Requests: proszę + infinitive settles everything
The imperative exists here too: czekaj — wait, pij — drink, jedz — eat. But a bare command sounds harsher than in English, and a polite Pole uses it carefully — with friends, children, the dog. For example: “Proszę czekać chwilę” — Please wait a moment. A rule from the Polish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The imperative exists here too: czekaj — wait, pij — drink, jedz — eat. But a bare command sounds harsher than in English, and a polite Pole uses it carefully — with friends, children, the dog.
A polite request follows the pattern proszę + infinitive: Proszę czekać chwilę, Proszę wyjaśnić jeszcze raz. The politeness is inside proszę already, and no separate please is needed at the end. You know the same pattern from the market: Proszę powtórzyć.
Even softer is to leave the command for a question: Czy może pan powtórzyć? — could you (sir) repeat? That is how people talk at an office, at the doctor's, with a landlord.
A prohibition on signs is written with the infinitive: Nie dotykać — do not touch, Nie palić — no smoking. The sign speaks to everyone at once, and a prohibition gets no please — the form is single.
Table
| Verb | You (informal) | Politely (proszę) |
|---|---|---|
| czekać — to wait | czekaj | proszę czekać |
| brać — to take | bierz | proszę brać |
| jeść — to eat | jedz | proszę jeść |
| pić — to drink | pij | proszę pić |
| mówić — to speak | mów | proszę mówić |
By example
- Proszę czekać chwilęPlease wait a moment
- Czy może pan powtórzyć?Could you repeat (sir)?
- Nie dotykać, świeża farbaDo not touch, fresh paint
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Requests: how does it work in Polish?
The imperative exists here too: czekaj — wait, pij — drink, jedz — eat. But a bare command sounds harsher than in English, and a polite Pole uses it carefully — with friends, children, the dog.
What does it look like in a Polish example sentence?
“Proszę czekać chwilę” — Please wait a moment. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.