Answering the ad in Polish
An office of a small firm, a manager talks to a person who came in response to an ad in Polish. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Dzień dobry. Przyszedł pan w sprawie ogłoszenia?» — Hello. Did you come in response to the ad?; «Tak. Jestem księgowym, a wcześniej pracowałem jako sekretarz.» — Yes. I am an accountant, and before that I worked as a secretary.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: an office of a small firm, a manager talks to a person who came in response to an ad. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Dzień dobry. Przyszedł pan w sprawie ogłoszenia?Hello. Did you come in response to the ad?
- Tak. Jestem księgowym, a wcześniej pracowałem jako sekretarz.Yes. I am an accountant, and before that I worked as a secretary.
- Gdzie pan się uczył zawodu?Where did you train for the profession?
- Na uniwersytecie, a potem w małej firmie w centrum.At the university, then at a small firm in the centre.
- Nasi klienci potrzebują raportów co tydzień. Da pan radę?Our clients need reports every week. Can you manage?
- Tak. Każdy piątek raportuję szefowi o projektach.Yes. Every Friday I report to the boss on the projects.
- Miejsce pracy jest tu, obok okna. Kiedy pan może zacząć?The workplace is here, by the window. When can you start?
- Od poniedziałku. Dziękuję za miłą rozmowę.From Monday. Thanks for the pleasant conversation.
Lines one by one
| Polish | Translation |
|---|---|
| Dzień dobry. Przyszedł pan w sprawie ogłoszenia? | Hello. Did you come in response to the ad? |
| Tak. Jestem księgowym, a wcześniej pracowałem jako sekretarz. | Yes. I am an accountant, and before that I worked as a secretary. |
| Gdzie pan się uczył zawodu? | Where did you train for the profession? |
| Na uniwersytecie, a potem w małej firmie w centrum. | At the university, then at a small firm in the centre. |
| Nasi klienci potrzebują raportów co tydzień. Da pan radę? | Our clients need reports every week. Can you manage? |
| Tak. Każdy piątek raportuję szefowi o projektach. | Yes. Every Friday I report to the boss on the projects. |
| Miejsce pracy jest tu, obok okna. Kiedy pan może zacząć? | The workplace is here, by the window. When can you start? |
| Od poniedziałku. Dziękuję za miłą rozmowę. | From Monday. Thanks for the pleasant conversation. |
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?
“Dzień dobry. Przyszedł pan w sprawie ogłoszenia?” — Hello. Did you come in response to the ad? 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.