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- "Ty lubisz mleko, ja lubię wo…
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Could you just say "lubisz mleko, lubię wodę", or do you need the pronouns when there's more than one subject in a sentence?
Most of the time, Polish personal pronouns can be omitted, because in the presence of the conjugated verb, they do not add any new information. But they are really necessary to draw special attention to a specific person, or
to emphasize the contrast or the main difference between two elements:
CO lubisz? Lubisz mleko - You like milk (it's about milk)
CO lubię? Lubię wodę - I like water (it is about water)
Ty lubisz mleko - YOU like milk (it's about YOU, nobody else)
Ja lubię wodę - I like water (it's all about ME, ME, ME, ME, ME)
Ty lubisz mleko, ja lubię wodę - YOU like milk, I like water
Ty lubisz mleko, a ja lubię wodę - YOU like milk, and I like water
Ty lubisz mleko, ale ja lubię wodę - YOU like milk, but I like water
(The sentence is about the contrast/difference between YOU and ME)
Follow up, what about emphasizing the object. Like getting opinions on what pizza to get, I like Pepperoni, you like Mushroom, he likes Pepperoni, so that's 2 for Pepperoni pizza.
I'm not sure I understand the question, this example doesn't seem to differ from our basic sentence here...
I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure you can drop the pronouns. The form of the verb will still tell you who's doing the action, even with more than one subject.
Thanks! That's what I figured, but I practised my Polish too soon after Turkish and was confusing the two's rules a little.
Not exactly - it will be understood but it has slightly different meaning and sounds a bit weird: "lubisz mleko, lubię wodę". It is a bit like "you like milk - I like water - who cares" in everyday Polish. If you want to emphasize difference between my taste and your taste I would keep the pronouns: "Ty lubisz mleko a ja lubię wodę" - "you like milk and I like water (so get off my case - I am not driving to store to buy milk for you)".
Shouldn't a semicolon be used instead of a comma, or is punctuation different in Polish?
Semicolon is dying. Maybe you are right - frankly, I don't know, but I'm afraid that very few people would care.
These are different cases. "woda" is Nominative - the basic, dictionary form of the verb. It will mostly be used as the subject of the sentence.
"wodę" is Accusative, it's generally used for the direct object in the sentence. Numerous verbs simply 'need' Accusative, and "mieć" (to have) is one of them.
If you want to emphasize difference between my taste and your taste I would keep the pronouns: "Ty lubisz mleko a ja lubię wodę" - "you like milk and I like water (so maybe this blind date is destined to end fast)".
You love the woman - (Ty) Kochasz kobietę.
You like the woman - (Ty) Lubisz kobietę.
It's an accusative.
Is there an assumed "and" or "i" in these cases? Cuz I translated it as "you like milk, I like water" and the correct translation "You like milk, and I like water". Does the presence of the "ja" make the "i" disappear? Thanks!
Technically there isn't one in this sentence (probably 'i' wasn't introduced yet), but I'm usually adding such an option because it just makes so much sense and is (more) natural. But it's not a suggested answer.
And actually, if there really was "and" in the English sentence, Polish should use "a" and not "i".
"a" is the contrastive "and". If "I like X and you (also) like X", there's no contrast, so you use "i". If "I like X and Y" it's also a very simple 'and', therefore 'i' is used. But here, "You like X, and I like Y". There is contrast. It has to be "a".
"lubicie" (you made a typo, although accidentally "lubcie" is also a valid form - the 2nd person plural imperative) is 2nd person plural. Like Castilian Spanish "vosotros", if you're familiar with it (if you learn Spanish only with Duolingo, then it's rather Latin American Spanish and they do not use it).
"lubisz" is 2nd person singular, like Spanish "tú".
"Lubisz" is "you (one person only) like"; "lubię" is "I like".
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Of course different. I didn't say that they're identical. I just wonder which sound does it make.
I was actually not replying to you. It's very difficult to find an exact British English counterpart, because depending on the region vowels might be rendered differently.
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You know what just forget about schwa XD. I just need to know does it make any sound. Does it make a silent sound LIKE schwa or an “e” sound as in “meet”?
