Learn the key pattern to ask for something at a store
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| Let’s take a closer look at how Ben asks for an item without knowing its name. |
| Do you remember how Ben Lee says, |
| "This, please." |
| Poproszę to. |
| This standard way of asking for something follows a simple pattern. |
| First is poproszę, "please." Poproszę. Poproszę. |
| Next is to. "This." To. To. |
| To is the neuter, singular form of the word for “this.” If you don’t know the name of an item and consequently its gender, you can use to. |
| It refers to something which is near the speaker. Ben uses it because he’s pointing at something which is near to him. |
| All together, it's Poproszę to. "This, please." |
| Poproszę to. |
| Do you remember how the clerk says, |
| "Here you are." |
| Proszę. |
| Proszę literally means, "[I] ask for," but it translates as "Here you are," in this situation. Proszę. Proszę. |
| Note: Proszę has multiple meanings depending on the context. |
| For example, proszę means "You’re welcome," as a response to "Thank you," dziękuję. |
| It can also mean "How can I help you," in a shop or business; "Come in" when inviting someone into a room; or "After you" when you'd like to offer someone the chance to go first. |
| Proszę is from the verb prosić, "to ask for." Prosić. |
| Proszę, "Here you are," in this case. |
| Proszę. |
| The pattern is: |
| Poproszę ITEM. |
| ITEM, "please." |
| Poproszę ITEM. |
| To use this pattern, simply replace the ITEM placeholder with the thing you want. |
| Note: This pattern requires a demonstrative pronoun. |
| Imagine you’d like something from across the room. The pronoun to indicate something far from a speaker is tamto, "that." Tamto. Tamto. |
| Say |
| "That, please." |
| Ready? |
| Poproszę tamto. |
| "That, please." |
| Poproszę tamto. |
| The following phrases can be used to refer to an item without knowing its name in Polish: |
| Poproszę to, “This, please.” and, |
| Poproszę tamto, “That, please.” |
| Note, these can be used for both plural and singular. |
| If you want to get the clerk's attention, you can add przepraszam, "excuse me" before each of these phrases. |
| Przepraszam, poproszę to, "Excuse me, this please." |
| Przepraszam, poproszę tamto, "Excuse me, that please." |
| If you want to ask "what is this?" you would say, |
| Co to jest? "What is this?" |
| Note, this questions can be used for things close or far from the speaker, as well as for singular and plural items. |
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