Polish, as I understand it

It's Christmas!  A time for the English to stuff their turkeys and for the Polish to stuff their pierogi.  The Polish word for stuffing is farsz. Which is very similar to the English farce , or force -meat, all having the same etymological path, from the old French, farcir, and before that the Latin, farcīre .  Currently in English, we tend to use stuffing rather than farce or force, and if we say farce, we generally mean something ridiculous or comical.  The origin of this use stems from comic sections being stuffed into a play or performance. Some differences, some similarities, but I bet most Brits and most Poles will be stuffing their faces this Christmas. Merry Christmas! Wesołych Świąt!

It would seem that there's no avoiding this. Words are masculine, feminine or neuter and adjectives describing them will need to agree with the gender of the noun. This bit I do remember, but I often make the biggest faux pas when in hurry and resorting to Google Translate . It seems that the app, unless you ensure the gender of the person is obvious, will default to assuming they are male.  So, I have often been corrected and reminded that my correspondent is a member of the fairer sex.  This gaff generally occurs with verbs outside the present tense. Using the first person (I) and the second person (you) in the present tense, the verb endings seem to be the same for male and female. In the past tenses, they differ.  For example: być, to be.  I am - jestem (both genders) You are - jesteś (both genders) I was - byłem (masc) byłam (fem) You were - byłeś (masc) byłaś (fem) On the subject of using Google Translate: When translating you , as well as assuming male by default, it will a

I'm starting this blog as a place to keep notes along my journey with the Polish language.  It's really just for me in a bid to help me nail Polish.  If it eventually helps or interests others, then that would be splendid.  I would welcome helpful comments and thoughts if I have misunderstood anything. This is not a learning course for beginners.  I am learning Polish and making notes along the way as I learn things, so it is quite literally as I understand it. If you want to learn Polish, find a patient and helpful Polish friend, use an app like Duolingo , follow bloggers and teachers like the ones listed below, buy a book like Polish for Dummies, watch Polish films and TV, listen to Polish music, and make lots of notes to enable you to get your head around the grammar of this heavily inflected language.  Best of luck! Update: Links to more places and people who have taught me a great deal: Polish teacher, Aleksandra,  Being Ponglish website and on Instagram Elena Leman, a ve