The work has stalled in Polish
A manager and a worker work out why the work stalled in Polish. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Dlaczego praca się przeciągnęła o cały tydzień?» — Why has the work dragged on for a whole week?; «Były zakłócenia i pracowaliśmy na darmo.» — There was a glitch, and we worked in vain.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a manager and a worker work out why the work stalled. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Dlaczego praca się przeciągnęła o cały tydzień?Why has the work dragged on for a whole week?
- Były zakłócenia i pracowaliśmy na darmo.There was a glitch, and we worked in vain.
- Dlaczego nie powiedziałeś od razu?Why did you not say so at once?
- Myślałem, że usunę to sam.I thought I would fix it myself.
- Teraz musimy zabrać się do tego od zera.Now we have to start it from scratch.
- Nie poddam się, potrzebuję pomocy.I will not give up, but I need help.
- Dobrze. Zadania rozłożymy i pracę ukończymy do piątku.All right. We will distribute the tasks and finish the work by Friday.
- Będzie zrobione porządnie, zgodnie z zasadami.It will be done properly, by all the rules.
Lines one by one
| Polish | Translation |
|---|---|
| Dlaczego praca się przeciągnęła o cały tydzień? | Why has the work dragged on for a whole week? |
| Były zakłócenia i pracowaliśmy na darmo. | There was a glitch, and we worked in vain. |
| Dlaczego nie powiedziałeś od razu? | Why did you not say so at once? |
| Myślałem, że usunę to sam. | I thought I would fix it myself. |
| Teraz musimy zabrać się do tego od zera. | Now we have to start it from scratch. |
| Nie poddam się, potrzebuję pomocy. | I will not give up, but I need help. |
| Dobrze. Zadania rozłożymy i pracę ukończymy do piątku. | All right. We will distribute the tasks and finish the work by Friday. |
| Będzie zrobione porządnie, zgodnie z zasadami. | It will be done properly, by all the rules. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Polish in this situation?
“Dlaczego praca się przeciągnęła o cały tydzień?” — Why has the work dragged on for a whole week? The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.