PREPOSITIONS “DO” AND “NA” IN THE POLISH LANGUAGE

ONE OF THOSE LITTLE PROBLEMS WITH POLISH

When learning Polish we encounter a number of little grammar problems which do not prevent us from getting our message across when we speak, but which become annoying when we start to speak Polish more and more fluently. One of such little problems is the use of prepositions “NA” and “DO” with verbs of motion.

WHEN TO USE “DO” AND WHEN “NA”? THE POLISH LANGUAGE, HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY.

Exactly. Why do we say: jedziemy (or jeździmy, see the previous blog entry) DO Niemiec, Francji, USA, Szwecji (to Germany, France, the USA, Sweden), but NA Maltę, Ukrainę, Białoruś, Kretę (to Malta, Ukraine, Belarus, Crete)? As a rule, we use DO with names of countries. But most students of Polish immediately ask: >OK, so why do you say “jadę NA Ukrainę” then<? Good point. Unfortunately, it goes back to the time when these countries (now independent) used to be a part of other countries (not necessarily of Poland). Therefore, we say: jadę NA Cypr, NA Węgry, NA Litwę (I’m going to Cyprus, Hungary, Lithuania). Preposition NA is also used when referring to islands that have been a part of another country (jadę na Ibizę, NA Majorkę, NA Wyspy Kanaryjskie, Na Karaiby etc. – to Ibiza, Mallorca, Canary Islands, Caribbean) and regions (NA Mazury, NA Kaszuby, NA Warmię – to Masuria, Kashubia, Warmia).

DO WE SAY: JEDZIEMY NA CHORWACJĘ OR DO CHORWACJI?!

Does the above-mentioned rule apply to every case? Unfortunately, no. We do say: jadę DO Czech (the Czech Republic), but NA Słowację (Slovakia); jadę na Łotwę (Latvia), but jadę do Estonii (Estonia). And our Balkan friends? We use DO, always DO. Jedziecie w tym roku DO Chorwacji? :) (Are you going to Croatia this year?

                                       maybe, instead of travel you want to take Polish course? 

And one more thing: remember that about declination. JADĘ DO + gen. , JADĘ NA + acc. You can practise Polish declinations thanks to this app: Android, iOS, iPAD, Windows

BASIC VERBS OF MOTION IN THE POLISH LANGUAGE

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!

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REASONS TO SPEND YOUR SUMMER HOLIDAYS IN POLAND

NOT ONLY TO LEARN POLISH
At first sight Poland may seem to be a country that is not too attractive for tourists used to spending their holidays on sunny beaches of Greece of Italy. It hardly ever gets really hot, so the weather isn’t perfect here in the summer. However, that is only the first impression, which is wrong. Poland is really worth visiting in the summer.
First of all, you can sign up for a summer course of Polish as a foreign language. Everybody knows that the best way to learn a foreign language is to use it in the streets, talking to locals. Nowhere else will you have that many opportunities to use the expressions you’ve learnt in class. Obviously, materials available online, such as a site with conjugation of Polish verbs, can be outside Poland.

HOLIDAYS IN POLAND
Those who like the sea and lying on the beach will definitely enjoy the Baltic seaside. They can choose between the wide golden beaches and steep cliff edges. If the weather isn’t good enough to stay on the beach, they can visit some beautiful old Polish cities like Gdańsk, Kołobrzeg or Toruń, the hometown of Copernicus.
Those who prefer freshwater to saltwater will definitely find what they’re looking for among the picturesque lakes of Warmia and Masuria. It’s an ideal place to do water sports, go on bike tours or go hiking. On the way there you can visit one of the medieval castles in the region.
Those who are attracted by the beauty and might of the mountains will definitely choose to go to the south. Trekking the trails of the Tatra and Beskidy mountains will leave a lasting impression on them.
And if anyone would like to combine water with mountains, they will find both in the Bieszczady mountains. In hot weather they can cool off with a swim in the  Solina Lagoon, and in cooler weather they might hike the Bieszczady peaks and pastures.

WE SPEAK POLISH IN POLAND :)
In fact, every corner of Poland is full of cities and towns not only rich in architecture, but also lively and bustling, just to mention Wrocław, Poznań, Olsztyn, Kraków and many more.
And let’s not forget about the diverse and delicious Polish food, which varies from region to region. Polish cuisine is not only pierogi (dumplings) or żurek (sour rye soup) but also fish, delicious soups, vegetables, kasza (kasha – cereal eaten in the Central and Eastern Europe) and sweet desserts :)
Poland is worth coming to not only to do a Polish course :)

And as „a second helping“ we recommend taking the Polish language, since it’s much more pleasant to travel across Poland knowing several basic expressions like „dziękuję“ (thank you), „dzień dobry“ (good morning/afternoon) or „poproszę“ (I’d like/I’ll take).

