Breakdown of Nie tylko przynoszę oryginał, ale też proszę o potwierdzenie z urzędu.
Questions & Answers about Nie tylko przynoszę oryginał, ale też proszę o potwierdzenie z urzędu.
Why does the sentence use nie tylko ... ale też ...?
This is the standard Polish way to say not only ... but also ...
- nie tylko = not only
- ale też = but also
So the structure links two parallel ideas:
- Nie tylko przynoszę oryginał = I’m not only bringing the original
- ale też proszę o potwierdzenie z urzędu = but I’m also asking for confirmation from the office
You may also see:
- nie tylko ... ale także ...
- nie tylko ... lecz także ...
These are very similar, with ale też sounding natural and common in everyday speech.
Why is there no word for I in the sentence?
Polish often leaves out subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb ending.
Here:
- przynoszę = I bring / I am bringing
- proszę = I ask / I am asking
The ending -ę shows first person singular, so ja is not necessary.
You could say:
- Ja nie tylko przynoszę oryginał, ale też proszę o potwierdzenie z urzędu.
But adding ja usually gives extra emphasis, something like:
- I’m the one who is not only bringing the original...
Without ja, the sentence is more neutral and natural.
Why are przynoszę and proszę in the present tense if the translation may sound like I’m bringing and I’m asking?
In Polish, the present tense often covers both:
- I bring
- I am bringing
and
- I ask
- I am asking
So:
- przynoszę can mean I bring or I’m bringing
- proszę can mean I ask or I’m asking
English makes a stronger distinction between simple present and present continuous. Polish usually does not.
The exact English translation depends on context. In an office or service situation, this sentence often feels like:
- I’m not only bringing the original, but I’m also asking for confirmation from the office.
Why is it przynoszę, and not niosę?
Both verbs are related to carrying/bringing, but they are not used in exactly the same way.
- nieść / niosę = to carry, focusing on the act of carrying
- przynosić / przynoszę = to bring, especially to bring something to a destination / to someone
In this sentence, the speaker means they are bringing a document somewhere, not just physically carrying it around. So przynoszę is the natural choice.
Also, przynosić is the imperfective verb. Its perfective partner is:
- przynieść = to bring in a completed sense
So:
- przynoszę oryginał = I’m bringing / I bring the original
- przyniosę oryginał = I will bring the original
Why is oryginał unchanged? Shouldn’t it be in a different case?
It is in the accusative, because it is the direct object of przynoszę.
The thing being brought is:
- oryginał = the original
For many masculine inanimate nouns in Polish, the accusative singular is the same as the nominative singular.
So:
- nominative: oryginał
- accusative: oryginał
That is why the form does not change.
If the noun were a different gender or type, you might see a visible change.
Why is it proszę o potwierdzenie? What case comes after o here?
The verb prosić o means to ask for.
This is a fixed pattern:
- prosić o + accusative
So in the sentence:
- proszę o potwierdzenie
the noun potwierdzenie is in the accusative.
However, potwierdzenie is a neuter noun, and in the singular its nominative and accusative forms are the same, so you do not see a change:
- nominative: potwierdzenie
- accusative: potwierdzenie
This construction is very common:
- proszę o pomoc = I’m asking for help
- proszę o dokument = I’m asking for the document
- proszę o podpis = I’m asking for a signature
What exactly does potwierdzenie z urzędu mean?
It means something like confirmation from the office or official confirmation issued by the office/authority.
Breaking it down:
- potwierdzenie = confirmation
- z urzędu = from the office / from the authority
Here urząd usually means a public office, government office, administrative office, or official institution.
So the phrase suggests that the speaker wants confirmation that comes from the office itself, not just any informal confirmation.
A useful note: z urzędu can sometimes mean ex officio / automatically by virtue of office in other contexts, but in this sentence the most natural reading is from the office.
What case is urzędu, and why does it look like that?
Urzędu is the genitive singular of urząd.
That happens because the preposition z can take the genitive when it means from / out of.
So:
- urząd = nominative
- z urzędu = from the office → genitive after z
This is a very common pattern:
- z domu = from the house
- z Polski = from Poland
- z urzędu = from the office
Be careful: z can also take the instrumental in other meanings, such as with:
- z kolegą = with a friend
So the case after z depends on meaning.
Is proszę here the same word as in Proszę! meaning here you go / please?
Yes, it is the same verb form, from prosić.
- proszę literally means I ask
- but in real usage it can also function as a polite expression such as:
- please
- here you go
- go ahead
- come in
In this sentence, though, it clearly has its full verbal meaning:
- proszę o potwierdzenie = I ask for / I’m asking for confirmation
So this is not just the standalone polite expression; it is the actual verb with an object.
Could też be replaced by także or również?
Yes. All three can mean also / too.
So these are possible:
- ale też
- ale także
- ale również
All are understandable. In many everyday contexts:
- też is very common and natural
- także can sound slightly more formal or written
- również is also common, sometimes a bit more formal or emphatic depending on context
So the original sentence sounds normal and idiomatic.
How natural is the word order? Could it be changed?
The given word order is natural and clear:
- Nie tylko przynoszę oryginał, ale też proszę o potwierdzenie z urzędu.
Polish word order is fairly flexible, but changing it can shift emphasis.
For example:
- Nie tylko oryginał przynoszę, ale też proszę o potwierdzenie z urzędu.
This puts more emphasis on oryginał, and sounds more marked.
- Proszę też o potwierdzenie z urzędu, a nie tylko przynoszę oryginał.
This changes the focus and rhythm quite a bit.
So the original version is a good neutral choice.
Is this sentence formal?
Yes, it sounds fairly formal or at least appropriate for an administrative context.
Reasons:
- oryginał and potwierdzenie are typical office/document words
- proszę o ... is a polite, standard way to request something
- urząd refers to an official institution
So this is the kind of sentence you might hear or say in a government office, administrative office, or when dealing with official paperwork.
It does not sound stiff or unnatural; it just fits a formal situation.
How would a native speaker pronounce proszę and urzędu?
A learner often notices the nasal vowels here.
- proszę is pronounced roughly like PRO-sheh, but the final ę is often not strongly nasal in everyday speech, especially at the end of a word.
- urzędu is roughly oo-ZHEN-doo, where:
- rz sounds like the s in measure
- ę before d is pronounced more like en
So in normal speech:
- proszę often sounds close to proshe
- urzędu often sounds close to u-zhen-du
This is normal and does not mean the spelling is being ignored; it is just how Polish pronunciation works in context.
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