Czas i częstotliwość
When and how often, past the textbook three. Several of these have no single-word English equivalent.
niebawem
adverb
- EN
- shortly, before long
- RU
- вскоре
Niebawem zaczynamy.
We're starting shortly.
Slightly formal. Za chwilę is the spoken version and wkrótce sits between them.
nazajutrz
adverb
- EN
- the next day
- RU
- назавтра, на следующий день
Nazajutrz wszystko wyglądało inaczej.
The next day everything looked different.
Narrative register — it belongs in a story rather than a conversation. Built out of na + jutro, which you have already met.
co jakiś czas
phrase · adverb
- EN
- every so often
- RU
- время от времени
Co jakiś czas sprawdzam skrzynkę.
I check the inbox every so often.
The co + time-unit pattern is productive: co dzień, co tydzień, co dwa lata. Learn the pattern and get a dozen phrases.
od czasu do czasu
phrase · adverb
- EN
- from time to time
- RU
- время от времени
Od czasu do czasu wracam do tej książki.
I go back to that book from time to time.
Word for word the same as the Russian, which makes it one of the easiest long phrases in the language.
na okrągło
phrase · adverb
- EN
- non-stop, round the clock
- RU
- круглосуточно, без конца
Gada o tym na okrągło.
He goes on about it non-stop.
Literally 'roundly'. Usually mildly exasperated — it describes repetition you have had enough of.
z dnia na dzień
phrase · adverb
- EN
- overnight; from one day to the next
- RU
- в одночасье; изо дня в день
Wszystko zmieniło się z dnia na dzień.
Everything changed overnight.
Two readings that context separates: a sudden change, or a gradual day-by-day one. The verb's aspect usually decides.
w międzyczasie
phrase · adverb
- EN
- meanwhile, in the meantime
- RU
- тем временем
W międzyczasie zrobię kawę.
In the meantime I'll make coffee.
Purists dislike it as a calque and everybody says it anyway. Tymczasem is the unimpeachable alternative.
dotychczas
adverb
- EN
- so far, up to now
- RU
- до сих пор
Dotychczas nie było problemów.
There haven't been any problems so far.
Formal, and it quietly implies things may yet change. Do tej pory is the everyday version.
odtąd
adverb
- EN
- from then on, from here
- RU
- с тех пор, отсюда
Odtąd wszystko poszło gładko.
From then on everything went smoothly.
Of time and of place. Its partner dotąd means up to that point, and the pair marks out a stretch of either.
bezzwłocznie
adverb
- EN
- without delay, forthwith
- RU
- незамедлительно
Prosimy o bezzwłoczne uregulowanie należności.
Please settle the amount without delay.
From zwłoka, delay. Bureaucratic and faintly threatening — if a letter uses it, somebody wants money.
Drill these ten · earlier morning · later morning
Drill these ten