Learn Hardcore Polish: Mam jeszcze jedną prośbę: niech Pan zostawi wyjście otwarte. - I have one more request: please, sir, leave the exit open.

Polish uses niech + 3rd‑person verb as a polite, formal imperative when addressing someone with Pan/Pani (the formal “you”). So Niech Pan zostawi… literally means “Let Sir leave…,” i.e., “Please leave…”. Forms like Zostaw Pan… sound old‑fashioned, brusque, or humorous; modern polite requests use Niech Pan/Pani… or Proszę + infinitive.

What exactly does “Pan” mean here, and why is it capitalized?

Pan is the respectful way to say “you” to a man (literally “Sir/Mr.”). Capitalizing Pan/Pani/Państwo is customary in letters, emails, signs, or whenever you want extra politeness; in casual writing you’ll also see lowercase (pan). Both are understood; capitalization is a politeness convention, not a grammar rule.

How do I change this if I’m talking to a woman or to more than one person?

To a woman: Niech Pani zostawi wyjście otwarte.
To a mixed group or unknown group: Niech Państwo zostawią wyjście otwarte.
To men only (plural): Niech Panowie zostawią…
To women only (plural): Niech Panie zostawią…
Note the verb is 3rd person singular with Pan/Pani and 3rd person plural with Państwo/Panowie/Panie.

Can I say “Proszę zostawić wyjście otwarte” or “Czy mógłby Pan…?” instead?

Yes.

Proszę zostawić wyjście otwarte = polite and very common in service contexts (like “Please leave the exit open”).
Czy mógłby Pan zostawić…? (or Czy mogłaby Pani…?) is even softer/more deferential (“Could you…”).
All are natural; they differ in how direct/soft they sound.

Why is the verb “zostawi” in the 3rd person, not “zostaw” or “zostawisz”?

With niech, Polish uses a 3rd‑person form (here zostawi). Also, Pan/Pani grammatically behave like 3rd person. If you talk informally to a friend with ty, you’d use the true imperative: Zostaw wyjście otwarte.

Why the perfective verb “zostawić” (zostawi), not the imperfective “zostawiać” (zostawia)?

A single, one‑time action (leave it open now/this time) normally takes a perfective verb, hence zostawi. Imperfective here would suggest habitual/repeated action; Niech Pan zostawia… would sound odd unless you mean “Let him/you habitually keep leaving it open.”

Why is it “otwarte” and not “otwarty” or “otwartym”?

Because wyjście is neuter singular, the adjective agrees as otwarte (neuter singular). You will also hear an instrumental option: zostawić wyjście otwartym—it’s acceptable but less common; the nominative/accusative‑looking agreement (otwarte) is the default and safest. With other nouns: drzwi (plural) → otwarte/otwartymi; okno (neuter) → otwarte/otwartym.

Does “wyjście” mean “door”? Would “drzwi” be better?

Wyjście means “exit” (the exit route/point, often what’s marked by an EXIT sign). Drzwi means the actual physical door/leaves. If you literally mean “leave the door open,” say drzwi: e.g., Niech Pan zostawi drzwi otwarte. Use wyjście if you mean “keep the exit way accessible/open.”

Why is it “jeszcze jedną prośbę” and not “jeszcze jedna prośba”?

After mam (“I have”), the noun takes the accusative: (mam) prośbę (feminine), so the numeral/adjective agrees: jedną (feminine acc.). If you drop the verb and make a headline‑style statement, you can use nominative: Jeszcze jedna prośba: … is also fine.

Is the colon after “Mam jeszcze jedną prośbę” necessary?

It’s the standard way to introduce the content of the request in writing. You could also restructure with a comma plus a clause: Mam prośbę, żeby Pan zostawił wyjście otwarte. In casual speech you simply pause; on paper the colon looks neat and correct.

Can I move the words around, like “Niech Pan zostawi otwarte wyjście”?

Yes, both …zostawi wyjście otwarte and …zostawi otwarte wyjście are natural. The first slightly highlights the result (“leave the exit open”); the second treats “otwarte wyjście” more as a unit (“the open exit”). Both convey the same request in practice.

Why is it “Pan,” not the vocative “Panie”?

In the niech + Pan/Pani construction, Pan is in the nominative and functions as the grammatical subject of the 3rd‑person verb. The vocative Panie is used for direct address like “Panie Janie,” or in exclamations (e.g., Panie, proszę…), not after niech.

How would I rephrase this with “żeby” (that/so that)?

You can soften it: Prosiłbym, żeby Pan zostawił wyjście otwarte.

Speaker female: Prosiłabym…
To a woman: …żeby Pani zostawiła…
Here the verb agrees in gender/number with Pan/Pani (3rd person), and the whole sentence sounds more tentative.

How do I say it informally to a friend?

Use ty and the imperative: Zostaw wyjście otwarte. To a group of friends: Zostawcie wyjście otwarte.

How do I make the negative (“Please don’t close the exit”)?

With niech: Niech Pan nie zamyka wyjścia.
With proszę: Proszę nie zamykać wyjścia.
Note the genitive wyjścia after negation is standard.

Is “Mam jeszcze jedną prośbę” a natural way to preface a request?

Very natural. Poles frequently use Mam prośbę… / Mam jeszcze jedną prośbę… before stating what they want. It’s comparable to “I have one more favor to ask” or “Could I ask one more thing?”

Any synonyms or slightly different wordings?

Pozostawić is a more formal synonym: Niech Pan pozostawi wyjście otwarte.
Add emphasis: …otwarte na oścież (“wide open”).
Shorter, very common: Proszę zostawić wyjście otwarte.

Pronunciation tips for tricky bits?

prośbę ≈ [PROSH-beh] (ś = soft “sh,” final ę sounds like plain “e”)
niech ≈ [NYEHkh] (ch = German “Bach”)
wyjście ≈ [VIY‑sh‑chye] (ś = soft “sh,” ć = soft “ch”)
zostawi ≈ [zoh‑STAH‑vee]
otwarte ≈ [ot‑FAR‑teh]