat. — I am 20 (twenty) years old.

Ordinal numbers 1-20:

1st - pierwszy	6th – szósty	11th – jedenasty	16th – szesnasty
2nd – drugi	7th – siódmy	12th – dwunasty	17th – siedemnasty
3rd – trzeci	8th – osmy	13th – trzynasty	18th – osiemnasty
4th – czwarty	9th – dziewiąty	14th – czternasty	19th – dziewiętnasty
5th – piąty	10th – dziesiąty	15th – piętnasty	20th – dwudziesty

Ordinal numbers answer the question sequentially ktory?(unlike the Russian language, where the question “ Which?»).:

jaki? - duży, mały, dobry, zly, wysoki, niski, ładny...
ktory? - pierwszy, ósmy, dwudziesty, ostatni, ten ...

Ordinal numbers vary in the same way as adjectives: by gender, case and number: trzeci rząd, w siódmej klasie, w pierwszych dniach, do dwudziestego wieku and so on.

Using ordinal numbers we construct constructions indicating date(day of month, year):

Który to był rok?— 2005. (Dwa tysiące piąty).
W którym to było roku?— W 2005. (W dwa tysiące piątym).
Który (dzień) jest dziś?— Dziś jest 12.10. (dwunasty paż-dziemika).
Którego będzie dyktando?— 12.10. (dwunastego paz-dziemika).

Constructions containing names are also similar to the Russian language days of the week and seasons:

Dziś jest środa (czwartek). Jest winter, jesień- Nominative case;
W środę (w czwartek) będzie deszcz- accusative,
winter; jesienią- instrumental case.

To the question “ When?“In both Russian and Polish, you can answer by correlating one event in time with another:

before the war — przed wojną;
during the war- podczas (w czasie) wojny;
after the war — ro wojnie.

Please note that the preposition po used with prepositional case (upon arrival).

Names of tens and hundreds (30-1000):

30 - trzydzieści / trzydziesty;
40 - czterdzieści / czterdziesty;
50 - pięćdziesiąt / pięćdziesiąty;
60 - sześćdziesiąt / sześćdziesiąty;
70 - siedemdziesiąt / siedemdziesiąty;
80 - osiemdziesiąt / osiemdziesiąty;
90 - dziewięćdziesiąt / dziewięćdziesiąty;
100 - sto/setny;
200 - dwieście;
300 - trzysta;
400 - czterysta;
500 — pięćset;
600 - sześćset;
700 - siedemset;
800 - osiemset;
900 — dziewięćset:
1000 - tysiąc.

As already noted, ordinals have gender, number and case forms. Unlike the Russian language, the inflected element in compound numerals is not only units, but also tens:

on the 21st (twenty-first) floor — na 21 (dwudziestym pierwszym) piętrze;
May 28 (twenty-eighth) — 28 (dwudziestego ósmego)maja;
1945 (one thousand nine hundred and forty-five) — 1945.

Considering that trade and tourism between Poland and the countries of the East (Ukraine, Belarus, Russia) are flourishing, more and more attention is being paid to the language of communication and business, and its popularity among Ukrainians is growing rapidly. We believe that learning Polish is extremely simple and does not require significant financial or time expenditure. The main thing is your motivation and desire to gain knowledge of the Polish language. The rest is up to us!

Polish language - self-teacher. How to learn Polish on your own?

By following our portal, you will regularly receive professional instructions regarding self-study and improvement. We have prepared a Polish language tutorial for you: a system of lessons that will step by step lead to the main goal - mastery of the Polish language. Our lessons are developed by a team of highly qualified teachers who have experience and successful results in teaching Polish. A course of Polish language lessons online for beginners from the site will provide you with basic knowledge Polish language will help you feel free in various communicative situations with Poles. You will be able to understand your interlocutor and conduct full-fledged dialogues in a wide variety of situations.

Polish lessons for beginners from the site

For your convenience, Polish language lessons for beginners are organized on a thematic basis. For each lesson you will find a dictionary of the most common and the right words from one topic or another (shopping, border, routes, etc.). In each lesson you will find interesting infographics, pictures, diagrams and tables that will help you easily learn new material. So don't put off learning Polish until later - do it now with lessons from

Free Polish lessons for beginners

We hasten to introduce you to the basic introductory block educational material necessary for learning Polish. Using the links below you will find, as well as, equally important, EXAMPLES practical application these rules in colloquial speech. Our lessons in pictures, infographics and drawings will not only facilitate the process of learning the language, but also make it interesting and educational.

