These are probably the most important verbs in any language: to be and to have, or, in Polish: być and mieć. It’s good to memorize their conjugation in the very beginning of your studies, especially since być is an irregular verb! Here they are, conjugated in the present tense:

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After learning the names of the months last time, it’s time for the days of the week. In the example sentences, they appear in their Accusative singular forms – that’s the form you use to talk about on which day something happens. Yes, it’s different from the Locative form used with months, and no, there’s no sensible rationale behind this. None that an average speaker knows of.

Notice that the days of the week, unlike in English, are not capitalized!

You’ll also notice that in the phrase we wtorek, the preposition w gets an extra letter. Why? Well, try to pronounce *w wtorek… There are two other instances where some speakers will add an e to the preposition: we środę and we czwartek. These forms appear probably as frequently as their equivalents with w, and are just as correct. So you can pick and choose ;)

poniedziałek – Monday
W poniedziałek mam ważne spotkanie.
On Monday I have an important meeting.

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Polish is special among European languages in that it doesn’t use the Latinate names for months you’re already familiar with from English and many other languages, such as German, Spanish, Russian, etc. The Polish month names are, well, typically Polish – they originated from natural phenomenons. The word for July, for example – lipiec – comes from the name for the linden tree, lipa, as this is the period when lindens are in bloom.

So, since the Polish month names are so special, there’s no choice but to learn them! Here are they listed both in their basic, Nominative singular, form, as well as in the Locative singular, which is the case you use to talk about in which month something took place. At the same time you can get familiar with ordinal numbers from one to twelve.

styczeń – January
Styczeń to pierwszy miesiąc roku.
January is the first month of the year.
W styczniu często pada śnieg.
It often snows in January.

luty – February
Luty to drugi miesiąc roku.
February is the second month of the year.
W lutym jest bardzo zimno.
It’s very cold in February.

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Today we’ll look at some of the uses of the third case, the dative. Its main purpose is to serve as an indirect object, that is to indicate someone or something who’s a beneficiary of your action. It also appears in constructions with some certain verbs and prepositions.

As an indirect object – when someone is a beneficiary of your action

Czytam dziecku książkę.
I’m reading a book to the child.
Opowiadam historię kobiecie.
I’m telling the story to the woman.
Daję kotu tabletkę.
I’m giving a pill to the cat.
Sprzedaję narkotyki małym dzieciom.
I sell drugs to small children.

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Adverbs are those handy little words you can use to give details about how something is done – in what manner, how long, etc. They’re pretty easy to use since, unlike almost everything else in Polish, they don’t inflect. Today we’ll look at some of the answers that answer questions: when? and how often?

Kiedy? When?

dawno – for a long time ago, for ages
Dawno się nie widzieliśmy!
We haven’t seen each other for ages!

dzisiaj – today
Dzisiaj muszę wykąpać kota.
I have to bathe the cat today.

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