Expressing strong wishes with "oby"
When you want to express a strong hope, wish, or apprehension, use the particle oby (hopefully / if only). In this lesson, we will practice using it in the context of luck, bets, and superstitions (przesądy).
The golden rule of oby is that it must be followed by a verb in the past tense, even when talking about the present or the future!
For third-person subjects (he/she/it/they), simply use oby followed by the past tense verb. A common way to wish someone luck in Poland is to keep your fingers crossed (trzymać kciuki).
Attaching personal endings to "oby"
If the wish is about yourself (I/we) or the person you are talking to (you), the personal endings for the past tense (-m, -ś, -śmy, -ście) detach from the verb and attach directly to the word oby.
This leaves the main verb in its bare third-person past form. Let's look at some examples from the casino (kasyno) and making bets (zakład).
- oby
- oby
- -ś = obyś (hopefully you)
When talking about "we", add -śmy to form obyśmy. You will often use this when checking your betting slip (kupon) to see if you guessed correctly (trafić).
Invoking good luck
There are a few other ways to attract luck or ward off a bad outcome, such as finding a horseshoe (podkowa), knocking on wood (odpukać), or simply hoping for a miracle (cud). Notice how oby easily pairs with all of these situations to express a strong desire for a good outcome.