We invite you to take a Polish language course for beginners with us. We emphasize that it is ABSOLUTELY FREE.

Useful articles for learning Polish

We also recommend that you familiarize yourself with our articles on the topic of the Polish language, which in one way or another will be useful to everyone who is studying it. Our articles are full of interesting material, useful infographics and pictures that will make learning a foreign language easy and fun.

Learning Polish through films, TV series and music

Many people consider the process of learning a foreign language to be quite difficult and even boring. However, today, in order to master another language, it is no longer necessary to sit for hours in front of textbooks and dictionaries, doing a lot of uninteresting exercises. It is quite convenient and at the same time exciting to learn a foreign language (including Polish) by watching films or TV series, or listening to songs in the original language.

This allows you not only to learn new words, but also to understand their correct pronunciation, intonation, stress, and examples of use in conversation. It is quite possible to gain a good knowledge of the Polish language through films, TV series and music, and the process itself will be interesting and fun. You can select a film or TV series in Polish to watch in the following articles:

On our website you can get acquainted with the most popular Polish music artists and groups and listen to Polish hits:

Fiction in Polish

If you have already acquired basic knowledge of the Polish language, it will be useful and interesting for you to try reading Polish fiction. Reading in a foreign language will not only consolidate the knowledge already acquired, but also deepen it as much as possible. As you read, you can trace the spelling of words, correct construction sentences, grammar of another language and the like.

We suggest starting with “The Little Prince” (Mały Książę) by Exupery, “A Christmas Carol” (Opowieść wigilijna) by Charles Dickens or, for example, “The Snow Queen” (Krolowa sniegu) by H.H. Andersen. Next we should move on to more complex works, we recommend the classics in this order: Arthur Conan Doyle “The Hound of the Baskervilles” (Pies Baskerville), Daniel Defoe “The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe” (Robinson Crusoe), Oscar Wilde “The Picture of Dorian Gray” (Portret Doriana) Graya), Mikhail Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita" (Mistrz i Małgorzata) and Erich Maria Remarque "Three Comrades" (

(26 ratings, average: 5,00 out of 5)

To master any foreign language, taking courses or working with a tutor is often not enough. You still need to work through the material at home yourself and resort to various additional methods. And if you show diligence, then in some cases you can do without the help of a teacher at all, because learning the Polish language on your own from scratch is not so difficult. Our advice will help you with this.

What you need to learn Polish

Only at first glance it may seem that thanks to self-study you will be able to learn a language absolutely free. In reality, you will have to spend at least money on a printed translation dictionary, since current electronic dictionaries leave much to be desired: they have too few words, and the translation is not always correct.

It is more convenient to purchase a Russian-Polish and Polish-Russian dictionary in one book. But at the same time you need to pay attention to the number of words presented in it. A small dictionary won't last you long (in best case scenario to level A1), so if you decide to seriously study the Polish language, you should not skimp on a dictionary. Ideally, it is better to buy it in Poland: there these books are published by large world-famous publishing houses.

And it’s better to forget about online translators (such as Google Translate) altogether! Such services are not at all friendly to the Polish language and only confuse.

A high-quality textbook (self-instruction manual) will also come in handy. To practice basic grammar rules, you can use various Polish language textbooks for foreigners. There are a lot of these books on the Internet, but you also need to download them wisely.

Where to start learning Polish

Like any language, people start learning Polish from the alphabet. At the first stage, it is very important to understand how to correctly read letters and their combinations, and pronounce specific Polish sounds. Therefore, the textbook you choose should have a good transcription. And it is better if it is accompanied by high-quality audio recordings so that you can perceive Polish sounds by ear, because some of them are difficult to convey correctly in writing.

For example, the Polish letter ś is read as something between [s’] and [sh’], ć – between [t’] and [h’], and ź – between [z’] and [z’]. And this feature can only be caught by ear. If the textbook does not contain audio materials, ask any Pole to read you a few sentences or individual words (you can use Skype). If you learn incorrect pronunciation at the very beginning of learning a language, these mistakes will be difficult to get rid of.

