# However hard / however much.....



## cpuzey1

How would you express the following idea in Polish:

_*However hard I study*, I won't be able to pass the exam _?

My attempt:

*Choćbym nie wiem jak* się uczył, nie zdam (tego) egzaminu. 

Is it correct to put "uczył" in the past tense? Is there any other (dare I say "easier") way to express this in Polish?


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## Kos

Cześć cpuzey 

I'm not a native Polish speaker, but my guess would be something along the lines of:

Mimo tego, że dobrze się uczę, nie uda mi się zdać tego egzaminu.

I hope my attempt helps you a bit, but definately wait to see what others have to say.  This is a good question that I'm curious about as well. 

Cheers
-Kos


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## Thomas1

cpuzey1 said:


> How would you express the following idea in Polish:
> 
> _*However hard I study*, I won't be able to pass the exam _?
> 
> My attempt:
> 
> *Choćbym nie wiem jak* się uczył, nie zdam (tego) egzaminu.
> Even if I study hard, I won't pass this exam.
> 
> Is it correct to put "uczył" in the past tense? Is there any other (dare I say "easier") way to express this in Polish?


Not sure it's easier, but you can also say:
Jakkolwiek dużo bym się uczył ((to) i tak) nie zdam tego egzaminu.
This is a more faithgul translation of 'however' in this meaning, but yours seems to me more common (you can also add ((to) i tak) which itensifies what you're saying).



Kos said:


> Cześć cpuzey
> 
> I'm not a native Polish speaker, but my guess would be something along the lines of:
> 
> Mimo tego, że dobrze się uczę, nie uda mi się zdać tego egzaminu.
> It means:
> In spite of the fact that I study well/I'm a good student, I won't pass this exam.


Basically they all express the same meaning.


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## cpuzey1

Great! Thank you for your replies!


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## majlo

If you want it easier and shorter, I'd go: _Ile bym się nie uczył..._


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## cpuzey1

majlo said:


> If you want it easier and shorter, I'd go: _Ile bym się nie uczył..._


 
Thank you. Am I right in thnking that the *choćbym nie wiem jak... *structure is the most common one?


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## Thomas1

cpuzey1 said:


> Thank you. Am I right in thnking that the *choćbym nie wiem jak... *structure is the most common one?


I'm not sure, the one given by Majlo is also widespread. EDIT: it may actually be hard to tell since they both are common to my experience.


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## cpuzey1

majlo said:


> If you want it easier and shorter, I'd go: _Ile bym się nie uczył..._


 
Thanks! Why is it negated?


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## Thomas1

This 'nie' intensifies what you say. I'd even say that it has sort of become fossilised in this expression 'ile by się nie...', and it's hardly ever not used in it. It's the same in the case of your example '*Choćbym nie wiem jak* się uczył, nie zdam (tego) egzaminu.' I can't imagine the first part's being used without 'nie.'


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## majlo

cpuzey1 said:


> Thanks! Why is it negated?



Maybe because students don't actually learn even though they really 'want to'.  You know, there's always something more interesting to do. 

Seriously, I think Thomas has got it. Inasmuch as I can imagine my example in the positive (though it would definitely be very rare), I can't say the same about the _Choćbym..._ version. It would literally sound horrible and I daresay it'd be incorrect. (?)


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