LET'S NOT BE AFRAID OF "SWÓJ" :)

„SWÓJ" ISN'T AS SCARY AS IT MAY SEEM  

Of course, it’s the pronoun „swój“ that we have in mind, a pronoun which is very frequently used in Polish and which doesn’t care how many problems it causes for foreigners. However, it turns out that not all foreigners find it difficult to use this particular pronoun. For the Slavs the use of it comes as naturally as breathing and without much explanation. Unfortunately, the students who use non-Slavic languages in everyday life have a real difficulty using the pronoun. Therefore we introduce it quite late in our lessons, when we are sure that the students learning Polish have already mastered the use of other pronouns, especially „się“, and they don’t have problems with their declension. Obviously, the students are certain to encounter the scary sounding „swój“ during the very first conversation in Polish and will immediately ask what that is.
We cannot ignore the question, but we’d better not go into details at the beginning of the language course.

PRONOUN "SWÓJ" TAKES PRIORITY IN THE POLISH LANGUAGE 

But whatever we say, „swój“ is not so black as it is painted. When we take a closer look, we’ll see that „swój“ can replace any possessive pronoun (mój, twój – my, your etc.), but only when the object owned belongs to the subject mentioned in the sentence. It’s possible (or even advisable) to change:

„Lubię moją pracę“                          for                      „Lubię swoją pracę.“
„Siądźcie na waszych miejscach“    for                     „Siądźcie na swoich miejscach“

Most native speakers will choose the second option but no one will consider the first one to be incorrect. It can be said that the pronoun „swój“ takes priority in the Polish language.

                                            to find out more about Polish grammar

In a lesson it is a good idea to give examples including all the possessive pronouns. The students will soon notice that there’s usually no problem when changing pronouns „mój“ and „twój“ for „swój“, so they’ll automatically try to do the same with „jego“ and „jej“, but there’s a catch. The problem we encounter is the ambiguity of the sentence: „Adam spotkał się z jego żoną“(Adam got together with his wife). Whose wife did Adam get together with? His own wife (spotkał się ze swoją żoną), or another man’s wife (z jego żoną)? Knowing the pronoun „swój“ we’d better use it to be on the safe side so that it’s safer for Adam, his wife and the grammatical correctness of the sentence: „Adam spotkał się ze swoją żoną.“ Having said that, we’re definitely making it clear that the woman Adam got together with was his own wife :)

It’s also easy to notice the difference between the sentences: „Widziałem swojego kolegę“ (I’ve seen MY friend), and „Widziałem twojego kolegę.“ (I’ve seen YOUR friend).
It is important to draw students‘ attention to this issue and point out that the pronouns cannot be interchanged automatically. It is vital to make sure first whether the object really belongs to the subject.
However, that’s not all the trouble yet. As soon as our students get familiar with „swój“ we’ll definitely hear them say things like: „To jest swój pies.“ And that’s where we have to explain the meaning of the sentence, pointing out how absurd it sounds. That will cause some laughter, which is a precious addition to Polish grammar lessons, but will definitely help the students remember that in this particular case it is impossible to use„swój“ since it cannnot be used in the nominative case.

HOW TO PREPARE A GOOD LESSON OF POLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE? PART 2.

A GOOD POLISH LESSON. WHAT SHOULD IT BE LIKE?

100% (or almost 100%) IN POLISH!
Speak Polish! Kind of obvious, but... If you speak English or any other language for most of the lesson, it’s YOU who practises their language skills, not your students. There’s a common misconception about teaching Polish: when teaching a group of beginners it isn’t possible to use Polish only, especially during the first few lessons. Well, it IS possible! Obviously, you need to simplify the language register a lot, use your body language and visual aids, and first of all, you need to adapt the material to the specific moment of the course or lesson. Clearly, you are not going to start the first class (beginner course) with the past tense, but with introductions and alphabet, and the phrase „Co słychać?“ (How’s it going?) you’re likely to introduce at the beginning rather than the end of the lesson.

THE STRUCTURE OF A LESSON
Remember about the structure of your lesson. No matter how long the Polish lesson is, your student should go through the following stages: warm-up – review of the last lesson – introduction of new material – drilling new material – student’s performance – summary. Remember about the margin of error for your students, do not correct every single mistake that lower level students make. The less advanced the student, the larger the margin of error is acceptable.
When introducing grammar, remember: first an example, which you analyse, and then the rule (never the other way round). For homework your students can practise grammar in a fun way: application Polish for Foreigners (available also on iOS, iPAD and Windows).
Better to do less but properly, than more but just whiz through it. If you provide students with too much material during a lesson, they won’t memorize it all anyway.

YOUR STUDENTS
Listen to your students, pay attention to their verbal and non-verbal signals, find out what they’re interested in, ask them questions (without invading their privacy) and remember that being a Polish teacher you often meet people of different cultural background, confession or having values different from yours. Respect that!

                                     

One of the pictures you can find on our facebook page PoPolskuPFP. What grammatical problem does it help to explain?