After mastering the alphabet, your task is to learn to read Polish correctly. This is not difficult, since the stress in the language is fixed - it falls on the penultimate syllable (although there are exceptions). Any texts are suitable for reading practice, but it is better to take ones adapted for foreigners. Children's fairy tales are also good: they contain simple designs and simple vocabulary.

Then you should move on to grammar and study of Polish words that are most often used in speech. A self-instruction manual or any Polish language textbook will help you with this (a must for foreigners!), because the methods of studying native and foreign languages are different. Thus, a foreigner learns Polish cases not in order (nominative - genitive, etc.), but according to a special system: first nominative only in the singular, then instrumental (singular and plural), then accusative singular. Do not deviate from the recommended sequence of topics - and the training will go without a hitch.

The best teaching materials for the Polish language

Books:

However, both series of these excellent textbooks are not very suitable for self-study of the Polish language, since they do not explain grammatical rules in detail (they are briefly presented in tables). Therefore, in order to figure out why a certain case will have such an ending, you need to look for additional materials or consult with a teacher.

Tutorials:

Grazhina Levitskaya, Roman Levitsky “Self-instruction manual of the Polish language. Practical course"(+audio). This is the most sensible tutorial. Here you will find descriptions of phonetics, spelling and grammar rules with explanations. The book is suitable for self-study of the language, because it does not require additional materials to explain grammatical phenomena.
Mazhena Kowalska “Polish in 4 weeks”(+audio). The textbook contains 28 lessons, each of which consists of several parts: dialogue (with translation into Russian), dictionary, grammatical commentary, exercises on colloquial vocabulary and grammar. The disadvantage of the book is that it only presents short course grammars.
Danusia Stock “Polish in 3 months”. The book presents a Polish language course for beginners. Available short dictionary and answers to exercises.
Galina Palyanova and others “Polish for everyone. Read, listen, speak"(+audio). This book is good because it contains grammar summaries and texts on main topics. Moreover, they are accompanied by a Polish-Russian thematic dictionary.

As additional materials you can use these textbooks, How:

Janusz Kucharczyk “Zaczynam mówić po polsku” and “Już mówię po polsku”;
Joanna Machowska “Gramatyka? Dlaczego nie?!” ( grammar exercises for level A1), “Gramatyka? Ależ tak! (grammar exercises for level A2);
Piotr Garncarek “Nie licz na liczebnik” and “Czas na czasownik”;
Stanisław Mędak “Liczebnik też się liczy”.

If you don’t want to stop there, books with numerous grammar exercises will come in handy to hone your skills in speaking Polish correctly. These same materials are indispensable for those preparing to take the certification exam in Polish as a foreign language:

Ewa Lipińska “Z polskim na ty” (level B1);
Ewa Lipińska “Umiesz? Zdasz!” (level B2);
Józef Pyzik “Przygoda z gramatyką” (levels B2-C1);
“Celuję w C2” (level C2);
“Z Wrocławiem w tle” (there are test tasks for levels B1-C2).

In addition to traditional textbooks in the age information technologies It’s a sin not to use various Internet services and mobile applications. But keep in mind: they should only be an addition, and not the main source from which you draw knowledge.

Useful online services:

polski.pro— the largest Russian-language site about the Polish language
polskijazyk.pl– free Polish language courses for beginners, on the platform you can take verification tests after each theory block;
lingust.ru– similar to the previous service, based on a tutorial with audio recordings.

Smartphone applications(iOS and Android):

Duolingo. Using this application it is convenient to learn a language when, for example, you are traveling in public transport, but this program has a small drawback: learning takes place through English, not Russian.
Learn Polish. Audio lessons and tests are provided, but not all of them are distributed free of charge.
Polish in 7 lessons. The free version is also limited.

To learn a language well, you need to study every day: ideally, 1 hour in the morning (with a fresh mind) and 1 hour in the evening (before bed). At the same time, it is important to repeat the material covered, and not just master new topics.

To enrich your vocabulary, textbooks are not enough. You need to regularly read books in Polish. Start with contemporary popular literature. Women will enjoy the stories of Monika Szwaja, and men will enjoy the books of Sergiusz Piasecki. They can be downloaded from the website chomikuj.pl or purchased in printed form in the online store. It’s also easy to read in Polish your favorite books that you’ve already read on native language. It will also be a good idea to read any media (websites, newspapers, magazines) in Polish. It is here that it is widely represented Speaking, which can be heard in Poland in everyday life.

