"Adam jest w związku z Martą."

Translation: Adam is in a relationship with Marta.

[monstika]

Would this sentence describe a business relationship or a romantic one?

[Szparag]

If somebody is "w związku" with somebody it is always a romantic relationship. But you can also say "w związku z (czymś)" wich means "due to sth/because of sth".

[Alex_Kinsey]

or in relation to something

[Wacek8]

I Jacek jest w zwiazku z kim?

[AntonAtten]

Why is: "Adam has a relationship with martha' not exepted?

[Jellei]

Because it's a lot wider, it doesn't imply a romantic relationship. In the Polish sentence, they're dating. Or maybe married.

[TrevorChri14]

Classic translatorese, because Marta is Marta, not Martha. Translating someone's name without permission can be disrespectful, and if it is a company name it can be illegal because companies have to register all the forms of name they intend using.

[Jellei]

The English sentence also has "Marta". "Martha" is just accepted.

Although yeah, it used to be "Martha" until recently.

[J_Rzesiewicz]

Do people actually follow these rules about the names when they are speaking in everyday conversation?

[Alex_Kinsey]

Absolutely, they're not optional. With the possible exception of the vocative case.

[NickFleck]

I wrote: "Adam is in relationship with Marty." How is this different from "a relationship?

[RobinB896941]

My English and I are from the UK; US English often works differently.

…in a relationship with…
Duo's short sentence "Adam jest w związku z Martą" is most closely translated by

• "Adam is in a relationship with Marta", which clearly indicates that
• "Adam and Marta are a couple", as the broader
• "Adam and Marta have a relationship" might or might not imply – this could instead be a business or working relationship, perhaps.
• "Something's going on between Adam and Marta" might imply all of the above, or even that they're in the same orchestra or criminal gang…

It's safest to learn "A is in a relationship with B" as a set English expression. Generally I encourage language learners to use clear expressions that avoid ambiguity and embarrassment, but if you want to muddy your meaning, leave out a and try

…in relationship with… – which might mean relative to; with respect to.

• "Adam is in relationship with Marta" doesn't work in (UK) English, though
• "Adam is in partnership with Marta" (i.e. business relationship) is fine.

It's difficult to find good constructions that work without a, suggesting that it's very much minority usage, but try…

1. "Adam was in relationship with 8 other women before he finally met Marta."
   (here I prefer …in relationships with… to hint that many of the relationships may have been at different times)
2. "People tend to behave differently in isolation or in relationship with other people."
3. "In a car engine, any single part has to function correctly in relationship with thousands of others."
4. "Company A is in relationship with Company B." [?US usage]
   
   

Related: Relations or relationships?       [15 Dec 2019 10:43 UTC]