Home, family and everyday life at B1 and B2

Vocabulary from the topic "dom, rodzina i codzienność" seems easy because you use it every day. In the exam, however, it costs you points when you know individual words but cannot connect them into a correct sentence. It is not enough to know the words "mieszkanie", "czynsz", "teść", "paragon", "pogoda". You need to know that you say mieszkasz w mieszkaniu, płacisz czynsz, jesteś żonaty z kimś, prosisz o paragon, and pogoda się poprawia albo psuje.

What exactly this topic covers

In the thematic catalogue for levels B1 and B2, this topic combines several areas of life. At B1, you must be able to speak and write about yourself, your family, your flat or house, everyday activities, free time, shopping, food, services, and the weather and nature. At B2, more detailed topics are added: family history, family and intergenerational conflicts, repairs and renovation, the housing market in Poland, online shops, promotions, complaints, recipes, diet, wild animals, and environmental problems.

This means that at B1 a simple but correct sentence is usually enough: "Wynajmuję małe mieszkanie blisko centrum". At B2, greater precision is expected: "Właściciel podniósł czynsz, dlatego rozważam przeprowadzkę na tańsze osiedle".

It is best to learn this vocabulary not as a list of words, but as ready-made combinations. A noun without a case (przypadek) is often not enough. If you are talking about family, practise straight away: "mam brata", "mieszkam z rodzicami", "opiekuję się babcią", "jestem podobny do ojca". That is why this topic is connected with cases and noun declension (przypadki i odmiana rzeczownika) and with prepositions and their government (przyimki i ich rekcja).

People and family: not only "mama" and "tata"

At B1, you need to know basic personal information: first name, surname, address, age, marital status, place of birth, nationality, languages, education, and profession. In addition, there is appearance, clothing, personality, family members, and family relationships.

Be careful with words that look similar in Slavic languages but do not always work in the same way. "Krewni" are people related by blood, for example babcia, kuzyn, siostra. "Powinowaci" are family by marriage, for example teść, teściowa, szwagierka. In the exam, you rarely have to give a definition, but it is worth understanding a text in which "zięć", "synowa", or "szwagier" appears.

When describing a person, do not limit yourself to one adjective. Instead of "Mój brat jest dobry", write: "Mój brat jest spokojny, odpowiedzialny i chętnie pomaga rodzicom". At B2, you also need words for more difficult relationships: "konflikt", "kłótnia", "porozumienie", "rozwód", "samotne wychowywanie dziecka", "różnica pokoleń". If you describe characteristics, also revise adjective and pronoun declension (odmiana przymiotnika i zaimka), because mistakes such as *moja brat or *dobry siostra are very visible.

Housing, furnishings and services

In this area, the exam likes practical situations. Someone is looking for a flat, signing a contract, paying rent, reporting a fault, ordering a repair, buying furniture or describing their neighborhood. At B1, basic words are enough: pokój, kuchnia, łazienka, przedpokój, balkon, piętro, winda, kanapa, szafa, lodówka, pralka, kuchenka, biurko. At B2, the following are added: remont, usterka, instalacja, ogrzewanie, właściciel, najemca, kaucja, rynek mieszkaniowy.

Practice pairs of questions and answers:

• "Ile wynosi czynsz?" - "Czynsz wynosi dwa tysiące złotych miesięcznie".
• "Czy mieszkanie jest umeblowane?" - "Tak, w sypialni jest łóżko, szafa i biurko".
• "Co się zepsuło?" - "Zepsuła się pralka i trzeba wezwać fachowca".

Service-related vocabulary includes, among others, bank, poczta, biblioteka, pralnia, zakład fotograficzny, fryzjer, stacja benzynowa and warsztat samochodowy. At B2, warsztat szewski is also standard. Learn whole phrases: "wysłać paczkę", "odebrać przesyłkę", "wypłacić pieniądze", "założyć konto", "skrócić spodnie", "naprawić samochód".

