Archive for the year 2010
Środa Popielcowa – Ash Wednesday Posted by Anna on Feb 17, 2010
So…. Karnawał (carnival) is over! No more parties, no more dancing, no more drinking until you fall down under the table. It’s all about somber (and sober) penance now. Yes, today was Środa Popielcowa (Ash Wednesday), and in a country as Catholic as Poland that is indeed an important observance. The beginning of Wielki Post…
Sympathy for “Sympatia” Posted by Anna on Feb 15, 2010
Valentine’s Day (walentynki) came and went and I hope it was a pleasant occasion for you with czekoladki (chocolates), kwiatki (flowers) and romantyczna kolacyjka (romantic dinner). (Yes, all of the above are diminutive nouns, but that’s how we would say it). What this Valentine’s Day made me realize was how confusing the word “sympatia” is…
Being Cool (episode 1): A Short History of “Lans” Posted by Anna on Feb 11, 2010
Today Adam Blomberg, our new permanent (I sure hope so! – hint, hint, nudge, nudge) guest blogger decided to show us just how far behind the times us old farts are. 🙂 This is what the cool kids in Poland did in the 00s, apparently. Read on: As in every country and every city there…
Why Polish Feminine Nouns Can Be Confusing Posted by Anna on Feb 9, 2010
Adam’s post about feminine endings for occupations and positions held by women made me think about feminine gender nouns in general. That proposed ending “-a” makes it very easy to assume that Polish feminine nouns should end in “-a”. And yes, many indeed do. But not all. There are some nouns that even though they…
In Search of the Right Ending… Posted by Anna on Feb 6, 2010
Today I would like to introduce to you our brand new guest blogger – Adam Blomberg. He will be helping me out with the Polish Blog this month, because I think that after all this time of mostly Anna, you all must be hungry for something exciting and fun. And a new (and male at…
Verb “to like” and its Polish Equivalents Posted by Anna on Feb 2, 2010
In our last post we talked quite a bit about liking (or not) something (or someone). And I have finally realized (hey, better late than never!) that maybe this verb – “to like” – is not as clear and straightforward in Polish, as it is in English. In English it’s used for just about anything…
Verbs Expressing Feelings and the Nouns that Follow Them Posted by Anna on Jan 31, 2010
So, what were we talking about last time? Ah yes, verbs that express emotions. You know, stuff like love (kochać), hate (nienawidzieć), like (lubić), dislike (nie lubić), etc. In English, it’s simple, whether you like or don’t like someone (or something), the noun that follows the verb expressing your feeling doesn’t change. I like winter…