r/learnpolish Dec 04 '24

Mod Post šŸ“Œ DUOLINGO MEGATHREAD - Confused about something on Duolingo? Post here!

59 Upvotes

There are so many Duolingo posts, so I've decided to create this thread to keep all the discussion in one place. Standalone Duolingo-related posts will be deleted from now on. Please just post your question here. In the meantime, I will try to create more pinned posts with grammar resources to be able to refer learners there.

For now, you can refer to this site: https://duonotes.fandom.com/wiki/Polish


r/learnpolish Mar 15 '26

Free resource šŸ“š Understanding "jest/są" and "to" - Guide for beginners

152 Upvotes

Lots of people start learning Polish by doing Duolingo exercises, and this is something they often get confused by - because Duolingo doesn't really explain grammar. So, this post is dedicated to all of you who might have stumbled into this problem.

What does "to" mean?

"To" is a word with multiple uses. However, in this post we will focus on only 2 of them.

  • to as a neuter demonstrative pronoun
  • to as a stand-in for the copular\* verb forms "jest/są"

*Copular verbs are verbs used to express identity, like: to be, to appear, to seem, to become. They usually connect a (pro)noun with another (pro)noun or adjective.

How to use "to"?

You can use "to" in the following ways:

A neuter demonstrative pronoun (together with a noun).

  • To jajko. To dziecko. To okno.
  • This egg. This child. This window. (not that other one)
  • To jajko jest smaczne. To dziecko jest głodne. To okno jest czyste.
  • This egg is tasty. This child is hungry. This window is clean.

A neuter demonstrative pronoun (standalone). You can use it like the English "it", "this", "that" for more abstract things.

  • To jest smaczne. To jest czyste. Daj mi to.
  • This is tasty. This is clean. Give me that.

A stand-in for the copular\* verb forms "jest/są". Examples: 1. This is a/an ..., 2. X is Y

  • To jajko. To dziecko. To okno. (1)
  • This is an egg. This is a child. This is a window.
  • Pies to zwierzę. Ania to nauczycielka. Jabłko to owoc. (2)
  • A dog is an animal. Ania is a teacher. An apple is a fruit.

Using "jest/są" vs. "to"

"To" can be used to express essentially the same thing as "jest/są". There is no difference in meaning between the sentences: Pies to zwierzę and Pies jest zwierzęciem. However, you have to remember a few things.

Rule nr 1

  • "To" uses Nominative. "Jest/są" requires Instrumental (if you use another noun).
  • Jabłko to (kto? co?) czerwony owoc. Jabłko jest (kim? czym?) czerwonym owocem.

Rule nr 2

  • You can't use "to" for standalone adjectives. You have to use "jest/są" and Nominative. If you have an adjective and a noun, then refer to rule nr 1.
  • Jabłko to czerwony. Jabłko jest czerwone.

Rule nr 3

  • "Jest" is used for singular, "są" is used for plural, "to" can be used for either.
  • Jabłko to owoc. Jabłka to owoce. Jabłko jest owocem. Jabłka są owocami.

How to form the Instrumental?

Since this is just a quick tutorial, I won't be covering any exceptions or details, just the general rules. Instrumental is actually one of the easiest forms to learn.

  • feminine nouns get the -ą ending: myszą, dziewczyną, wodą, rybą, odpowiedzią, etc.
  • masculine and neuter nouns get the -em ending; if it ends in ch, g, k, you have to add an i (so, -iem): psem, kotem, bankiem, owocem, jajkiem, chlebem, etc.
  • plural nouns get the -ami ending: psami, kotami, myszami, rybami, owocami, jajkami, etc.

Other forms of demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns decline by number, gender, and case. They have to agree in number, gender, and case with the noun they're referring to. This is also known as concord or concordance.

We can say:

  • To (jest) lampa. To (jest) kot. To (jest) jajko. To (są) książki. To (są) ludzie.
  • This is a lamp. This is a cat. This is an egg. These are books. These are people.

But here "to" does not function as a demonstrative pronoun of these nouns. It functions as a general demonstrative pronoun. If you want to "point" at a particular lamp, cat, egg, books, or people, you have to use the correct corresponding pronoun.

  • Ta lampa. Ten kot. To jajko. Te książki. Ci ludzie.
  • This lamp. This cat. This egg. These books. These people. (not some other ones).

__________________________________________________________________

Please, if you notice any new posts about this particular topic, refer them to this post. Thank you.


r/learnpolish 7h ago

Help🧠 Grzeczność w korpo

5 Upvotes

Nigdy wcześniej nie używałem polskiego w pracy, ale zastanawiam się, czy korpoludzie defaultowo używają stylu nieoficjalnego (czyli "ty"), czy przy pierwszym kontakcie z nowym kolegą albo biznespartnerem raczej zwracają się do siebie bardziej formalnie (czyli "Pan/Pani")?

