How to Ask If a Store Has a Specific Item

Learn how to ask if a store has a specific item

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can Do Polish by PolishPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask if a store has something in Polish.

For example, "Excuse me, do you have salt?" is

Przepraszam, czy jest sól?

Konrad Kowalski is at a small grocery store and wants to buy some salt.

He gets the clerk's attention and asks if the store has some salt.

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

Sól.

"salt"

Sól.

Tutaj.

"here"

Tutaj

Tutaj.

Przepraszam, czy jest sól?

Tak, jest tutaj.

Once more with the English translation.

Przepraszam, czy jest sól?

"Excuse me, do you have salt?"

Tak, jest tutaj.

"Yes, it's here."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Konrad asks,

"Excuse me, do you have salt?"

Przepraszam, czy jest sól?

First is przepraszam, meaning, "Excuse me." Przepraszam. Przepraszam.

Next is czy, meaning something like "whether" in this case. Czy. Czy.

Next is jest, "is." Jest. Jest.

Jest is from the verb być, meaning "to be." Być.

After that is sól, "salt." Sól. Sól.

Together, czy jest sól? This literally means something like "whether there is salt?" but it translates as "Is there salt?" Or in more natural English, "Do you have salt?"

All together, Przepraszam, czy jest sól? "Excuse me, do you have salt?"

Przepraszam, czy jest sól?

Let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how the shop clerk says,

"Yes, it’s here."

Tak, jest tutaj.

This starts with tak, "yes." Tak. Tak.

It answers Konrad 's question,

Przepraszam, czy jest sól?

"Excuse me, do you have salt?"

Next is jest, "is," as in "it is." Jest. Jest.

Note, the corresponding word for "it" is omitted as it is understood from context.

Jest is from the verb być, "to be." Być.

Next is the word tutaj, "here." Tutaj. Tutaj.

All together, it's Tak, jest tutaj. "Yes, it’s here."

Tak, jest tutaj.

The key pattern is

Czy jest ITEM?

"Do you have ITEM?"

Czy jest ITEM?

To use this pattern, simply replace the {ITEM} placeholder with the thing you’re looking for.

Imagine you’re looking for milk.

Mleko. "Milk." Mleko. Mleko.

Say, "Do you have milk?"

Ready?

Czy jest mleko?

"Do you have milk?"

Czy jest mleko?

When asking for things, some items are put into the plural form, for example, "eggs". Jajka. Jajka.

Jajka is the plural form of the neuter noun jajko, "egg." Jajko. Jajko.

If an item is used in the plural form, the verb must agree with it.

Therefore when asking for something in the plural form, jest, "it is," is replaced with są, " are." Są. Są.

For example,

Czy są jajka? "Do you have eggs?" Czy są jajka?

Note: są is the third person plural of the verb być, "to be." Być.

Again, the pattern is

Czy jest ITEM?

"Do you have ITEM?"

Czy jest ITEM?

Let’s look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Czy jest sól?

"Do you have salt?"

Czy jest sól?

Czy jest mleko?

"Do you have milk?"

Czy jest mleko?

Czy jest woda?

"Do you have water?"

Czy jest woda?

Czy są jajka?

"Do you have eggs?"

Czy są jajka?

Gdzie jest cukier?

"Where is the sugar?"

Gdzie jest cukier?

Did you notice how the native speaker replaced Czy with Gdzie?

Gdzie jest cukier?

"Where is the sugar?"

With this question, you are presuming that the shop has sugar.

First is Gdzie, "where." Gdzie. Gdzie.

Next is jest, "is." Jest.

Jest is from the verb być, meaning "to be."

After this is cukier, "sugar." Cukier. Cukier.

All together, Gdzie jest cukier? This literally means "Where is sugar," but translates as "Where is the sugar?"

Gdzie jest cukier?

This sentence pattern is

Gdzie jest ITEM?

"Where is ITEM?"

You should be aware of this pattern, but you won’t need it for this lesson.

Let's review the new words.

Mleko.

"milk"

Mleko.

Woda.

"water"

Woda.

Jajka.

"eggs"

Jajka.

Cukier.

"sugar"

Cukier.

Let's review.

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

Ready?

Do you remember the formal way to say,

"Excuse me."

Przepraszam.

And how to say "salt?"

Sól.

Do you remember how Konrad Kowalski asks,

"Excuse me, do you have salt?"

Przepraszam, czy jest sól?

Do you remember how to say "yes?"

Tak.

And how to say "here?"

Tutaj.

Do you remember how the clerk says,

"Yes, it's here."

Tak, jest tutaj.

Do you remember how to say "milk?"

Mleko.

And how to say "sugar?"

Cukier.

Do you remember how to say "eggs?"

Jajka.

Let's practice.

Imagine you’re Konrad Kowalski , and you’re at the grocery store. Get the shopkeeper’s attention and ask if they have milk, or mleko in Polish.

Ready?

Przepraszam, czy jest mleko?

Tak, jest tutaj.

Listen again and repeat.

Przepraszam, czy jest mleko?

Imagine you’re Karolina Kowalski , and you’re at the grocery store to buy eggs, or jajka in Polish.

Ready?

Przepraszam, czy są jajka?

Tak, są tutaj.

Listen again and repeat.

Przepraszam, czy są jajka?

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you’re Kaja Kowalski , and you’re at the grocery store to buy sugar.

Ready?

Przepraszam, czy jest cukier?

Tak, jest tutaj.

Listen again and repeat.

Przepraszam, czy jest cukier?

In this lesson, you learned how to ask if a store has something. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of shopping at a grocery store. Let’s review.

Do you remember how to say "please?"

Poproszę.

Do you remember how to say,

"This, please."

Poproszę to.

Imagine you're Jack Jones , and you're at a grocery store, and you'd like to buy something located close to the clerk.

Do you remember how to say "this" in Polish?

To.

Ask the clerk for "this."

Poproszę to.

Proszę.

Listen again and repeat.

Poproszę to.

You remembered that you wanted to buy milk

Do you remember how to say "milk" in Polish?

Mleko.

Now ask the clerk if the store has milk.

Ready?

Przepraszam, czy jest mleko?

Tak, jest tutaj.

Listen again and repeat.

Przepraszam, czy jest mleko?

Well done! This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to ask if a store has something, an essential skill for shopping at a grocery store.

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

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