Category Archives: Vocabulary

Which Grammar Book?

17
Nov
2008

I really don’t understand why it’s so hard to find a grammar book. A Polish grammar book, that is. In English.
I spent the entire weekend schlepping from one bookstore to another, sometimes in the rain, and the only result was sore feet. My sore feet, that is.
I went to normal bookstores and to “language” bookstores [...]

By Anna | Comments (10)

Stary Piernik and Other Expressions, part 1

8
Nov
2008

John H. came up with an excellent suggestion for a blog post and I gotta say that neither I nor my friends have ever had so much fun gathering material and doing “linguistic” research. Some of those expressions – I even forgot they existed. Like “stary piernik” for example. When translated literally, it becomes “old [...]

By Anna | Also posted in Culture | Comments (3)

I Have a Cold

12
Oct
2008

I have a cold. Or worse than a cold. It’s one of those evil afflictions that bangs your head sideways and removes it from the head hinges. I’ve been like that for a week now, and I suspect that by now I have a vicious case of flu.
No, I didn’t see a doctor, because all [...]

By Anna | Comments (12)

You’re Welcome!

4
Oct
2008

Like I said in the comments to the previous post, it’s official, I have the best readers ever! Thank you so much for all your kind words, and even more – for your suggestions.
Today’s post is inspired by a comment made by Thomas in the post below. Remember his problems with finding the Polish equivalent [...]

By Anna | Also posted in Culture | Comments (10)

Actually & Eventually

29
Aug
2008

Interesting things can happen when your car breaks down. For one, you have to ride the bus, which in itself is not that interesting, I admit. But staring at people and listening to their conversations is always fun. And sometimes, when you are sandwiched between two individuals talking loudly on their cell phones, you don’t [...]

By Anna | Comments (6)

Lazy Male?

12
Aug
2008

After all the grammar stuff last week, I don’t know about you, but I think we‘re long overdue for something more entertaining. Yes, I know that grammar is essential when learning a new language properly, though personally, I’ve never been the kind of student who sits down and dutifully memorizes different verb endings. In whatever [...]

By Anna | Comments (7)

Of House and Home

25
Jul
2008

Today’s topic is actually a little off topic but Thomas made a very interesting comment under the last post, and I thought it would be worth taking a closer look.
I’ve always assumed that the “house” and “home” confusion was exclusive to foreigners who learn English. And for some very strange reason it’s never even occurred [...]

By Anna | Comments (7)

Pronunciation Samples

11
Jul
2008

At last!
I know you’ve been asking about pronunciation, and I know you’ve been requesting phonetic equivalents for all the Polish words I’m introducing in each post.
The problem with phonetic approximations is that if we use English sounds, then for those readers who are not native English speakers, such examples will not make much sense. Also, [...]

By Anna | Comments (16)

100 Polish Words in 10 Seconds

22
May
2008

We’ve already established that Polish is not an easy language, and anyone who has ever tried to master the seven cases of nouns, pronouns and adjectives surely can agree.
So, imagine my surprise, when a friend announced he could teach 100 Polish words to anyone in less than 10 seconds. Anyone. Less that 10 seconds. Yeah, [...]

By Anna | Comments (13)