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- Topic: Polish >
- "Mówię po angielsku."
17 Comments
In polish, are there different words for "speak" and "say" as there is in english, or Mówię suits both meanings?
I'm Polish. The verb "mówić" can be translated as both "to speak" and "to say".
But there are also two additional verbs used. -just to widen the vocabulary.
Rozmawiać- to speak Powiedzieć- to talk/ say
For example
My rozmawiamy- we speak
Ja mówie- I say
Powiedz mi- tell me
Often you can use different Polish verbs for "saying"... and there's quite many ways to say in this language.
I recommend learning phrases on the flashcards by the way.
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.
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...
899
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.
- 711
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 :)
