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A2

Polish A2: Basics

Time arrives at this level. You can report what happened and announce what you mean to do. Sentences get longer because they join up: the first linking words — and, but, because, when — come into play.

The vocabulary covers daily life — work, housing, travel, health, weather. Anything unfamiliar is still hard, anything familiar runs smoothly.

Sounds, first sentences and numbers3

Alphabet and pronunciation

1
A2Same sound, different spelling: u/ó, rz/ż, h/chThree pairs of spellings sound alike — a related form tells you which to write.

Numbers, time, date

2
A2The date: siedemnastego październikaThe day is a masculine ordinal, the month is in the genitive — and “on the 17th” is simply siedemnastego.A2The case after the number: dwa koty, pięć kotówAfter two, three and four the nominative plural, from five the genitive plural — and the verb is then singular.

Nouns, cases, pronouns, adjectives12

The noun

2
A2Men in the plural: studenci, panowie, PolacyAs soon as a man is in the group, the plural takes a form of its own — with a sound change.A2Animate or inanimate: mam brata, mam domA masculine noun that is alive takes an ending as an object — one that is not alive stays as it is.

The cases

4
A2The genitive after negation: nie mam czasuWhat you negate with nie moves from the accusative to the genitive.A2The dative: bratu, mamie, dzieckuTo whom? — the receiver, and hardly ever after a preposition.A2The vocative: Piotrze! Aniu! Panie doktorze!The person you speak to is called in a form of their own.A2The cases in the plural: -om, -ami, -achThree endings work for every gender — the plural is easier than the singular.

Pronouns

3
A2Pronouns in every case: mnie, mi, go, niegoShort forms without stress, long ones for emphasis, and after a preposition the forms with n.A2swój: one’s ownWhen something belongs to the subject itself, it is swój — for every person.A2The reflexive pronoun sięOne word for myself, yourself, himself, ourselves and themselves — and many more verbs with it than in English.

Adjectives and adverbs

3
A2Adjectives in the cases: w nowym domu, z dobrą kawąFew endings for many cases: -ego, -emu, -ym for masculine and neuter, -ej and -ą for feminine.A2Comparison: nowszy, najnowszy, lepszy-szy or -iejszy for “-er”, naj- in front for “-est” — and a few irregular forms.A2Adverbs: dobrze, szybko, ładnieHow something happens is said not by the adjective but by a form in -o or -e — the Polish “-ly”.

Prepositions and their cases1

Prepositions

1
A2Time phrases: w poniedziałek, za tydzień, dwa dni temuDay, month, time of day, duration and distance in time — each has its preposition and its case.

Present, past, future4

The past tense

3
A2Forming the past: czytałem, czytałamThe infinitive without -ć, then -ł- and an ending for person and gender.A2Byli or były: the plural in the pastIf a man is in the group, it is byli — otherwise były, for children, animals and things as well.A2Czytałam or przeczytałam: aspect in the pastThe imperfective tells what you were busy with, the perfective what came of it.

The future

1
A2The future with będę: będę czytać, będę czytałbędę is “I will be”: on its own for “to be”, with an imperfective verb for everything else.

All about the verb: aspect, mood, motion10

Aspect

3
A2Process or result: robić and zrobićThe imperfective tells the process, the perfective the result — and both live inside the verb.A2How aspect pairs are built: pisać – napisaćWith a prefix, with another stem, or as a different word altogether — three routes to the partner.A2Two futures: będę robić and zrobięImperfective with będę, perfective without — and never both together.

Commands, requests and conditions

3
A2The imperative: czytaj, pisz, róbThe form for “he” gives the form for “you” — plus -my for “let’s” and -cie for several people.A2Asking politely: proszę usiąść, niech pan wejdziePeople you address formally are asked with proszę and the infinitive, or with niech and the third person.A2The conditional: chciałbym, mogłabyśPast-tense form plus by — for wishes, polite requests and everything that is only imagined.

Must, can, like

2
A2Trzeba, można, warto, wolno: one must, one canFour words with no person and no ending — they say what is necessary, possible, worth it or allowed.A2Lubię or podoba mi się: like and be pleased bylubić for what you like; podobać się for what appeals to you — with the person in the dative.

Verbs of motion

2
A2Going now or again and again: iść and chodzićPolish has two verbs for going on foot: iść for one trip in one direction, chodzić for repetition and to and fro.A2Travelling now or regularly: jechać and jeździćBy bus, car, train or bike you need jechać for one trip and jeździć for habit and ability.

Sentence structure: linking and reporting3

Joining sentences

3
A2Reasons and results: bo, ponieważ, więc, dlategobo and ponieważ give the reason, więc and dlatego the result.A2That and whether: że, czy and question words in clausesże is “that”, czy is “whether” — both have a comma before them, and że is never dropped.A2When and if: kiedy, gdy, jeśli, jeżelikiedy and gdy say when something happens, jeśli and jeżeli on what condition — just like English “when” and “if”.

Word lists at level A2

Lists: 20 · words: 715

Reading texts at level A2

Sentences from this level’s topics

Dobrze, że jesteś!Good that you are here!

Moi koledzy grają w piłkę.My mates are playing football.

Mam psa, a Kasia ma kota.I have a dog, and Kasia has a cat.

Nie lubię kawy bez mleka.I don’t like coffee without milk.

Practise level A2 only