How to Indicate Objects with the Help of Gestures

Learn how to indicate objects with the help of gestures

Dialogue

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can Do Polish by PolishPod101.com!

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask for something at a grocery store in Polish.

For example, "This, please." is

Poproszę to.

Konrad Kowalski is at a small grocery store.

After finding something he wants, he points at the item and asks for it.

Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

To.

"this"

To.

Proszę!

"Here you are."

Proszę!

Poproszę to.

Proszę!

Once more with the English translation.

Poproszę to.

"This, please."

Proszę!

"Here you are!"

Let's break down Konrad's request.

Do you remember how Konrad Kowalski says,

"This, please."

Poproszę to.

This standard way of asking for something follows a simple pattern.

First is poproszę, "please." Poproszę. Poproszę.

Next is to. "This." To. To.

To is the neuter, singular form of the word for "this." If you don’t know the name of an item and consequently its gender, you can use to.

It refers to something which is near the speaker. Ben uses it because he’s pointing at something which is near to him.

All together, it's Poproszę to. "This, please."

Poproszę to.

Do you remember how the clerk says,

"Here you are."

Proszę.

Proszę literally means, "I ask for," but it translates as "Here you are," in this situation. Proszę. Proszę.

Note: Proszę has multiple meanings depending on the context.

For example, proszę means "You’re welcome," as a response to "Thank you," dziękuję.

It can also mean "How can I help you," in a shop or business; "Come in" when inviting someone into a room; or "After you" when you'd like to offer someone the chance to go first.

Proszę is from the verb prosić, "to ask for." Prosić.

Proszę, "Here you are," in this case.

Proszę.

The pattern is:

Poproszę ITEM.

"ITEM, please."

Poproszę ITEM.

To use this pattern, simply replace the {ITEM} placeholder with the thing you want.

Note: This pattern requires a demonstrative pronoun.

Imagine you’d like something from across the room. The pronoun to indicate something far from a speaker is tamto, "that." Tamto. Tamto.

Say

"That, please."

Ready?

Poproszę tamto.

"That, please."

Poproszę tamto.

The following phrases can be used to refer to an item without knowing its name in Polish:

Poproszę to, "This, please." and,

Poproszę tamto, "That, please."

Note, these can be used for both plural and singular.

If you want to get the clerk's attention, you can add przepraszam, "excuse me" before each of these phrases.

Przepraszam, poproszę to, "Excuse me, this please."

Przepraszam, poproszę tamto, "Excuse me, that please."

If you want to ask "what is this?" you could say,

Co to jest? "What is this?"

Note, these questions can be used for things close or far from the speaker, as well as for singular and plural items.

Again, the pattern is

Poproszę ITEM.

"ITEM, please."

Poproszę ITEM.

Let’s look at some more examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Poproszę to.

"This, please."

Poproszę to.

Poproszę tamto.

"That, please."

Poproszę tamto.

Przepraszam, poproszę to.

"Excuse me, this please."

Przepraszam, poproszę to.

Co to jest?

"What is this?"

Co to jest?

Poproszę to i tamto.

"This and that, please."

Poproszę to i tamto.

Did you notice how the native speaker used a different pattern?

Poproszę to i tamto.

"This and that, please." Poproszę to i tamto.

When requesting multiple items, you can join them with the conjunction, i, meaning "and."

I, "and." I. I.

To i tamto, "this and that." To i tamto.

Let’s review the key words.

Tamto.

"that"

Tamto.

Przepraszam.

"excuse me"

Przepraszam.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "please?"

Poproszę.

Do you remember how Konrad says,

"This, please."

Poproszę to.

Do you remember how the clerk says,

"Here you are!"

Proszę!

When you don't know the name of something, do you remember the word for “that?”

Tamto.

And how to ask “what is this?”

Co to jest?

Let's practice.

Imagine you’re Konrad. You’re at the grocery store to buy some bread, but you don't know the word. Instead you point at it and say,

"This, please."

Ready?

Poproszę to.

Proszę!

Listen again and repeat.

Poproszę to.

Let's try another.

Imagine you’re Kaja , and you see some small snacks you’d like to try.

Ask for "this."

Ready?

Poproszę to.

Proszę!

Listen again and repeat.

Poproszę to.

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you’re Karolina , and you see a sandwich in the showcase behind the counter.

Ask for "that."

Ready?

Poproszę tamto.

Proszę!

Listen again and repeat.

Poproszę tamto.

Well done! This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to request something by pointing, an essential skill for shopping at a grocery store.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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