Learn how to ask, "Can you speak English?"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Hello and welcome to Polish Survival Phrases brought to you by PolishPod101.com, this course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Poland. You will be surprised at how far a little Polish will go. |
| Now, before we jump in, remember to stop by PolishPod101.com and there, you will find the accompanying PDF and additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. |
Lesson focus |
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| In Polish, "Do you speak English?" is Czy pan mówi po angielsku? |
| The first two words, czy pan, mean "Do you, sir." |
| The next word in our phrase is mówi, which means "speaks." Mówi comes from the verb mówić, meaning "to speak." |
| The last component of our phrase is po angielsku, meaning literally "in English." |
| To recap, the whole phrase is Czy pan mówi po angielsku? ("Do you speak English, sir?") You probably wonder how to say, "you (ma'am)?" If you want to ask a woman if she speaks English, you simply have to change the word pan ("sir") to pani ("ma'am"). |
| So the phrase would be Czy pani mówi po angielsku? ("Do you speak English, ma'am?") |
| The phrase we just learned is perfect in a formal setting. You should always use the above phrase with people you don't know or elders. |
| When speaking to someone we know or people our age, we will say in Polish Czy mówisz po angielsku? Please notice there is no pan or pani in the phrase Czy mówisz po angielsku? Polite forms pan ("sir") or pani ("ma'am") are required in formal contact only. Also, please have a look at the forms of the verb mówić ("to speak"). We use mówi with pan/pani ("sir"/"ma'am"), whereas mówisz is direct, and we use it with people we know or those we're friends with. |
| Now for a change, let's try a different language. |
| Let's try Spanish. "Do you speak Spanish?" (informal) is Czy mówisz po hiszpańsku? |
| The word for "in Spanish" is po hiszpańsku. |
| In this example, you need to change the word for the language only. |
| The rest stays the same. |
| The same rule applies to formal questions. For example, "Do you speak Spanish, ma'am?" will be Czy pani mówi po hiszpańsku? |
Outro |
| Okay, to close out this lesson, we'd like you to practice what you've just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for shouting it aloud. You have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so powodzenia, which means “good luck” in Polish. |
| "Do you speak English, sir?" - Czy pan mówi po angielsku? |
| Czy pan mówi po angielsku? |
| Czy pan mówi po angielsku? |
| "Do you speak English, ma'am? (formal)" - Czy pani mówi po angielsku? |
| Czy pani mówi po angielsku? |
| Czy pani mówi po angielsku? |
| "Do you speak Spanish? (informal)" - Czy mówisz po hiszpańsku? |
| Czy mówisz po hiszpańsku? |
| Czy mówisz po hiszpańsku? |
| All right, that's going to do it for today. Remember to stop by PolishPod101.com and pick up the accompanying PDF. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. |
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