Word
Przepraszam, że przeszkadzam, ale mam pytanie.
Meaning
Sorry to bother you, but I have a question.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Przepraszam, że przeszkadzam, ale mam pytanie.
mieć
to have
ale
but
pytanie
question / asking
przepraszam, że przeszkadzam
sorry to bother you, sorry to interrupt
Questions & Answers about Przepraszam, że przeszkadzam, ale mam pytanie.
Why is it "że przeszkadzam" instead of an infinitive like in English "to bother"?
In English we say "Sorry to bother", using the infinitive. In Polish, when you apologize for an action, you use że (that) plus a conjugated verb. You are literally saying "I apologize that I am bothering." Saying Przepraszam przeszkadzać is incorrect.
Why isn't there a word for "you" after "przeszkadzam"?
The pronoun is implied by context. It is perfectly natural in Polish to drop the object if it is obvious. If you wanted to add it, remember that the verb przeszkadzać requires the Dative case (celownik). You would use ci for informal situations or panu/pani for formal ones.
Why are there commas before "że" and "ale"?
Polish punctuation rules are very strict about conjunctions. You must almost always place a comma before że (that) and before ale (but), even if you wouldn't pause there in spoken English.
Both "przepraszam" and "przeszkadzam" start with "prze-". Are they related?
They are not related, though they can be a tongue-twister for learners! They just share the common prefix prze-. Przepraszam comes from a root meaning "to ask" (related to prosić), while przeszkadzam is related to the word szkoda (damage or loss).