Quote:
Originally Posted by kranz
in a nutshell:
a Polish speaker:
My hands are clean. I washed them.
My hands are clean. I washed them yesterday.
a native speaker:
My hands are clean. I have washed them.
My hands are clean. I washed them yesterday.
There are only 3 tenses in the Polish language: the present, the past and the future tense.
No matter if any past action has its consequences in the present, a Polish speaker will always use the past tense (following his native patterns) Unless he knows the difference between the Past Simple and the Present Perfect. But it takes time and practice. I know that for natives it's an automatic reaction but it doesn't work that way for non-natives.
Got it?  |
I know what you mean, an old female friend of mine once worked for a dentist, he was highly educated yet would often explain what he called the 'shortcomings' of the Polish language when spoken in the English context.
As a point of interest...he led the Poles at Cassino (a company strength unit IIRC).