Thanks from the mountain


r/learnpolish 10h ago

Help🧠 Struggling to speak polish as a polish student, what do I focus on and how do I improve

5 Upvotes

I’ve been in Poland for 4 years, first two i was studying in a private English school where I was taught basic polish and then I started to go to a polish school. When I was preparing to go into a polish school I only practiced everything I needed to pass the 8th grader exam (egzamin ósmoklasisty), so now I’m in a position where I have blank spaces and often times when I need to have a conversation in polish people don’t understand what I’m saying. I’ve tried going to a polish course for b1-b2 and tried to learn from some student books, but I didn’t notice much of a change in how polish people understand me. I don’t know if that’s useful info, but when I write polish essays I make a lot of language errors (błędy językowe), maybe that could explain what I’m struggling with better, thanks in advance for any help


r/learnpolish 20h ago

Help🧠 Speaking partner

10 Upvotes

Cześć,

Jestem z Serbii i mam 27 lat.

Finding someone for face-to-face meeting or to be a pen-pal. Know basics of Polish language and interested to level up at B level.

Want to learn Polish because admire Polish history, people and nation and as part of Slavic family languages.


r/learnpolish 1d ago

I live in Poland for 12 years and still can’t say this - ā€œstół z powyłamywanymi nogamiā€

21 Upvotes

What about you guys 😭😭 How can I fix this?


r/learnpolish 2d ago

Help🧠 Whats the best way to learn?

0 Upvotes

So i am an english speaker learning polish. I live with my polish gf and so far have mainly learned just by speakinh and repetition and other things that i have taught myself, some tenses, the standard verbs and im slowly getting on with the case system. However i feel like ive hit abit of a wall. I dont know where to go from here, do i further my vocab? Do i get a book and go through lessons? Should i get a tutor? Im probably like a1, a2 level. I want to be confident in speaking but im kind of stumped on what direction to go next. Any advice?


r/learnpolish 2d ago

Help🧠 Best App for alphabet

3 Upvotes

Cześć
Im starting my journey and was wondering what the consensus on any app that’s good for a start on ABCs and pronunciation, and also any apps that are not doodoo, is babbel good? Bosuu? Etc


r/learnpolish 3d ago

Free resource šŸ“š A free, no-login web app for everyday Polish vocabulary with native audio

17 Upvotes

Cześć! To help with my own struggles learning the language here in Poland, I built a completely free web app for drilling practical, everyday vocabulary, grammar and practice.

I wanted to share it here for anyone who might be looking for a clean, straightforward study tool: popolsku.app that is genuinely free and will remain that way.

Hope you find it useful and please let me know what you think.


r/learnpolish 4d ago

Using mieć instead of być

33 Upvotes

Sorry, I don’t have the exact wording here, but I just heard someone say something like:

nie ma tu Wi-Fi, ale ma tutaj

The point is that they said that ā€œthere is the thingā€ with mieć instead of być. (I know that nie ma is a curious thing in Polish which means something like there isn’t.)

Is this natural in Polish? Shouldn’t it be ale jest tutaj?


r/learnpolish 3d ago

Free resource šŸ“š A friend of mine made this little game and it's actually helped me speak faster

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0 Upvotes

Hey! Learning Polish here, and my biggest issue has always been speaking too slowly, I freeze up looking for the right word. A friend of mine built this thing called rap-gra (basically "Rhyme Game") and I figured I'd share since it's actually helped.

It's hard at first but it got easier for me after a while.

here is the link: rap-gra.online


r/learnpolish 4d ago

What's the difference between LEKARZE WETERYNARYJNI, and PODLEKARZE WETERYNAR and MEDYCY WETERYNARYJNI

8 Upvotes

r/learnpolish 3d ago

Help🧠 What's the word for social media? Because "media społecznościowe" sounds a bit literal

0 Upvotes

r/learnpolish 4d ago

Easy Polish Summer Course

1 Upvotes

I think it's like 3 weeks, 3hrs or something every morning.

https://easypolish.com.pl/en/prices-and-schedule

Anyone done it?


r/learnpolish 5d ago

Help🧠 How do I refer to my close friends mum in Polish when texting her?

43 Upvotes

My best friend has just had a heart operation in Poland, I know I won’t hear from her directly for at least a couple of days whilst she rests but I want to make sure the operation went well and would like to ask her mum who does not speak any English. What’s the usual way to refer to her when texting her? I would like it to sound polite but also familiar as I’ve met her several times now. Based on a quick search, I’ve seen putting ā€œPani [first name]ā€ works, but if any native Polish people could help me with this one just to make sure as for me I would not usually do first names in English when referring to friends’ mums directly. Thanks!


r/learnpolish 5d ago

Reading Advice

6 Upvotes

I made a lot of mistakes when I started learning.

