# Stanik inaczej bywa nazywany biustonoszem



## gvergara

Hi,

I do not quite understand the role of _bywa_. As far as I am concerned, it could be a form of the verb _bywać_, but this seems to be some kind of passive construction and I do not know how that meaning/sense of the verb form would make sense in the context. Oczywiście I may be wrong. Context: In the video (clothes vocabulary in Polish), the speaker najpierw  says that the Polish word for bra is _stanik_. Then, she says

_Stanik inaczej bywa nazywany biustonoszem. Jak sami słyszycie, nazwa ta jest wzięta z tego, że nosi biust - biustonosz_.

I understand the underlined part as (Stanik is the word ...) _Stanik is otherwise called biustonosz_. _Jak sami słyszycie, nazwa _(bla, bla, bla). But, again, I fail to see the role/meaning of _bywa _there. Thanks in advance.

G.


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## anthox

It is a form of _bywać_, which is a frequentative verb. It essentially translates to "can be" or "is sometimes/from time to time." I'd understand that sentence to mean, "A _stanik _is sometimes/can sometimes be/might also be called a _biustonosz_."


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## gvergara

Thanks, and to understand this correctly, _bywa _would be a present form, and _nazywany _a past participle form (_bywa (is (sometimes)/can (sometimes) be) nazywany (called) biustonoszem_)?


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## zaffy

Here you can see all the uses of "bywać"

The "bywa" in your example might be intepreted as described in the 4th entry, that is, «zdarzać się, trafiać się» or the 1st in the second group, that is, «czasownik posiłkowy używany do tworzenia częstotliwej strony biernej czasu teraźniejszego i przeszłego, np. _Ta książka bywała często czytana._»

I personally take it as the former, however, it sounds weird, as "bisutonosz" is a very common name for me and with "bywa" it sounds like it is sometimes called that way.

This shop calls it "biustonosz", not "stanik".


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## zaffy

This is a natural use of "bywać":
_Teren nad tym jeziorem __bywa __nazywany "węgierskim morzem". _Obviously that body of water is not a sea, but sometimes it's called that way.

I sometimes use this form in conversational Polish. For example:
_Bywa, że jeździmy razem na wczasy.  = We sometimes go on holiday together. _


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## gvergara

gvergara said:


> _nazwa ta jest wzięta z tego, że nosi biust - biustonosz_.





anthox said:


> It is a form of _bywać_, which is a frequentative verb. It essentially translates to "can be" or "is sometimes/from time to time.


Last question... If it can be interpreted as an auxiliary verb for the passive voice, which does make sense to me, what would the difference be in relation to the previous passive voice? If I have understood this issue correctly, _bywać _conveys the meaning of sometimes, which is why it would sound odd if used in the sentence _Jak sami słyszycie, nazwa ta *bywa* wzięta z tego, że nosi biust - biustonosz_. Am I right?

G.


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## zaffy

gvergara said:


> _Jak sami słyszycie, nazwa ta *bywa* wzięta z tego, że nosi biust - biustonosz_.


Yes, it sounds off. I personally never use it and dislike its use as part of the passive voice. Perhaps it sounds better in written formal language. 

I recommend using it only in the sense of something happening sometimes or being somewhere sometimes:

Bywa, że pracuję w weekendy jeśli mamy jakiś duży projekt do zrobienia.  = Zdarza się, że... 
Bywa, że śpię głęboko a tu nagle budzą mnie krzyki z mieszkania obok. = Zdarza się, że...
Bywałem w tych okolicach kiedy studiowałem. = Byłem czasami


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## Ben Jamin

gvergara said:


> Thanks, and to understand this correctly, _bywa _would be a present form, and _nazywany _a past participle form (_bywa (is (sometimes)/can (sometimes) be) nazywany (called) biustonoszem_)?


Yes,  bywa is a present form. The verb bywać is sometimes classified as belonging to a separate aspect, which is neither perfective, nor imperfective. There is no agreement about what to call this aspect. Some people call it habitual, others call it frequentative. Actuall it has several uses. Only a handful of Polish verbs belong to this aspect.


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