Lesson 7: I would like (to have)

Apart from asking where things are the next must in learning any language is 'I would like' and 'I would like to have'

But first. "Dzień dobry" or "Dobry Wieczór ... i dalej!".

Let's start with:

English	Polish
I would like	Chciałbym

Listen to that several times to pick out some key sounds:

• Ch - this is a very delicate sound that is easy to miss and you might not even hear it when Polish people are talking but if you want to get your written Polish right its worth making sure you say it to remember it.
• ci - like the 'ch' in "Chow"
• ł - we've seen this before as the Polish letter which gives us the 'w' sound.

The more you study words and the sounds letters, or pairs of letters, the easier is to pronounce correctly words you see for the first time so it's well worth investing the effort in this as you learn.

We'll put this new phrase to use right now with some words we already know ... and remember to think about how "Good" should be written and said before revealing the answers:

English	Polish
I would like a good camera	Chciałbym dobry aparat Click to Reveal
I would like a good wine	Chciałbym dobre wino Click to Reveal
I would like organic wine	Chciałbym organiczne wino Click to Reveal

... and with a couple of new words ...

English	Polish
I would like a bus	Chciałbym autobus
I would like a normal shampoo	Chciałbym normalny szampon
I would like a normal/standard ticket	Chciałbym normalny bilet

Now, OK, asking for a bus is not a core language skill. I mean how many people need to have a bus. But, although not completely correct, if you said "Chciałbym autobus" everyone would understand that you want to get on a bus, not have one ... which might be a bit unfortunate if you actually did want to buy a bus ... but don't go looking to buy a bus in a country where you hardly speak the language!

In my early days I once got lost in Warsaw looking for the airport. The problem was I didn't know the Polish for "Airport" ... "but I did not the word for "Airplanes" so I asked someone "Where are the airplanes?". It got me there!

"Autobus" and "Szampon" are pretty easy ones to remember, nearly the same as the English words. Just remember that rule about emphasizing the penultimate syllable in words.

"Bilet" doesn't sound similar to "ticket" but with a bit of history it might stick. You've probably heard of billeting - when soldiers are "billeted" to houses or when children were "billeted" to homes outside UK cities during the Second World War.

Well, the English word "billet" comes from a French word which means a "note" or "invitation". The children were given a note (or an invitation to an address) and sent out of the cities ... which is a bit like having a ticket. Now the only last part we have to remember is that there are almost no double letters in Polish words. There's no need for to l's in "billet" but they are there ... so we drop one to get the Polish word for "ticket" - "Bilet".

OK - all well and good but why would we ask for a "normalny bilet"? "Normalny" means we are not expecting any discounts - say a special rate for being a pensioner or a child. Let's have a look at a typical "bilet normalny"!

As you can see the word ordering is different. In fact "Bilet normalny" is the more common way to refer to a standard ticket but because the Polish language is so flexible when it comes to word ordering you will be perfectly understood if you ask for a "normalny bilet".

Now it would be nice if minutowy meant minutes ... but it doesn't. "Bilet 40-minutowy normalny" is a bit like saying "40 minute type standard ticket". Just for now I wouldn't want you to think minutowy is a blanket word for "minute" or "minutes".

So what is a "40 minute ticket"? Basically you can buy as many tickets as you like anytime. When you get on the bus or tram you have to stamp one in a validating machine. Your ticket is now valid for the next however-many-minutes are on the ticket ... 40 minutes in the case of the ticket above.

There you go - not only learning Polish but learning how to get around Poland!

"Strefa" means "Zone" - ends in 'a' like "Kobieta" ... which makes it which gender?

English	Polish
Zone	Strefa

To remember "Strefa" think of metro maps (like the London Underground) which usually shade the zones so you get a stripe type pattern as you move along one of the lines - white, then grey, then white. Think of those stripes and you have the 'str' beginning of "Strefa".

"Strefa" is a really useful word because you can also use it to refer to an area or region. For example "A Special Economic Zone" - these refer to areas with lower taxation rules in a bid to encourage companies to move there. They exist in all countries and Poland is no exception.

Now you actually know how to say "Special Economic Zone" from the rules we've learnt so far.

• Special is a word ending 'al' so we just need to add 'ny', na' or 'ne'. Well we know "Strefa" is feminine because it ends in an 'a' so that means we want the 'na' ending -> "Specjalna"
• OK, it's 'j' instead of 'i' but that's because - as we have just seen in "Chciałbym" - 'ci' makes a 'ch' sound.
• Economic is a word ending 'ic' so the question is should it end 'iczny', 'iczna' or iczne'. Well ... feminine because "Strefa" (the noun) is feminine (the other two words simply decribe the noun as being "special" and "economic") ... so obviously 'icna' -> "Economiczna"

English	Polish
Special Econimic Zone	Specjalna Strefa Ekonomiczna

And just like with our "bilet normalny" we see "Economiczna" after "Strefa". Doesn't really matter if you say it before. The more you hear Polish the more you will pick up which adjectives (like "normalny") go after the noun and which come before depending on the situation and use.

