Learn the key pattern to ask if a store has something in stock
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| Let's take a closer look at the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Sasha asks, |
| "Excuse me, do you have salt?" |
| Przepraszam, czy jest sól? |
| First is przepraszam, meaning, “Excuse me.” Przepraszam. Przepraszam. |
| Next is czy, meaning something like "whether" in this context. Czy. Czy. |
| Next is jest, “is.” Jest. Jest. |
| Jest is from the verb być, “to be.” Być. |
| After that is sól, “salt.” Sól. Sól. |
| Together, czy jest sól? This literally means something like “whether [there] is salt?” but it translates as “Is there salt?” Or in more natural English, “Do you have salt?” |
| All together, Przepraszam, czy jest sól? "Excuse me, do you have salt?" |
| Przepraszam, czy jest sól? |
| Let's take a closer look at the response. |
| Do you remember how the shop clerk says, |
| “Yes, it’s here.” |
| Tak, jest tutaj. |
| This starts with tak, “yes.” Tak. Tak. |
| It answers Sasha's question, |
| Przepraszam, czy jest sól? |
| “Excuse me, do you have salt?” |
| Next is jest, “is,” as in [it] is.” Jest. Jest. |
| Note, the corresponding Polish word for [it] is omitted as it is understood from context. |
| Jest is from the verb być, “to be.” Być. |
| Last is the word tutaj, "here." Tutaj. Tutaj. |
| All together, it's Tak, jest tutaj. “Yes, it’s here.” |
| Tak, jest tutaj. |
| The pattern is |
| Czy jest ITEM? |
| Do you have ITEM? |
| Czy jest ITEM? |
| To use this pattern, simply replace the {ITEM} placeholder with the thing you’re looking for. |
| Imagine you’re looking for milk. |
| Mleko. “Milk.” Mleko. Mleko. |
| Say, “Do you have milk?” |
| Ready? |
| Czy jest mleko? |
| "Do you have milk?" |
| Czy jest mleko? |
| When asking for things, some items are put into the plural form, for example, eggs. Jajka. Jajka. |
| Jajka is the plural form of the neuter noun jajko, “egg.” Jajko. Jajko. |
| If an item is used in the plural form, the verb must agree with it. |
| Therefore when asking for something in the plural form, jest, “[it] is,” is replaced with są, “[they] are”. Są. Są. |
| For example, |
| Czy są jajka? “Do you have eggs?” Czy są jajka? |
| Note: są is the third person plural of the verb być, “to be.” Być. |
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