Shopping, food and daily activities

Shopping is not only the names of shops. You need vocabulary for talking to a cashier, making a complaint, payments and quantities. At B1, you meet sklepy, artykuły spożywcze, kosmetyczne, towary przemysłowe, podstawowe miary, wagi, ilości and pieniądze. At B2, the following are added: sklepy internetowe, informacja, promocja, reklama, formy płatności, aukcje internetowe and reklamacje.

In practice, learn sets like these:

• "Poproszę pół kilo pomidorów".
• "Czy mogę zapłacić kartą?"
• "Chciałbym złożyć reklamację, bo produkt jest uszkodzony".
• "Kupiłam ten telefon przez Internet".

Food and drink cover dania, potrawy, lokale gastronomiczne, naczynia, przybory kuchenne and nakrycia stołowe. At B2, the following are added: przepisy, zwyczaje kulinarne, dieta and sposób odżywiania się. Do not confuse "dania" with "jedzeniem". "Danie" means a specific dish, for example zupa pomidorowa or pierogi. "Jedzenie" is a general word.

Daily life requires verbs. You say: "wstaję", "myję się", "ubieram się", "jadę do pracy", "robię zakupy", "sprzątam", "gotuję", "odpoczywam". When describing your daily schedule, it is easy to confuse the present, past and future tenses (czas teraźniejszy, przeszły i przyszły), so it is worth returning to the section on tenses and conjugations.

Free time, weather and nature

Free time at B1 means kino, teatr, koncerty, prasa, radio, telewizja, muzea, wystawy, hobby, zainteresowania and sport. At B2, the following appear: wydarzenia kulturalne, dyscypliny sportowe, zawody sportowe and formy relaksu, for example joga, wspinaczka or żeglowanie.

Do not write only: "Lubię sport". This sentence is correct, but very poor. A better option would be: "Dwa razy w tygodniu chodzę na basen, a w weekendy jeżdżę rowerem za miasto". At B2, you can add an opinion: "Sport pomaga mi odpocząć po pracy i lepiej radzić sobie ze stresem".

Weather and nature cover pory roku, klimat, rośliny, zwierzęta domowe, elementy krajobrazu, and at B2 also zwierzęta dzikie and problemy ekologiczne. With weather, remember natural Polish constructions: "Pada deszcz", "Wieje silny wiatr", "Jest pochmurno", "Temperatura spadła", "Pogoda się poprawiła". Do not translate everything literally from English or Russian.

Sample sentences to memorize

1. „Mieszkam z mężem i córką w dwupokojowym mieszkaniu na trzecim piętrze”.
2. „Moi rodzice mieszkają na wsi, ale często odwiedzają nas w weekendy”.
3. „Wczoraj zepsuła się lodówka, więc musiałem zadzwonić do serwisu”.
4. „Po pracy robię zakupy w małym sklepie obok domu”.
5. „Poproszę rachunek i reklamówkę, jeśli jest płatna”.
6. „Na obiad zwykle jem zupę i drugie danie, ale dziś zamówiłem pizzę”.
7. „W wolnym czasie czytam książki, chodzę do kina i spotykam się ze znajomymi”.
8. „Latem często wyjeżdżamy nad jezioro, bo lubimy ciszę i kontakt z przyrodą”.
9. „Dzisiaj jest chłodno i pochmurno, dlatego założyłam ciepłą kurtkę”.
10. „Chciałbym zmienić mieszkanie, ponieważ obecny czynsz jest za wysoki”.

Typical mistakes made by Ukrainian-, Russian- and English-speaking learners

Ukrainian-speaking learners

• *Idę w sklep po chleb. Correct: "Idę do sklepu po chleb". The mistake comes from similarity to the Ukrainian construction with a preposition (przyimek) indicating direction.
• *Gotuję obiad na kuchni. Correct: "Gotuję obiad w kuchni". This is a calque from Ukrainian "na kuchni". In Polish, when you mean the room, you usually say "w kuchni".
• *Moja rodzina składa się z pięciu ludzi. Correct: "Moja rodzina składa się z pięciu osób". This is the influence of the Ukrainian word "ludzie". In Polish, in this context, "osób" is natural.

