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Czy możesz naprawić lampę?

Czy możesz naprawić lampę?
Can you fix the lamp?
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Questions & Answers about Czy możesz naprawić lampę?

What does the word Czy do here? Do I need to use it?
Czy introduces a yes/no question. It’s optional in everyday speech: Możesz naprawić lampę? is also fine. Using czy sounds a bit more neutral/formal and is very common in writing or careful speech.
What’s the nuance difference between Możesz…?, Umiesz…?, and Potrafisz…?
  • Możesz asks about possibility/permission and often functions as a polite request: Can you (could you) do this now?
  • Umiesz asks about skill/know‑how: Do you know how to do this? (general ability)
  • Potrafisz asks about capability, often a bit stronger than umiesz for this specific task: Are you capable of doing this?

Examples:

  • Czy możesz naprawić lampę? Can you fix the lamp (now)?
  • Czy umiesz naprawiać lampy? Do you know how to fix lamps (in general)?
  • Czy potrafisz naprawić tę lampę? Are you capable of fixing this lamp?
How do I make this more polite?

Use the conditional or formal address:

  • To a friend (male): Czy mógłbyś naprawić lampę?
  • To a friend (female): Czy mogłabyś naprawić lampę?
  • To a stranger/professional (male): Czy może Pan naprawić lampę?
  • To a stranger/professional (female): Czy może Pani naprawić lampę? Adding proszę helps: Czy mógłby Pan naprawić lampę, proszę?
Why is it naprawić and not naprawiać?

Polish verbs come in aspects:

  • Naprawić (perfective) = a single, complete fixing; result‑focused. Fits a one‑time request.
  • Naprawiać (imperfective) = ongoing/habitual fixing. Use it for processes or skills, e.g. Umiem naprawiać lampy (I know how to fix lamps).
Why is it lampę and not lampa?

Lampa is a feminine noun. As a direct object, it takes the accusative singular lampę (ending -ę for most feminine -a nouns). So:

  • Nominative: lampa
  • Accusative: lampę (I’m fixing the lamp)
How would I say Can’t you fix the lamp?
Czy nie możesz naprawić lampy? Note the genitive lampy under negation (traditional standard). In colloquial speech, some people use lampę, but lampy is the recommended form after a negated verb phrase.
How do I pronounce the final ę in lampę?
At the end of a word, ę is often only lightly nasal or even sounds like plain e in casual speech. So lampę may sound close to “LAM-peh,” with a hint of nasalization.
Any pronunciation tips for the whole sentence?
  • Czy = roughly “ch” in “chin” + “y” like a hard i: [tch-ih].
  • Możesz: ż like the s in “vision”; sz like “sh”: “MO-zhe-sh.”
  • Naprawić: stress the next-to-last syllable: na-PRA-wić. Final ć is like the “ch” in “cheer”: “na-PRA-veech.”
  • Lampę: “LAM-peh” (final ę lightly nasal).
    Polish stress is almost always on the penultimate syllable of a word.
Are there articles like a/the in Polish?
No. Polish has no articles. Context supplies the meaning of “a” or “the.” Lampę can mean either “the lamp” or “a lamp,” depending on context.
Can I change the word order?

Yes, Polish word order is flexible for emphasis:

  • Neutral: Czy możesz naprawić lampę?
  • Without czy (very common in speech): Możesz naprawić lampę?
  • To emphasize the object: Lampę możesz naprawić? (Surprised/confirming it’s the lamp you can fix.) All keep the penultimate stress and questioning intonation.
How do I address more than one person?

Use the plural:

  • Informal plural: Czy możecie naprawić lampę?
  • Formal plural (to a group): Czy mogą Państwo naprawić lampę?
Is możesz gendered?

No. Możesz (you can) doesn’t mark gender. Gender shows up in the past or in conditional polite forms:

  • Male speaker to friend: Czy mógłbyś…
  • Female speaker to friend: Czy mogłabyś…
    With formal Pan/Pani, the verb switches to 3rd person: Czy może Pan/Pani…
Can czy also mean whether?

Yes. In embedded clauses it means “whether”:

  • Nie wiem, czy możesz naprawić lampę. I don’t know whether you can fix the lamp.
How do I say Can you fix the lamp for me?

Add a dative pronoun:

  • Czy możesz mi naprawić lampę? You can also put mi after the verb phrase: Czy możesz naprawić mi lampę? (both are heard; many prefer możesz mi naprawić).
Are there other natural ways to ask this?

Yes:

  • Naprawisz lampę? (Will you fix the lamp?—more direct/expecting action)
  • Czy dasz radę naprawić lampę? (Will you manage to fix the lamp?)
  • Czy zdołasz naprawić lampę? (Are you able to manage it?)
  • Synonym for the verb: Czy możesz zreperować lampę? (slightly more colloquial)