Gramatyka PL

Disclaimer instead of "hello"

A proper language course should develop all four core skills: listening, reading, speaking, and writing.

The materials available on this website - especially while the project is still under construction - should not be treated as a complete Polish course. Most of the content currently focuses on grammar topics from levels A1-B1. Full-fledged learning should also include vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation. Also, besides working on comprehension by reading and listening, it's crucial to practice speaking and writing on your own as well.

While I personally understand, respect and endorse learning only grammar just for fun, if your goal is to pass a certification exam or, idk, to communicate with Poles, you need to practice all the above-mentioned language skills. There is no shortcut around that part.

Why is this website

I believe self-learners deserve better than generative AI and language apps focused on wasting your time in exchange for giving you the illusion of achievement and progress.

And while there are tons of great resources available online for free (I'll try to drop you a list of them in the useful links section soon), their number, variety, and dispersion can be overwhelming if your self-study process lacks structure and defined targets. So, I'd like to make a space where self-learners can plan and implement mastering B1 grammar, based either on the lists of topics for exams or on the curricula that we, Polish teachers, typically use with international students - depends what your goals are in learning Polish.

And alsoooo I figured reusing materials I prepare for my students would be easier, if I start saving the docs in just one place instead of throwing them all over the hellhole which is my 'Robota' folder - that was actually the primary why lol

Why the focus on grammar

This is an attempt to counter a trend common in language-learning communities. Perhaps it's only a personal observation, but both my teaching experience and my own adventures in language learning have left me with the impression that learning grammar sort of fell out of favour.

When looking for practical advice on learning a language, it's easy to come across the idea that grammar is optional for communication and that native speakers "don't use grammar anyway". I often hear this from people (like Poles learning English, but not only them) who boast about acquiring the language just by immersion - playing games, watching youtube, netflix etc.

I see two problems with that claim.

First, those people most likely didn't start immersive learning from scratch. They spent at least a couple of years attending English classes at school and acquired some basic understanding of grammatical structures before immersion took over.

Second, English has a relatively low entry threshold when it comes to consuming media. Despite the notorious tense system, it relies on a small number of core verb forms and noun declension is practically nonexistent. Once learners understand the basics, they can focus on expanding their vocabulary - by reading books, watching videos and listening to music or whatever - without constantly running into grammar fences.
The entry threshold for successful immersion should be considered separately in each case, taking into account the specificity of the language in question and the background of the learner.

Polish is usually more challenging than English in this regard. At least for people who don't speak another Slavic language (those who do - face completely different difficulties).

Even picking up children's books, we'll immediately encounter conjugated verbs, as well as nouns, adjectives and pronouns declined in all possible cases. And for the love of God, the notion that "natives don't use it in real life anyway" couldn't be further from the truth. The average casual conversation between Poles contains a multitude of grammar structures - a mix of different tenses, aspects, and moods - far more than the first chapters of your Polish textbook, which is supposed to gradually introduce you to these structures instead of throwing you into the deep end and forcing you to parrot phrases you don't actually understand yet.

This is not to say you should postpone contact with Polish media until you've mastered every grammar rule. Quite the opposite. Start listening, start watching videos and expose yourself to the language as early as possible. Just don't beat yourself up for not understanding everything - rather focus on familiarizing yourself with the sound of the language, recognizing words and patterns you know, and learning new words. And don't expect it to be enough to eventually start speaking Polish correctly and expressing yourself with the nuance, clarity and precision you're capable of.