I basically ignored listening. I memorised words without knowing how much they change with context and how fundamental this is.

Now I'm doing a little better, listening to a lot of content, having lessons, doing some (not a huge amount) of grammar (as I find this just impenetrable to study on its own - I'm hoping more exposure and building this gradually will help things click more).One thing I still neglect is reading.

I'm just not sure how to really go about it. I try and understand news, social media posts etc and might Google the odd word, but that's about it.

Should I be reading books? If so, what's the best method? Translate the whole thing line by line?


r/learnpolish 6d ago

Help🧠 learning polish on my own

6 Upvotes

I start my last year of high school in a few months and I plan to be a paramedic after that. I live in a city where polish is a really common language spoken by non-english speaking residents in certain areas and the healthcare job market is pretty dire here so I want to improve my CV in advance as much as possible. I have 5-6 weeks of summer before the new school year (which will be super busy as it's the final year) and I want to lay a proper foundation for polish as soon as possible.

What's the best techniques/resources for me to use to get the basics down quickly? I don't have a tutor/can't afford one but I plan to save up for some sort of course in the future. other than that though — if apps, which ones? if immersion, what shows? which YouTube channels are the best, and for what? which books should I look at?

speaking and listening are the priority, with reading being next and writing being least important, but still something I'd want to learn. I don't have any polish-speaking friends and I'm a little socially awkward, and I can't travel to Poland or anything. preferably nothing that costs money — i don't have a job as I'm in full time education.


r/learnpolish 7d ago

Help🧠 Is It Too Late to Learn?

121 Upvotes

Hi all!

I’m a 21F first generation American, and I honestly feel ashamed I DONT know Polish. My dad regrets not teaching me as a child. It’s so awkward entering Polish spaces and not speaking the language.

Polish family friends have told me it’s too late to learn now. I have focus issues.

Is all hope lost? Will I ever learn the language? I can only say a few words with incorrect pronunciation.

Edit: I’d like to add I have plenty of first language Polish speakers in my radius to help, and I’ve found some pretty awesome Polish bands to help. I’ve already learned some new phrases today just from listening to Lady Pank lol

Edit 2: Thank you all for the encouragement! I am going to start learning. I have the next 8 weeks with nothing on my plate due to a surgery so it’s prime time to start getting the basics down! I’m living with my Polish dad right now so he will help as well :)


r/learnpolish 5d ago

Jakie badania powinnam jesvzze zrobić ? Czy ktoś ma podobnie

0 Upvotes

r/learnpolish 6d ago

What are the advantages of learning Polish if you don't live in Poland?

20 Upvotes

r/learnpolish 7d ago

Help🧠 ”help!

6 Upvotes

hey, my polish boyfriend is taking me to Poland in November of this year, i am meeting his family over there and want to learn a bit of polish before i go over there, could anybody help or know where i can get help? and if anybody knows what i should know before i go, what i should do before i go, any tips would be really appreciated, i have asked him but all he says is that im fine and they’ll love me, but i want to do more than just turning up you know , thank you :p


r/learnpolish 6d ago

some special help naming a child :) - follow up

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4 Upvotes

Thanks everyone for your input and kind messages! We have not decided on a name yet, but my husband suggested the nickname "Yui" if we name her Yuna, it seems to appeal to his friends as well, but I was surprised as it doesn't follow typical polish diminutive rules and I thought "Yui" would have even worse associations. If I named her Yuna, would it be possible for it to be her only name with a polish diminutive?

Also, I really like the Meiyu/Maja idea that many had. I was thinking of naming her Łucja, as I like how unique it is to poland, but my husband is not yet convinced.

I wanted to apologise if this all seems weird, I am new here and don't know where to ask anything. Thank you everyone for your advice.


r/learnpolish 6d ago

Would you recommend learning Polish to someone who doesn't live in Poland?

0 Upvotes

r/learnpolish 6d ago

Is it useless to learn Polish if you don't live in Poland? I've tried to find advantages of learning polish, but haven't found any, what would be an advantage? Is it worth it?

0 Upvotes

r/learnpolish 7d ago

Looking for language school recommendations

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0 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

I’m moving from Germany to Warsaw for the next two years to do my Master's at SGH. I’m super excited to live in the city! I really want to learn Polish properly while I'm there.
Has anyone had good experiences with specific language schools in Warsaw? Or do you have any other tips on the best ways to learn the language as a student?
Thanks in advance!