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Questions & Answers about Ty lubisz piłkę ręczną?
Why is the subject pronoun Ty used here? Is it necessary?
In Polish the verb ending already tells you who the subject is. Ty (you) is optional and often dropped in casual speech. You include Ty for emphasis or clarity. So both
- Ty lubisz piłkę ręczną?
and - Lubisz piłkę ręczną?
mean “Do you like handball?”; the first has a bit more emphasis on “you.”
What does the verb lubisz mean and how is it formed?
Lubisz is the 2nd-person singular present tense of lubić (to like). You take the stem lubi- and add -sz, which marks “you” (informal singular). So:
ja lubię (I like)
ty lubisz (you like)
on/ona lubi (he/she likes)
Why is piłkę used instead of piłka?
After lubić, the thing you like must be in the accusative case. Piłka (ball) is nominative; its accusative singular form is piłkę. Polish relies on case endings more than word order to show who does what to whom.
Why does ręczna become ręczną, ending in -ą?
Ręczna (hand-) is an adjective describing piłka. Since piłkę is feminine accusative singular, the adjective must agree in gender, number, and case. The feminine accusative ending for adjectives is -ą, so ręczna → ręczną.
Why is the order piłka ręczna instead of ręczna piłka?
Both orders are grammatically possible, but the set phrase for the sport is piłka ręczna (noun + adjective). Many Polish sport names follow noun + adjective (e.g. piłka nożna “football”).
Why isn’t czy used at the start of the question?
In Polish you can form yes/no questions simply by intonation. Ty lubisz piłkę ręczną? works fine. If you want to be more formal or explicit, you can add Czy: Czy lubisz piłkę ręczną?
How do you pronounce piłkę ręczną? What sounds are ł, ę, and ą?
- ł sounds like English w.
- ę is a nasal e (like French en). Before k it often sounds a bit like “en” or a very soft “eh.”
- ą is a nasal o (like French on).
Approximate:
piłkę → “PEEW-k[eh/en]”
ręczną → “REN-chn[oh/on]” (with the “ch” as in Scottish “loch”)
Is this question formal or informal? How would you make it polite?
It’s informal because it uses Ty and the 2nd-person verb form lubisz. To be polite or formal, address someone as Pan or Pani and use the 3rd-person form:
Czy Pani lubi piłkę ręczną? (to a woman)
Czy Pan lubi piłkę ręczną? (to a man)