Don’t neglect Polish films and TV series, even if you don’t like the cinema of this country. You can watch online TV shows, films and series for free on the websites ipla.tv And vod.tvp.pl. However, some films and programs are not available outside of Poland (changing the IP address will help bypass this restriction). In addition, you can use torrents. The largest free catalogs - bitnova.info, shadows-torrents.pl.

IN free time listen to Polish radio (various radio stations are available on the Internet for free), watch YouTube channels you like, listen to Polish music, communicate with Poles via Skype, correspond on social networks and instant messengers, travel to Poland as often as possible and talk with locals. The main thing is not to be shy to speak, even if you risk making mistakes.

To memorize new words and grammatical forms It is useful to use homemade cards and stickers that can be hung in a visible place (for example, on your work computer or on the refrigerator at home).

Learning a language on your own is, of course, convenient and inexpensive. However, there is a risk of missing out important points in the language system and learn words and even entire constructions with errors. Therefore, if you are not confident in your abilities, come to us!

Perfect command of a foreign language is not available to many people and requires constant study and practice. However, its study begins small. Need a push. An upcoming trip to this country, the arrival of foreign colleagues or partners, or maybe just a desire that has arisen unexpectedly. Be that as it may, there will be no harm from this. On the contrary, there is one benefit. And the activity is interesting and an additional load on the intellect.

Three smiling, positive-minded girls in the presented twenty-minute video give the first lesson in learning the Polish language. And it begins, of course, with the alphabet. In the form of a cheerful conversation and even a game, they focus the attention of the audience on the correct pronunciation of some complex sounds, especially paying attention to softness and melodiousness.

Girls won't make you difficult participial phrases and complex sentences. Their task is to give an idea of a simple spoken language in which it will be possible to communicate with an intelligent resident of Warsaw and with a simple Polish peasant and with a representative of the Catholic clergy. The knowledge gained during this lesson will definitely come in handy, but the lesson itself is quite interesting and fun. Watch the video “Polish language lessons for beginners” at good quality 720 HD. All materials from 2017 and 2018 are contained on Youtube.com and are available on our website without registration.

We think that such a title does not need long introductions. If you came to this site, you are probably interested and planning to move here. And language is simply necessary for this. In this article we will try to systematize known methods learning the Polish language, provide useful links and add personal experience if possible.

Self-study

Let's say you don't have the money or time to go to courses or see a tutor. Let's see what you can do on your own.

1. Textbooks, tutorials

An option for those who are not lazy can pull themselves together and set aside time every day to read textbook chapters and do exercises. Personally, I “started” with a self-instruction manual from the AST publishing house. It is not bad for beginners, it is sold along with a CD on which interesting dialogues are recorded.

There is also an excellent series of textbooks called “Polski, krok po kroku”. And textbooks are actively used by my friends who attend language courses.

I will not list other books, since on our website with all the necessary links for downloading. My linguist friends especially recommend the third point from there - the old but very good textbook by Wasilewska and Karoljak.

Textbook of the Polish language Karoljak and Wasilewska

By the way, we have one more post, but there are more minor materials there.

2. Online services

There are many sites on the Internet for learning languages, including Polish. Personally, I recommend a quality course for beginners polskijazyk.pl. Everything is free, you just need to register. The presentation of the material is similar to a self-instruction manual, however, after each piece of theory there are verification tests, including those with audio materials.

I was also recommended the resource Speakasap.com. It offers 7 Polish video lessons for beginners. There is also an application for smartphones. And for an additional fee, you can work through the entire theory while communicating with the teacher.

3. Smartphone apps

In fact, this point could have been described in “online services”, but it was highlighted separately. Almost everyone now has smartphones; they are always in their hands or at hand. Here you are on a transport, reading out of boredom Twitter or In contact with, but you could instead launch the application and train your Polish!

First of all I would recommend free program"Duolingo" (there are applications for popular platforms: iOS, Android and Windows Phone). This is a full-fledged course for beginners, well and clearly compiled, with memorization tests and writing practice. The only negative is the basic English language, that is, they teach you through English, there is no Russian yet. With my knowledge of English at an intermediate level, this is not a problem - I understand everything.