Now if you drive around Poland a fair bit you'll often come across signs for "Specjalna Strefa Economiczna", you'll hear people talking about them on TV and perhaps even hear the phrase in advertisements.

Another common phrase for "Strefa":

English	Polish
My comfort zone	Moja strefa komfortu

So how would you say:

English	Polish
It's not my comfort zone	Nie jest moja strefa komfortu Click to Reveal

Now we've digressed quite a bit but there is no halm in that. Exploring a language, playing with it and thinking about it helps the learning experience far more than the endless parrot fashion learning approach.

But let's go back to asking for things! Here's another new word which is not so straight forward:

English	Polish
A/The good bag	Dobra Torba

"Torba" refers to a stronger type of bag, not a disposable one or a plastic one that is just meant for a few uses.

Yes - you've guessed it. "Torba" ends in 'a' (like kobieta) so its feminine ... and that brings us nicely on to a new rule.

• If the noun (e.g. "bag") is feminine and is after a verb ("would like" is basically the polite version of the verb "to want") then the end changes from 'a' to 'ę' - Torba -> Torbę
• The adjective (e.g. "dobra") also has an end change with the 'a' getting a tail 'ą' - Dobra -> Dobrą.

English	Polish
I would like a good bag	Chciałbym dobrą torbę

I know, I know - you're thinking "Jest" is a verb as well - OK ... all the verbs except that one. There will be exceptions to this rule as well but we're building up layer by layer so for the moment just think - "Are we after a verb?" and if we are then for femine nouns only we:

• change the endings of the adjective ("good")- Dobra -> Dobrą
• change the ending and the noun ("bag") - Torba -> Torbę

So now can you work out these:

English	Polish
I would like a discussion	Chciałbym dyskusję Click to Reveal
I would like a decision	Chciałbym decyzję Click to Reveal
I would like a normal coffee	Chciałbym normalną kawę Click to Reveal
I would like a good pizza	Chciałbym dobrą pizzę Click to Reveal

Remember these changes only affect feminine nouns.

I would like to have

Now learning the 'to' form of verbs ("to have", "to go", "to eat") always seems boring but of couse they are vital if you are using "I would like" and one of the most common is "I would like to have ... ".

English	Polish
I would like to have ...	Chciałbym mieć ...

"Chciałbym mieć" is not so much "I would like to have" but more of a "hope to have / dream of having" type phrase

English	Polish
I would like to have / I wish I had a house here	Chciałbym mieć tutaj dom Click to Reveal
I would like to have / I wish I had a good house there	Chciałbym mieć tam dobry dom Click to Reveal
I would like to have / I wish I had it	Chciałbym to mieć Click to Reveal

Now don't worry if you didn't get the word order quite right because word order is not that important in Polish. In fact, in real life, don't be surprised if a Polish person says "Chciałbym mieć dom tu". I just can't fit all the word order possibilities in here but only contact with the language will help you truly understand the subtleties of word ordering used to express slightly different sentiments.

And "To" is actually a very flexible word so when you say "Chciałbym to mieć" you could mean:

• "I want to have it"
• "I want to have this"
• "I want to have that"
• "I want to have these"

It all simply depends on the context of the situation so more accurate is.

English	Polish
I would like to have / wish I had it / this / that / these	Chciałbym to mieć

OK, so in Polish it is more common to say "I would like to drink coffee", "I would like to eat pizza", "I would like to buy a bag", etc. when your being more concrete - not wistfully wishing!

However right now we don't know those phrases and if you use "Chciałbym mieć" as a way to say "I would like to drink a coffee" you will be clearly understood so let's try some 'not totally correct but it will get you by' Polish!

Remember we've got the same situation here where adjectives (e.g. "good") and nouns (e.g. "coffee") are coming after a verb, in fact after two verbs now but that's not important ... it's just enough to remember they're coming after a verb so the endings change for feminine nouns only as we saw above. So try thinking out these:

English	Polish
I would like to have a normal coffee	Chciałbym mieć normalną kawę Click to Reveal
I would like to have a good pizza	Chciałbym mieć dobrą pizzę Click to Reveal
I would like to have ambition	Chciałbym mieć ambicję Click to Reveal
I would like to have a legal (legit) company	Chciałbym mieć legalną firmę Click to Reveal
I would like to have a good bag	Chciałbym mieć dobrą torbę Click to Reveal
I would like to have a wine and pizza	Chciałbym mieć wino i pizzę Click to Reveal
I would like to have a bag and a telephone	Chciałbym mieć torbę i telefon Click to Reveal

So now it's up from wherever you are sitting, wander round, point at things and say "Chciałbym ..." (whatever the thing is) or "Chciałbym mieć ..." (whatever the thing is) and if you don't know the word for the thing just use "Chciałbym to mieć".

Lesson 6: To have and Red and White