Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

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).

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