Learn how to inquire about a room
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hi everyone, and welcome back to PolishPod101.com. This is Lower Beginner Season 1, Lesson 8 - Finding a Place To Rest Your Head in Poland. Eric here. |
| Marzena: Cześć. I'm Marzena. |
| Eric: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to inquire about a room. The conversation takes place in an office at the university. |
| Marzena: It's between Ann and a man from the information desk. |
| Eric: The speakers are strangers, so they’ll be using formal Polish. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Ann: Dzień dobry. Szukam pokoju. |
| Mężczyzna: Czy jest pani studentką Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego? |
| Ann: Tak. |
| Mężczyzna: Pani imię i nazwisko? |
| Ann: Ann Johns. Jestem Australijką. |
| Mężczyzna: Stan cywilny? |
| Ann: Stan cywilny? Nie rozumiem. |
| Mężczyzna: Czy ma pani męża? |
| Ann: Nie. |
| Mężczyzna: Dobrze, mam wolny pokój. |
| Ann: Ile on kosztuje? |
| Mężczyzna: To jest akademik, tylko 450 złotych. |
| Eric: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Ann: Dzień dobry. Szukam pokoju. |
| Mężczyzna: Czy jest pani studentką Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego? |
| Ann: Tak. |
| Mężczyzna: Pani imię i nazwisko? |
| Ann: Ann Johns. Jestem Australijką. |
| Mężczyzna: Stan cywilny? |
| Ann: Stan cywilny? Nie rozumiem. |
| Mężczyzna: Czy ma pani męża? |
| Ann: Nie. |
| Mężczyzna: Dobrze, mam wolny pokój. |
| Ann: Ile on kosztuje? |
| Mężczyzna: To jest akademik, tylko 450 złotych. |
| Eric: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Ann: Good morning. I'm looking for a room. |
| Man: Are you a student at the University of Warsaw? |
| Ann: Yes. |
| Man: Your first and last name, please? |
| Ann: Ann Johns. I am Australian. |
| Man: Marital status? |
| Ann: Marital status? I don't understand. |
| Man: Do you have a husband? |
| Ann: No. |
| Man: Ok, we have a vacant room |
| Ann: How much is it? |
| Man: It's a dormitory, only 450 zl. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Eric: Marzena, what’s a typical Polish house like? Are there some specific features we’ll find? |
| Marzena: There are quite a few things you can find in a typical Polish house that you’re probably not used to. First of all, there will be slippers at the entrance, not only for those who live in the house, but often for guests too. |
| Eric: So that means that you usually take off your shoes when you go inside. |
| Marzena: That’s right. You’ll also probably see carpets, curtains, and lace curtains. |
| Eric: And I guess apartments are different from houses, right? |
| Marzena: Right, and some of the free-standing houses even have a living room with a fireplace. |
| Eric: What about renting a place in Poland, could you give us some tips? |
| Marzena: Apartments are often rented privately, without the help of real estate offices. So if you're looking for an apartment or even a room for rent, it's best to check local newspapers for advertisements first. They are also fully furnished and will often come with dishes, pots and other things which may come in handy. |
| Eric: If, for example, you go as a student, it’s probably easier to rent a room rather than a whole apartment. Is that an option? |
| Marzena:Yes, it’s a common option, and in those cases haggling is also possible, which gives you a chance of getting a really good deal. |
| Eric: Good to know! Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Eric: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Marzena: szukać [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to search, to look for |
| Marzena: szukać[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Marzena: szukać [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Marzena: Uniwersytet Warszawski [natural native speed] |
| Eric: University of Warsaw |
| Marzena: Uniwersytet Warszawski[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Marzena: Uniwersytet Warszawski [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Marzena: nazwisko [natural native speed] |
| Eric: surname |
| Marzena: nazwisko[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Marzena: nazwisko [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Marzena: stan cywilny [natural native speed] |
| Eric: marital status |
| Marzena: stan cywilny[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Marzena: stan cywilny [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Marzena: mąż [natural native speed] |
| Eric: husband |
| Marzena: mąż[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Marzena: mąż [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Marzena: rozumieć [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to understand |
| Marzena: rozumieć[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Marzena: rozumieć [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Marzena: wolny [natural native speed] |
| Eric: vacant |
| Marzena: wolny[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Marzena: wolny [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Marzena: pokój [natural native speed] |
| Eric: room |
| Marzena: pokój[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Marzena: pokój [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Marzena: kosztować [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to cost |
| Marzena: kosztować[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Marzena: kosztować [natural native speed] |
| Eric: And lastly.. |
| Marzena: akademik [natural native speed] |
| Eric: dormitory |