Russian-speaking learners

• *Mój brat jest żonaty na Polce. Correct: "Mój brat jest żonaty z Polką". This is a calque from Russian "żenat na". In Polish we use "z" and the instrumental case (narzędnik).
• *Czekam autobus na przystanku. Correct: "Czekam na autobus na przystanku". In Russian, the verb (czasownik) "czekać" does not require a preposition in this kind of construction, but in Polish it usually requires "na".
• *Jechałem na taksi do domu. Correct: "Jechałem taksówką do domu". This is a syntactic calque (kalka składniowa) from Russian. In Polish we say "jechać taksówką", "jechać autobusem", "jechać pociągiem".

English-speaking learners

• *Jestem 35 lat. Correct: "Mam 35 lat". This is a word-for-word translation of "I am 35". In Polish, age is something you "have".
• *Szukam za mieszkaniem. Correct: "Szukam mieszkania". This is a calque from "look for". The Polish verb "szukać" takes the genitive (dopełniacz) without a preposition, so you do not carry the English "for" into Polish.
• *Miałem dobry czas na koncercie. Correct: "Dobrze się bawiłem na koncercie". This is a word-for-word translation of "I had a good time". In Polish, in this situation we use the verb "bawić się".

What it looks like in the exam

There is no separate "vocabulary" module. This area appears throughout the whole exam: in listening comprehension, reading comprehension, grammatical accuracy (poprawność gramatyczna), writing, and the oral part. You may hear a dialogue about renting an apartment, read a shop notice, complete a noun form in a sentence about family, write an email to the building administration, or talk about your day.

At B1, the written part has four modules worth 30 points each, 120 points in total, and the written part lasts up to 190 minutes. In the sample papers from March 2020, listening has 5 tasks and takes up to 30 minutes, reading has 5 tasks and takes 40 minutes, grammar has 8 tasks and takes 45 minutes, and writing takes 75 minutes. The oral part lasts up to 15 minutes. The passing threshold until 31 December 2026 is at least 50% in each module of the written part separately and in the oral part.

At B2, the written part has four modules worth 40 points each, 160 points in total, and lasts up to 250 minutes. In the sample papers from March 2020, listening has 5 tasks and takes up to 40 minutes, reading has 5 tasks and takes 60 minutes, grammar has 8 tasks and takes 60 minutes, and writing takes 90 minutes. The oral part lasts up to 15 minutes. The passing threshold until 31 December 2026 is at least 60% in each module separately and in the oral part. Points are not averaged. A weak result in one module means a failed exam.

In the grammatical accuracy module, everyday vocabulary is often only the "material" used to test forms. At B1, you may choose the correct forms of nouns (rzeczowniki), adjectives (przymiotniki), and pronouns (zaimki), complete prepositions (przyimki), conjunctions (spójniki), or verb forms (formy czasownika). At B2, this also includes, among other things, participles (imiesłowy), the passive voice (strona bierna), impersonal forms (formy nieosobowe), aspect (aspekt), and changing complex sentences into simple ones. That is why the meaning of a word alone is not enough. You need to know its form in a sentence.

What to revise before the exam

• Personal details, marital status, appearance, character, and family relationships.
• Names of rooms, furniture, appliances, housing costs, and typical breakdowns.
• Shopping: shops, quantities, payments, promotions, complaints.
• Food: dishes, drinks, tableware, places to eat, diet, and recipes.
• Daily routine, times, days of the week, months, and seasons.
• Free time: culture, sport, hobbies, and meeting friends.
• Weather, landscape, plants, animals, and basic environmental problems.
• Typical word combinations, not only single words.