Let's take a closer look at the conversation. |
Do you remember how the civil servant says, |
"Your phone number, please." |
Poproszę pana numer telefonu. |
Let’s start with numer telefonu, "phone number." Numer telefonu |
This starts with numer, "number." Numer. Numer. |
Next is telefonu, "phone." Telefonu. Telefonu. |
Note telefon translates as "telephone" or "phone." We’ll use the abbreviated version, "phone" as this will include various kinds of phones, including mobile phones, landlines, and so forth. |
Telefonu is the genitive form of telefon. "Telephone." Telefon. |
This form of the genitive case is similar to the way “of” is used in the English “department of economics,” “secretary of state,” or “game of thrones.” |
In Polish, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. |
Telefon is masculine singular. |
To form the genitive for maculine singular nouns ending in a consonant, add a “u.” |
Telefon becomes telefonu when placed in the genitive. |
Together it's numer telefonu. "Phone number." Numer telefonu. |
Before numer telefonu is pana, literally, "Mr.’s," as in “Mr.’s telephone number,” but translating as “your,” in this context. Pana. Pana. |
Pana is the genitive singular form of pan, "Mr." Pan. |
Pan is placed in the genitive to indicate the possession of the phone number. |
Moving to the front of the sentence, poproszę. "Please." Poproszę. Poproszę. |
All together, Poproszę pana numer telefonu, literally "Please Mr.’s phone number," but it translates as "Your phone number, please." |
Poproszę pana numer telefonu. |
Now, you might be more familiar with twój, an informal word for "your," as in twój numer telefonu, “your telephone number (informal).” As this is a city office setting, the formal form, pan, is more appropriate. |
Remember this request. You’ll hear it again later. |
Let's take a closer look at the response. |
Do you remember how Mark says, |
"My phone number is 656-122-344." |
Mój numer telefonu to 656-122-344 (sześć pięć sześć jeden dwa dwa trzy cztery cztery). |
Do you remember how to say "phone number?" |
Numer telefonu. "Phone number." Numer telefonu. |
Recall, numer telefonu is masculine singular. |
Before this is mój, "my." Mój. Mój. |
In this sentence, mój is masculine singular to agree with numer. |
Next is to, in this case, think of it as something like an “equals sign,” but translates as "is," in this context. To. To. |
Together, it’s Mój numer telefonu to…literally “My phone number = (equals),” but translates as, "My phone number is.…" Mój numer telefonu to… |
Next is Mark’s phone number, 656-122-344 (sześć pięć sześć jeden dwa dwa trzy cztery cztery). 656-122-344 (sześć pięć sześć jeden dwa dwa trzy cztery cztery). |
Note how Mark says his phone number. |
When giving your phone number in Polish, say each digit separately. After each group of digits, include a short pause in place of the hyphen. |
For example, |
656-122-344 (sześć pięć sześć jeden dwa dwa trzy cztery cztery) |
All together, it’s Mój numer telefonu to 656-122-344 (sześć pięć sześć jeden dwa dwa trzy cztery cztery). |
"My phone number is 656-122-344 ." |
Mój numer telefonu to 656-122-344 (sześć pięć sześć jeden dwa dwa trzy cztery cztery). |
The pattern is |
Mój numer telefonu to NUMBER. |
"My phone number is NUMBER." |
Mój numer telefonu to NUMBER. |
To use this pattern, simply replace the NUMBER placeholder with your phone number. |
Note: this pattern requires a sequence of digits. Each should be said separately. |
Imagine your phone number is 689-111-111. sześć osiem dziewięć jeden jeden jeden jeden jeden jeden. (sześć osiem dziewięć jeden jeden jeden jeden jeden jeden ). |
Say |
"My phone number is 689-111-111." |
Ready? |
Mój numer telefonu to 689-111-111 (sześć osiem dziewięć jeden jeden jeden jeden jeden jeden). |
"My phone number is 689-111-111." |
Mój numer telefonu to 689-111-111 (sześć osiem dziewięć jeden jeden jeden jeden jeden jeden). |
Comments
Hide