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Lesson 13: To Know and Why

In order 'to know' we often have to ask 'why' so let's start with that all important word that turns statements into questions.

But before we get going ... "Dzień dobry, ale może nie, może dobry wieczór. Masz lekcję teraz. To prawda!"

OK, In the last lesson we learnt "Where are you going?". Do you remember it?

EnglishEnglishPolishPolish
Where are you going?

And the key take away is that the "are" is dropped - we just use the essential words - "Where you going?"

You might have noticed this kind of language used in American films - usually where the person talking is some kind of Italian mafia gangster - you know - "Where you going boy?". That's because dropping the "are" is the norm in many European languages like Italian and Spanish and so it's a common mistake people make when learning English.

The Polish for "Why?" is:

EnglishEnglishPolishPolish
Why?

Which is actually made up of two words:

EnglishEnglishPolishPolish
For
What

And that's very much what why is about -

So if you have "dlazcego" and you know the "are" in questions isn't needed then you know this:

EnglishEnglishPolishPolish
Why are you going?

Now I'd better just say here that "Czego" is one way to say "what" but we'll cover the many forms of what and how to know when to use them in a later lesson along with how to use "dla"

We have

For the moment let's concentrate on the combo, "Dlaczego" + verb. Now we could practice this just by sticking it on the front of all the phrases you already know (like "gdzie idziez") but that would be too easy ... and a bit too boring.

So let's add instead another form for the verbs we know - the 'we form'. So if:

EnglishEnglishPolishPolish
We have
We don't have

Then what is "Why do we have bad wifi"? So let's break it down

EnglishEnglishPolishPolish
Why do we have bad wifi?

So here are some for you to think out:

EnglishEnglishPolishPolish
Why do we have red wine?
Why do we have a white house?
Why don't we have a good password?
Why do we have old beer?
Why don't we have a new apartment?
Why do we have your camera here?
Why do we have a historical problem

We want

If:

EnglishEnglishPolishPolish
We want
We don't want

Then ...

EnglishEnglishPolishPolish
Why do we want to have a bank?
Why don't we want to have ambition?
Why do we want to have a/the new collection?
Why don't we want a good definition?
Why do we want to have a problem?
Why do we want to have your telephone?

We like

If:

EnglishEnglishPolishPolish
We like
We don't like

Then ...

EnglishEnglishPolishPolish
Why do we like Jazz?
Why don't we like tea?
Why don't we like white wine?
Why do we like the red zone?
Why do we like your new shampoo?

This type of statement is often heard on the radio where the person being interviewed repeats the question back. "Why do you like our shampoo?", "Why do we like your shampoo? Because ....". It's especially popular with politicians (world wide!) as a way to buy time while they think up an answer!

OK - now I bet you've spotted the pattern with these we forms -> "Mamy", "Chcemy", "Lubimy" .... yes, that 'my' ending.

And why are we using the case "where something is missing" with some phrases but not others? Because something is missing if we don't like something - our like of the thing is missing! Otherwise we are after a verb.

We go

So we know from the last lesson that "Idzie" is "He/She/It goes" so, if you had to make a wild guess as to what "We go" is ....

EnglishEnglishPolishPolish
We go
We don't go

Exactly - if you have the 'He/She/It' form of a verb then, a few exceptions aside:

Don't ever forget the vice versa method. If you have the 'you (informal) form' you can take off the 'sz' to get the 'he/she/it' version and then build your way out to get the 'we' form.

OK - let's practice 'we re going'.

EnglishEnglishPolishPolish
Why are we going home?
Why don't we go now?
Why are we going to a bad hotel?
Why are we going on Monday?
Why don't we go together?

Just to flag up here that depending on the circumstances "Dlaczego nie idziemy razem"" can mean "Why aren't we going together?" - especially if you are in the process of carrying out the action.

To know

OK! Cracking! We've just nailed the 'we form' for multiple verbs and learnt how to question what we are doing! Now let's get "Dlaczego" into the middle of a sentence by learning an all important verb:

EnglishEnglishPolishPolish
To know

Now we can put together a longer sentence - "I want to know why you want to know" - by thinking it through:

EnglishEnglishPolishPolish
I want to know why you want to know

This method of breaking down the sentence is the fastest way to learn a language. It makes you very slow and clunky at first but you get it right and the more you practice the smoother it gets until you suddenly find yourself not needing to break things down anymore.

So it's always:

Let's try it again with - "I want to know why he/she wants to go to the bank on Monday".

EnglishEnglishPolishPolish
I want to know why he wants to go to the bank on Monday

So here are a few more. If it works for you break them down on paper first to build the sentence. But always focus purely on the immediate bit of the sentence you are saying. Ignore the rest, say that bit, then focus completely on the next bit. It will take time now but it will pay off later.

EnglishEnglishPolishPolish
She wants to know why you want to have a new telephone now
I want to know why she wants to have white wine here
He wants to know why you want coffee and pizza together
I want to know why you don't want to go home on Sunday
He wants to know why I don't want to have a legal (legit) firm

Now is a good time to look back over some of the lessons you have already done and practice putting together your own mega sentences and mix things up a bit. Here are a few starters

EnglishEnglishPolishPolish
Why do you want to know where I'm going?
I want to know why you have my new telephone
He wants to know why you don't like beer here
Why does she want to know where the bank is?
You want to know why he/she doesn't like you?
You want to know why he doesn't want to know where the station is?
I want to know why we have a dramatic situation

So now be sure to spend plenty of time wandering around saying things like "I want to know why I'm going home!" and if you have a Polish friend or partner be sure to answer any question they have with "Chcę wiedzieć dlaczego chcesz wiedzieć!"

Lesson 14: I/you/he/she/it/we can and because