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In polish, are there different words for "speak" and "say" as there is in english, or Mówię suits both meanings?
I am just curious. What is the word "po"? Is this a grammatical utensil relative to languages perhaps?
Someone answered this in a different sentence, but it's a preposition that can mean plenty of things such as in, by or via. Here it's used to describe the manner, as in, "I speak in an English manner".
So, when using adjectives, you would use "po" or is it just to describe something in the manner of something else?
it is a very specific construction, that basically means "the way they do in ....".
The most common uses of this construction are with languages, and food.
In most cases adjectives work differently. you put adjective before a noun and case, number and gender of adjective has to match that of a noun.
You probably mean proper noun; languages aren't capitalised in Polish as they are in English.
... nor is "polsku" a noun in this sentence. It's an adjective. A (non-idiomatic) direct translation of the sentence might be "I speak English-ly."
Mind you, English orthography does typically capitalize adjectives of this sort as well.
Because as another companion has pointed out, "po" refers to "manner" no? I mean, it's like saying "I speak in the English way/manner" etc
So can pronouns be omitted in Polish and is there a time where they must be used?
You use them for emphasis, generally. Also, 3rd person pronouns aren't omitted that often, as then it may not be obvious who the subject is.
To be honest, I thought that it meant: "Talk (imperative) English!" , because my native language is a slavic language and it sounds like an imperative verb e. g. ˇGovori po angleško!" the 'ee' sound took me off the road. soo...
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Imperative would be:
- „Mów po angielsku” – second person singular
- „Niech mówi po angielsku” – 3rd sing.
- „Mówmy po angielsku” – 1st plural
- „Mówcie po angielsku” – 2nd plural
- „Niech mówią po angielsku” – 3rd plural
The verb comes from Proto-Slavic *mъlviti, which has descendants in all Slavic languages(as far as I know), but in some Slavic languages it's now dated/archaic, like Russian мо́лвить for example.
The 'ee' sound? What 'ee' sound? It's roughly 'moovyeu', so the last sound is somewhere between 'e' and 'eu', depending on one's pronunciation. Usually closer to 'e'.
So I guess 3rd person singular will seem to you as imperative, this ends with 'i' sound.
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It's not confusing. In Romanian I can also say: Vorbesc în engleză, which means I speak in English. At least for me it makes sense :)
