PROBLEMS WITH THE VERBS OF MOTION
„Chodzę na zakupy“ or „Idę na zakupy“? „Jeżdżę na wakacje“ or „Jadę na wakacje“? All the forms are correct. Why then do so many foreigners find it difficult to use these verbs? And why is it so hard for the Polish (and many teachers of Polish as a foreign language) to explain the specific nature of this grammatical issue? The only ones that don’t have difficulty using the verbs iść - chodzić - jeździć - jechać are the Slavic students. They have the same kind of verbs in their languages. However, we need to bear in mind that e.g. the Slovaks use the verbs „chodzić“ and „iść“ in the sense of „jechać“, „jeździć“, „podróżować“ (to travel) and therefore we can hear them say „ist‘ vlakom“, „ist‘ na bicykli“. Despite the minor differences it can be said that in general the Slavic students do not have difficulty using the verbs of motion as do the other foreign students. Because how to explain that there are two verbs that mean „to go“ in the Polish language?
COMMON MISTAKE BY TEACHERS OF POLISH
Unfortunately, many teachers, following the coursebooks of Polish as a foreign language, introduce all the four verbs in one lesson. As a result, the students confuse not only their meaning but also make mistakes conjugating them and make sentences like „jecham rowerem“, „idą do Kreta“, „dzisiaj chodzę do sklepu“. How to straigthen that out? It’s really easy. First, we need to realise that one of the verbs refers to using means if transport (jechać), while the other one implies walking, going on foot (iść). After we have practised using and conjugating them, we can introduce the verbs chodzić – jeździć in one of the following lessons. They’re useful especially when talking about one’s hobbies („Lubię chodzić do kina“ – I like going to the cinema, „Lubię jeździć na rowerze“ – I like riding a bike).
A QUESTION FREQUENTLY ASKED IN POLISH CLASS
OK, but what’s the difference between iść and chodzić, jechać and jeździć? Without using complex grammatical terms? Well, the verbs iść and jechać refer to ONE-TIME actions and are used with time expressions such as jutro (tomorrow), dzisiaj (today), w ten piątek (this Friday) or with specific dates. The verbs chodzić and jeździć describe REPEATED, habitual actions and therefore we use them with expressions like często (often), zawsze (always), od czasu do czasu (from time to time), raz na rok (once a year), nigdy nie (sic! never) etc.
Afterwards we should practise the use of the verbs by doing exercises, paying particular attention to the conjugation of the verbs jeździć and jechać. The similarities!
