Family Celebrations (AQA GCSE Polish): Revision Note

Exam code: 8688

Sylwia Jurczak

Written by: Sylwia Jurczak

Reviewed by: Bridgette Barrett

Updated on

Family celebrations

For the topic of 'Family celebrations', you need to be able to:

  • talk about family events such as birthdays, weddings and seasonal celebrations

  • describe what you and others do at celebrations

  • use the past tense with imperfective verbs to talk about how you used to celebrate events

  • use dative pronouns to talk about giving and receiving gifts

Family celebration

Family celebrations: vocabulary

Some useful words and phrases for the topic of family celebrations are:

Category

Polish

Part of speech

English

Family events

ciasto

n (nt)

cake

cieszyć się

v

to enjoy

festiwal

n (m)

festival, celebration

gospodarz

n (m)

host

gość

n (m)

guest

imieniny

n (pl)

name day (the feast day of the saint you are named after - known as birthday in other cultures)

kartka

n (f)

card

kościół

n (m)

church

małżeństwo

n (nt)

marriage

muzyka

n (f)

music

Nowy Rok

NP

New Year's Day

prezent

n (m)

present, gift

przyjęcie

n (nt)

party

rodzina

n (f)

family

szczęśliwy

adj

happy, lucky

ślub

n (m)

wedding

świętować

v

to celebrate

Święto Konstytucji 3 Maja

NP

Constitution Day (3rd May)

Święto Niepodległości

NP

Independence Day

święto państwowe

NP

public holiday

uroczystość

n(f)

celebration

urodziny

n (pl)

birthday

Key verbs

otrzymać

v

to receive, to get

zaprosić

v

to invite

świętować

v

to celebrate

wyjść za mąż (of a woman) ożenić się (of a man)

v

to get married

kupić

v

to buy

śmiać się

v

to laugh

organizować

v

to organise

śpiewać

v

to sing

tańczyć

v

to dance

zaskoczyć

v

to surprise

przygotować

v

to prepare

  • Use: Wszystkiego najlepszego z okazji urodzin! – Happy birthday! / All the best for your birthday!

  • Other useful phrases:

    • Wszystkiego najlepszego! – All the best!

    • Sto lat! – Happy birthday! / Many happy returns!

    • Życzę Ci wszystkiego najlepszego! – I wish you all the best!

    • Życzę Ci dużo szczęścia i zdrowia! – I wish you lots of happiness and good health!

Examiner Tips and Tricks

  • For a natural Polish birthday message, „Wszystkiego najlepszego z okazji urodzin!” is the safest phrase to learn.

Higher tier only

These words are only required for Higher tier.

Category

Polish

Part of speech

English

Example

Translation

Family events

Boże Ciało

NP

Corpus Christi

W Boże Ciało spotykam się z rodziną.

On Corpus Christi, I meet my family.

Prima Aprilis

NP

April Fool's Day

W Prima Aprilis robimy sobie żarty.

On April Fools’ Day, we play jokes on each other.

Święto Trzech Króli

NP

Epiphany

W Święto Trzech Króli spotykam się z rodziną.

On Epiphany, I meet my family..

Zielone Świątki

NP

Pentecost, Whit Sunday

W Zielone Świątki odpoczywam i cieszę się dobrą pogodą.

On Whit Sunday, I relax and enjoy the good weather.

Key verbs

dobrze się bawić

v

to enjoy oneself, to have fun

Dobrze się bawiliśmy na rodzinnej uroczystości.

We enjoyed ourselves at the family celebration.

gościnność

n (f)

hospitality

Polacy są znani ze swojej gościnności.

Poles are known for their hospitality.

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Sylwia Jurczak

Author: Sylwia Jurczak

Expertise: Content Writer

Sylwia Jurczak is a Content Writer at Save My Exams and an experienced Polish teacher with over 12 years of teaching experience. She specialises in GCSE and A-level Polish and has experience as an AQA examiner for the GCSE Polish Writing component.

Bridgette Barrett

Reviewer: Bridgette Barrett

Expertise: Development Editor

After graduating with a degree in Geography, Bridgette completed a PGCE over 30 years ago. She later gained an MA Learning, Technology and Education from the University of Nottingham focussing on online learning. At a time when the study of geography has never been more important, Bridgette is passionate about creating content which supports students in achieving their potential in geography and builds their confidence.