Bardzo, dość, za — and judgement: może, chyba, niestety
The degree of a quality is measured with a short ruler: trochę — a little, dość — quite, bardzo — very, za — too. They stand right before the word: bardzo szybki, za drogi. English very works here almost without surprises. For example: “Trening był bardzo ciężki” — The training was very hard. A rule from the Polish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The degree of a quality is measured with a short ruler: trochę — a little, dość — quite, bardzo — very, za — too. They stand right before the word: bardzo szybki, za drogi. English very works here almost without surprises.
One twist: bardzo intensifies a quality, not a quantity. Very much is za dużo — too much, or simply dużo: za dużo koreków — too many traffic jams. Mixing bardzo and dużo is a typical first-year mistake.
A judgement opens the sentence: może — maybe, chyba — probably, na pewno — certainly, niestety — unfortunately. They save a whole clause: Niestety, przegraliśmy — unfortunately, we lost.
The colloquial spoko means fine, OK — and it is more honest than it looks: it answers both an apology and an offer. In writing w porządku is better.
Table
| In English | In Polish | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a little | trochę | trochę zmęczony |
| quite | dość | dość drogi |
| very | bardzo | bardzo szybki |
| too | za | za drogi |
| too much | za dużo | za dużo pracy |
| maybe | może | może przyjdzie |
| probably | chyba | chyba tak |
| certainly | na pewno | na pewno wygram |
| unfortunately | niestety | niestety przegraliśmy |
By example
- Trening był bardzo ciężkiThe training was very hard
- Za dużo koreków w mieścieToo many traffic jams in the city
- Może wygra drużyna z KrakowaMaybe the team from Kraków will win
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
Bardzo, dość, za — and judgement: how does it work in Polish?
The degree of a quality is measured with a short ruler: trochę — a little, dość — quite, bardzo — very, za — too. They stand right before the word: bardzo szybki, za drogi. English very works here almost without surprises.
What does it look like in a Polish example sentence?
“Trening był bardzo ciężki” — The training was very hard. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.