Breakdown of Czasem długo szukamy menu na stole.
Questions & Answers about Czasem długo szukamy menu na stole.
The verb szukać governs the genitive case (kogo? czego?), not the accusative. So you say:
- szukam książki (genitive), not ×szukam książkę
- szukam kluczy (genitive plural)
The word menu is an indeclinable neuter noun in Polish, so its form stays menu in all cases. In other words, here it’s genitive, but it looks identical to the nominative. Hence: szukamy menu is correct.
No. Szukać already means “to look for,” so you don’t add a preposition like dla for the thing you’re seeking. You just say szukamy menu.
You can, however, use dla to indicate a beneficiary:
- Szukamy menu dla mamy. = We’re looking for a menu for mom.
- na + locative = location (where something is): na stole = on the table.
- na + accusative = movement onto: na stół = onto the table.
Compare:
- Menu leży na stole. (It’s on the table; location.)
- Kładę menu na stół. (I’m putting it onto the table; movement.)
Stole is the locative singular of stół (table). The noun stół is irregular; in some forms the vowel ó changes to o. Key singular forms:
- Nominative: stół
- Genitive: stołu
- Dative: stołowi
- Accusative: stół
- Instrumental: stołem
- Locative: stole
Sometimes, but it changes nuance:
- na stole = on the table (neutral location).
- po stole (with locative) suggests movement “over/across” the surface, as in rummaging or scanning all over it. You’d usually expand it: Szukaliśmy go po całym stole (We looked for it all over the table). For a simple “on the table,” stick with na stole.
Polish word order is flexible, but the original is very natural:
- Czasem długo szukamy menu na stole.
Other acceptable variants (with slight shifts in emphasis):
- Czasem szukamy długo menu na stole.
- Szukamy czasem długo menu na stole. (heavier, less preferred)
Avoid Długo czasem... at the start; it tends to sound awkward.
Because długo is an adverb (“for a long time”) modifying the verb szukamy. Długi is an adjective (“long”) used with nouns:
- Adverb: Szukamy długo. (We search for a long time.)
- Adjective: długi stół (a long table).
Szukamy is present tense of the imperfective verb szukać. It can mean “we are looking” or habitual “we (sometimes) look.”
Past:
- Mixed/men: szukaliśmy
- Women-only group: szukałyśmy
Future:
- Imperfective (ongoing/habitual): będziemy szukać
- Perfective (single, bounded attempt): poszukamy (“we’ll look (for a while/try)”)
If you mean “find,” use perfective znaleźć: znaleźliśmy/znalazłyśmy (we found).
No. The verb ending in szukamy already shows 1st person plural. My can be added for emphasis or contrast:
- My czasem długo szukamy menu... (We, as opposed to others, sometimes spend a long time...)
Menu is indeclinable and grammatically neuter in the singular: to menu jest drogie (this menu is expensive). For plural reference, menu is also used, with plural agreement: te menu są drogie. In practice, many speakers prefer fully Polish alternatives for plurals:
- dwa/dwie jadłospisy (correct: dwa jadłospisy) or
- dwie karty dań
So you’ll often hear plural with jadłospis or karta dań instead of menu.
- cz in czasem = “ch” as in “chess,” but a bit harder (tch-like).
- sz in szukamy = “sh.”
- ł in długo = English “w.”
- ó in długo = pronounced like “u.”
- Stress is almost always on the penultimate syllable: CZA-sem, DŁU-go, szu-KA-my, ME-nu, na STO-le.
Yes. Common options:
- jadłospis (“menu” as a list of dishes): with szukać it takes genitive: szukamy jadłospisu na stole.
- karta menu / karta dań (“menu card”): genitive of karta is karty: szukamy karty menu / karty dań na stole. The word menu itself remains unchanged.