Another high-quality application with audio lessons and tests is “Learn Polish” from ATi Studios (iOS, Android). But only a small part is available there for free.

Books are also an option. I won’t give specific links on what exactly to read, everything is individual. Although, again, my friends highly recommended starting with Harry Potter or Robinson Crusoe. Children's books usually have simple and clear language. But, in my opinion, it is better to find those books that you have previously read in your native language and which you liked so much that you could not put it down. There is a chance that you won’t have a blast in Polish either. Well, there will also be a basis for understanding.

I would like to note right away that it is difficult to find on the Polish Internet modern books free, it is more “civilized” in contrast to Runet, Baynet or Uanet. So I recommend buying books; various services are sufficient for this, for example, Virtualo or Woblink.

If you read from your phone, then there are very good applications designed specifically for reading on foreign languages(one-click translation). For Android I recommend – Reader-Translator, for iOS – Diglot.

All experts in the field of language learning recommend actively expanding your vocabulary and working with dictionaries. If you come across an unfamiliar word, write it down, then repeat it until you learn it. Again, smartphone applications will be very helpful with this, where you can create cards with in foreign words. For iOS I recommend “Learn on the Go”, for Android – FlashWords.

5. Listen to people, talk to them

There is such a method as passive language learning with immersion. Let’s say you’ve already arrived in Poland and you can’t escape anywhere. And that's great, because language environment- most the best option! Listen to what people say and how they say it, and if possible, communicate with them. Something will work out even from scratch, because Polish is a language Slavic group, it is partly similar to Russian, and even more similar to Ukrainian or Belarusian.

There is no need to switch to English or ask more experienced friends if you need, for example, to call and make an appointment with a doctor, talk to the director kindergarten, explain something in a beauty salon... Use translation programs (Yandex.Translator, for example, is very good in Polish), prepare the text in advance, understand it, remember it. Don't be shy to speak, even if you see that the other person is straining to understand you. In any case, you won’t see any negativity; Poles are usually polite and positive, they are pleased that visitors are trying to learn their language.

Learning with someone's help

There are not many options here; as a rule, they require more money and time. But they also differ in efficiency.

1. Group courses

The most obvious method of learning a language. Courses are available everywhere, often inexpensive or even free. For example, in our city (Lublin) there are two options for free courses (for both beginners and experienced) from volunteer organizations and foundations. They usually start from September-November, and it’s not that difficult to get in if you don’t come at the last moment. In addition, there are private companies with language courses, courses at educational institutions.

My husband has a lot of people from the CIS at work, they found a teacher and regularly study in the office, they pay by contribution - that’s also an option.

If you are not yet in Poland, then in large cities of Russia/Ukraine/Belarus there will probably also be Polish schools. Studying in a group is interesting - you listen to your colleagues and communicate with each other. Of course, this method takes time - you need to travel somewhere several times a week. But you are unlikely to be lazy (which happens when self-study), you will have to say and remember something in any case.

2. Tutor in person or online

It is believed that an individual teacher is more effective than group classes. After all, his time and attention are devoted only to you. Such lessons are again offered by language companies, and you can also find tutors online, on ad sites, for example. Of course it's more expensive.

If you do not have the opportunity to travel to the teacher or invite him home in person, help will come Internet. The easiest thing is to study via Skype. Again, such teachers can be looked for on large advertisement sites (in Poland - olx.pl). There are also special tutor directory sites, for example e-korepetycje.net or italki.com. They provide information about the teacher’s experience and publish student reviews. Among the tutors there are native Polish speakers and visitors from the CIS. The second option, of course, is cheaper and, perhaps, quite optimal for a start.

In addition, it is possible to communicate with native speakers completely free of charge! There are sites on the Internet that allow you to find interlocutors in the language you are interested in. In return, you will communicate with them in your native language - a benefit for everyone! I recommend ConversationExchange and HelloLingo (formerly LiveMocha). Of course, you won’t meet a professional teacher there, but just practicing the language is great!

Well, that's all the tips for learning Polish. I hope you found them helpful! I no longer began to write all sorts of banal things like “exercise regularly” and so on. The main thing in learning a language is desire. If you understand why you need it, success will not keep you waiting. There are plenty of study methods, and thanks to the development of the Internet, they are all now more than accessible. Choose the one that suits you, good luck!