| Marzena: akademik[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Marzena: akademik [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Eric: Let's have a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first phrase is.. |
| Marzena: stan cywilny |
| Eric: meaning "marital status." |
| Marzena: This phrase is made up of two words- the noun stan, meaning "state" or "status," and the masculine form of the adjective literally meaning "civilian" or “civic," but in the case of this phrase, it means "marital." |
| Eric: When is this phrase used? |
| Marzena: You can see it on many kinds of documents and applications, and it’s usually needed at hospitals or city hall. If you want to ask someone if they're married though, using stan cywilny will sound extremely stiff; it’s not a casual phrase. The best way is to ask is jesteś żonaty? |
| Eric: meaning “Are you married?” if you are talking to a man, |
| Marzena: and if you are talking to a woman, jesteś zamężna? |
| Eric: also meaning “Are you married?” Can you give us an example using the formal expression? |
| Marzena: Sure. For example, you can say.. Jaki jest pana stan cywilny? |
| Eric: ..which means "What is your marital status, sir?" Okay, what's the next word? |
| Marzena: akademik |
| Eric: meaning "dormitory." |
| Marzena: This is a colloquial word; the proper name is dom studencki or dom akademicki, the masculine noun dom means "house" or "home." Studencki is an adjective meaning “students’,” and akademicki is an adjective meaning "academic”, here both are kept in the masculine form to match the noun. |
| Eric: So in a formal setting we should use the complete phrase. |
| Marzena: That’s right. |
| Eric: Can you give us an example using the colloquial version? |
| Marzena: Sure! For example, you can say.. Czy ten uniwersytet ma akademik? |
| Eric: .. which means "Does this university have a dormitory?" Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Eric: In this lesson, you'll learn how to inquire about a room. |
| Marzena: To get started, let’s say that when inquiring about a room, the verb szukać will come in handy. |
| Eric: It was also used in the dialogue... |
| Marzena: Yes, where Ann said Szukam pokoju. |
| Eric: meaning “I’m looking for a room”. |
| Marzena: The first word is szukać, meaning “to search” or “to look for,” in its first person singular form. The noun pokój means “room” in its genitive form. |
| Eric: Let’s say you’re looking for an apartment. |
| Marzena: Just change the last word into mieszkanie in the genitive form, which is mieszkania, and you will get Szukam mieszkania |
| Eric: meaning “I’m looking for an apartment.” |
| Marzena: Listeners, in the lesson notes you can find a complete conjugation in the present tense of the verb szukać. |
| Eric: When you’re looking for an apartment or a room for rent, asking about the price is one of the most important things. Let’s learn how to do that. |
| Marzena: When you want to know how much something costs, start with Ile kosztuje...? followed by the name of the product you have in mind. |
| Eric: that means "How much does something cost?" Let’s try with “apartment.” |
| Marzena: Ile kosztuje to mieszkanie? |
| Eric: “How much does this apartment cost?” |
| Marzena: If it was only a “room”, you could say Ile kosztuje ten pokój? |
| Eric: “How much does this room cost?” |
| Marzena: Let’s consider the example in the dialogue, Ann asked Ile on kosztuje? The first component of that question is ile, meaning “how much” in English. It’s followed by the pronoun on, literally meaning “he,” and at the end, the verb kosztować meaning “to cost” in its third person singular form kosztuje. |
| Eric: Why is the pronoun “he”? |
| Marzena: Because Ann was referring to the noun pokój, meaning “room,” which in Polish is a masculine noun. Therefore we refer to it as on, meaning “he.” |
| Eric: That makes sense. If you’re pointing to something or holding something in your hand, how can you simply say “How much does it cost?” in Polish? |
| Marzena: Ile to kosztuje? |
| Eric: Now let’s learn how to answer. |
| Marzena: When giving the price, Poles usually answer with just the amount, not with a full sentence. |
| Eric: In the dialogue the answer for the rent for the dormitory was… |
| Marzena: Tylko 450 (czterysta pięćdziesiąt) złotych |
| Eric: “Only 450 zloty.” |
| Marzena: The lady added tylko, meaning “only,” before the price to emphasize that it was very cheap. |
| Eric: and if you want to say that something is too expensive? |
| Marzena: In that case you can put aż in front of the price, for example, aż 450 złotych. |
| Eric: The name of the currency is złoty |
| Marzena: Right. Be careful because depending on the number, the form of the name of the Polish currency złoty will change. If the price is “one złoty”, you will say jeden złoty. The form złoty does not appear with any other number. |
| Eric: Let’s hear these forms. For example, if you have prices of two, three, four, or any other combination with two, three, or four, what do we say? |
| Marzena: Two, three, and four take złote, for example,dwa złote for “two złoty,” or siedemdziesiąt trzy złote “seventy three złoty.” Just remember that twelve, thirteen, and fourteen are exceptions. |
| Eric: What about other numbers, and twelve, thirteen, and fourteen? |
| Marzena: Any other numbers will use the form złotych. There’s a similar rule for cents, called grosz. The variations are grosz, grosze, and groszy. |
| Eric: What if the price has both złoty and cents? |
| Marzena: First you have to say the number of złoty, followed by the conjunction i, meaning "and," and then the number of groszy. |
Outro |
| Eric: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Marzena: Do widzenia. |
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