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A2 · Basics · Lesson 14

Useful phrases

Whole-phrase chunks for real situations.

Treat these as single units rather than grammar to analyse. Ordering, asking a price, and asking directions cover most of what a visitor needs on day one.

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Poproszę kawę.
A coffee, please.
Ile to kosztuje?
How much does it cost?
Czy to daleko?
Is it far?
Gdzie jest toaleta?
Where is the toilet?
Rachunek, proszę.
The bill, please.
Tactic — Keep Poproszę… as a frame and slot any accusative noun after it: Poproszę wodę / rachunek / dwa bilety.
Watch out — Proszę has three jobs — 'please', 'you're welcome', and 'here you go'. Context tells you which.

Quick check

How do you ask the price?

Ile to kosztuje? = how much is it?

'A coffee, please':

Poproszę + accusative orders politely.

Practice

Now produce the answers yourself — type them, choose the form, or build the sentence.

Say: A coffee, please.

Say: How much is it?

Ask the way: 'Przepraszam, ___ jest dworzec?'

Build the sentence — tap the words in order:

The bill, please.

Say: Where is the toilet?

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What this lesson covered

Rather than building sentences from scratch, this lesson gave you whole ready-made chunks for real situations — the fastest way to sound natural early on. The workhorse is poproszę (“I'll have… / please”), which handles almost any order or request, paired with ile to kosztuje? (how much is it?) at the counter. You also picked up polite essentials for getting help and getting by: czy może mi pan pomóc? (can you help me?), nie mówię dobrze po polsku, and wszystko w porządku (everything's fine). Memorising these as fixed phrases means you don't have to assemble the grammar in the moment — you just deploy them. Practise saying whole exchanges out loud, as if you were really in the shop or restaurant, so the words come out smoothly when it counts.