Udało mi się, idzie mi, niezręcznie mi: to-me instead of I
Where English says I, Polish often says to me: udało mi się, idzie mi słabo, niezręcznie mi. There is no subject in such a phrase at all, and the person stands in the dative. For example: “Za trzecim razem mi się udało” — On the third attempt I succeeded. A rule from the Polish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Where English says I, Polish often says to me: udało mi się, idzie mi słabo, niezręcznie mi. There is no subject in such a phrase at all, and the person stands in the dative.
The first group is luck and failure: udało mi się, nie udało mi się. The verb does not change with the person, only the pronoun does: mi, ci, mu, jej, nam, wam, im.
The second is how things are going: idzie mi dobrze, idzie mi słabo, jak ci idzie?. The verb iść here is not about walking at all. From the same source comes jak leci? — literally how is it flying, the colloquial how are you.
The third is states: niezręcznie mi — I feel awkward; zależy mi na tym — I care about this. The trap is word order: the short mi takes the second slot — Wymowa mi idzie słabo, not Wymowa idzie mi słabo. And if the phrase opens with the pronoun, the stressed form is used: Mnie się to udało.
Table
| Pronoun | To whom | Example |
|---|---|---|
| mi | to me | udało mi się |
| ci | to you | jak ci idzie? |
| mu | to him | udało mu się |
| jej | to her | idzie jej słabo |
| nam | to us | udało nam się |
| wam | to you (plural) | niezręcznie wam |
| im | to them | udało im się |
By example
- Za trzecim razem mi się udałoOn the third attempt I succeeded
- Gramatyka mi idzie słabo, słowa łatwoGrammar goes badly for me, words easily
- Niezręcznie mi o to prosić, ale zależy mi na tymI feel awkward asking, but I care about this
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
Udało mi się, idzie mi, niezręcznie mi: how does it work in Polish?
Where English says I, Polish often says to me: udało mi się, idzie mi słabo, niezręcznie mi. There is no subject in such a phrase at all, and the person stands in the dative.
What does it look like in a Polish example sentence?
“Za trzecim razem mi się udało” — On the third attempt I succeeded. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.