Learn Hardcore Polish: Podaj mi proszę widelec i nóż.

Podaj is the 2nd person singular imperative of the perfective verb podać (“to hand/pass to someone”). It’s a direct request/command: “pass/hand (over).”

Why is it mi and not mnie?

Mi is the unstressed, clitic dative pronoun “to me,” typically placed after the verb (e.g., Podaj mi). Mnie is the stressed form used for emphasis or after prepositions (e.g., dla mnie, do mnie). In a neutral request you say Podaj mi, not “Podaj mnie.”

Do I need commas around proszę?

When proszę functions like “please” inserted into the sentence, standard punctuation sets it off with commas: Podaj mi, proszę, widelec i nóż. In informal writing people often omit them, but with commas is preferred in formal text. You can also put it at the start: Proszę, podaj mi…

Is proszę required? How direct is the sentence without it?

Proszę softens the imperative. Podaj mi widelec i nóż (without proszę) is still common among family/friends but sounds more direct/blunt. With proszę it feels polite and neutral.

What’s the difference between podać, podawać, and dać?

podać (perfective): hand/pass once; imperative: podaj.
podawać (imperfective): to be handing/passing, repeated/ongoing; imperative: podawaj (“keep passing”), which can sound bossy.
dać (perfective “to give”): broader than “pass”; daj mi is common but a bit more direct/colloquial than podaj mi in this context.

Can I change the word order? For example: Proszę, podaj mi…, or Podaj mi, proszę, …?

Yes. All are fine:

Podaj mi, proszę, widelec i nóż. (most standard with commas)
Proszę, podaj mi widelec i nóż.
Podaj mi proszę widelec i nóż. (colloquial punctuation) Avoid splitting the clitic oddly; Podaj proszę mi… is less natural than Podaj mi, proszę, …
Formal service-style: Proszę mi podać widelec i nóż.

Why don’t widelec and nóż change form here? What cases are they?

They’re direct objects in the accusative. For masculine inanimate nouns, nominative = accusative. So:

widelec (nom) → widelec (acc)
nóż (nom) → nóż (acc)

How do I pronounce the sentence?

Approximation: “po-die mee PRO-sheh vee-DEH-lets ee noozh.”
Tips:

sz = “sh” (English “ship”).
ż/ź = “zh” (English “vision”); in nóż it’s “noozh.”
ę in proszę at the end sounds like plain “e” in everyday speech.
Stress is on the second-to-last syllable: po-DAJ, PRO-szę, wi-DE-lec.

How can I make this extra polite or more formal?

Informal but very polite: Czy mógłbyś/mogłabyś mi podać widelec i nóż?
Formal to a man/woman: Czy mógłby Pan / Mogłaby Pani podać mi widelec i nóż?
Neutral ordering/requesting (e.g., with staff): Poproszę widelec i nóż. or Proszę mi podać widelec i nóż.

How would I address more than one person?

Use the plural imperative: Podajcie mi, proszę, widelec i nóż.
Very polite plural: Czy moglibyście mi podać widelec i nóż?

How do I ask for two forks and two knives?

Podaj mi, proszę, dwa widelce i dwa noże.
Plural forms: widelce (forks), noże (knives).

When would I use przynieś instead of podaj?

Przynieś (“bring”) implies fetching something from elsewhere. Podaj (“pass/hand”) suggests it’s within reach (e.g., on the table). So ask Przynieś mi… if the person has to go get it.

Can I drop mi?

You can say Podaj, proszę, widelec i nóż, and context will usually imply “to me,” but it’s more natural to include mi when you’re the recipient.

Do I ever put a comma before i (“and”) in this sentence?

No comma is needed before i in a simple list: widelec i nóż. The commas only bracket proszę when it’s parenthetical. There’s also no article in Polish, so context covers both “a” and “the.”

How do I say a negative request like “Don’t pass me the knife”?

Use the imperfective in negative imperatives: Nie podawaj mi noża, proszę.