Getting bitchy with to be
It's everyone's favourite verb when they discover it - 'Być' - because it sounds like 'bitch' although many Polish people will tell you it's not quite the same and what's the fuss about anyway?
- to be - być
So let's get the Shakespear out the way
- To be or not to be - być czy nie być
Here we see 'czy', which up until now we used at the start of a sentence to signal a question, being used as 'or'. This flexible use of small words is common in Polish as we'll see later.
So how would you say:
- To have or not to have -
- To help or not to help -
- To go or not to go -
'Czy', 'lub' or 'Albo'
You might come across our favourite Shakespear line written as 'być albo nie być'.
'Czy' is used when there are choices but choosing one means you can't choose the other.
- Do you have a computer or not? - Czy masz komputer czy nie?
- Do you like (it) or not? - Czy lubisz czy nie?
Note we skip 'it' as it is the 'default' state. If we don't say anything then it is assumed we mean 'it'. So how would you say:
- Do you want (it) or not? -
- Do you have (it) or not? -
- Can you help or not? -
- Can you go or not? -
In reality the rules of when to use 'czy' or 'albo' are blurred and most of the time Poles just use whichever one seems the most comfortable fit in the sentence. We will use 'czy' for the moment and we'll cover 'lub' later in the course.
Back to 'Być'
You'll hear 'być' alot in these three very common phrases:
- It must be / it has to be - Musi być
- It can be - Może być
- It cannot be - Nie może być
Both can be used as stand alone phrases. 'Może być' is a way of saying "It's not ideal but it can be"
So how would you say:
- It has to be jazz -
- It doesn't have to be jazz -
- It can be jazz -
- It can't be jazz -
Adjectives
If we want to say something like "You have to be good" / "I can be good" then we need to take into account the gender of the person we are talking about or our own gender:
- When talking to a male: Musisz być dobry
- A female speaking: Mogę być dobra
When talking about something we also need to reflect the gender of that noun even if we are not saying it:
- When talking about a car: Musi być dobry
- When talking about a pizza: Musi być dobra
Go slow!
The exercises for this lesson will take time. You may need to check your notes or scroll up to the lesson learning points several times.
This is normal.
By repeating the learning points using these interactive exercises over several days you will become faster and the knowledge will embed better in your long term memory.
Can be or can't be
Sort these into can be and can't be
Drag and drop all the dark blue boxes to their correct locations
Make sure your sound is turned on to hear the audio during this exercise
Think out the Polish
Practice using 'or' with verbs you already know and saying something has to be / can be. Use 'czy' for 'or'
Make sure your sound is turned on to hear the audio during this exercise
To be or not to be? | |
To have or not to have? | |
To help or not to help? | |
To go or not to go? | |
Do you have a computer or not? | |
Do you like (it) or not? | |
Do you have (it) or not? | |
Do you want (it) or not? | |
Can you help or not? | |
Can you go or not? | |
It has to be jazz | |
It doesn't have to be jazz | |
It can be jazz | |
It can't be jazz | |
It has to be jazz because I like jazz | |
It can't be jazz because he doesn't like jazz | |
Think out the Polish for adjectives
In this exercise you'll need to use adjectives but without writing the noun - e,g, 'It has to be good'. To know how to end the edjective the noun being talked about is showin in brackets. So, for example, in the first sentence we need to tay 'It has to be good' and we are talking about a car so the correct answer is 'Musi być dobry'
Make sure your sound is turned on to hear the audio during this exercise
It has to be good | (samochód)
|
It has to be good | (pizza)
|
It has to be ecological | (wino)
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It has to be new | (muzyka)
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It doesn't have to be old | (hotel)
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It doesn't have to be exotic | (pizza)
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It doesn't have to be technical | (pytanie)
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It can be old | (smartfon)
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It can be gigantic | (pizza)
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It can be bad | (miasto)
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It can't be new | (telefon)
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It can't be old | (muzyka)
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It can't be bad | (jedzenie)
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Have a look at the headline of a real online article below:
What is this article about
'przemyślany' means 'well thought out' so what is the headline?Select the correct answer from the following:
Who is talking
In this exercise you'll express things about yourself - e,g, 'I must be good'. The gender of the person talking is shown in brackets. So, for example, in the first sentence we need to say 'I must be good' and a female is talking so the correct answer is 'Muszę być dobra'
Make sure your sound is turned on to hear the audio during this exercise
I must be good | (female)
|
I can be good | (female)
|
You have be good | (male)
|
I must be good | (male)
|
I can be romantic | (male)
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She can be brutal | |
You can be emotional | (male)
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You can't be conventional | (male)
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He can be practical | |
You have to be practical | (female)
|
You must be artistic | (male)
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He has to be rational | |
I must be ecological | (female)
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You must be professional | (male)
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He can be bad | |
You can't be bad | (female)
|
Refresher
Revise earlier words and phrases to keep them fresh! Match the Polish and Engish below
Make sure your sound is turned on to hear the audio during this exercise
Verb to forms
Tick all the words which are forms of the verb 'must'
Tick all of the boxes you believe are correct