# Mi vs. Do mnie



## Hal1fax

I was just wondering how do you know which one to use? Couldnt you say nie mow mi or nie mow do mnie?


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## jazyk

This is how I see it (I may be wrong, though): mi mówił is someone told me/used to tell me, whereas mówił do mnie is someone talked to me/used to talked to me.

Mama mi mówiła, że nie mogę grać na ulicy.
Mom told/used to tell me that I couldn't play outside (on the street).

Kiedy miałem problemy, mówiłem do mamy.
When(ever) I had problems, I talked to mom.


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## Piotr_WRF

You can say both but depending on context (which is missing btw.) they may differ in meaning.

Below a few examples:

*Nie mów mi.*
_Don't tell me.
_
*Nie mów do mnie.*
_Don't speak to me_ (in the sense of _be quiet_).

*Mów mi misiu.*
_Call me teddy bear._

_*Nie mów do mnie misiu.*_
_Don't call me teddy bear._

_*Nie mów do mnie jak do żony.*_
_Don't talk to me like you do to your wife._

_*Nie mów do mnie w ten sposób.*_
_Don't talk to me this way._


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## Thomas1

jazyk said:


> This is how I see it (I may be wrong, though): mi mówił is someone told me/used to tell me, whereas mówił do mnie is someone talked to me/used to talked to me.
> 
> Mama mi mówiła, że nie mogę grać na ulicy.
> Mom told/used to tell me that I couldn't play outside (on the street).
> 
> Kiedy miałem problemy, mówiłem do mamy.
> When(ever) I had problems, I talked to mom.


Jazyk, your explanation is fairly well, but the latter example is not idiomatic in Polish. In this context we would be likely to use _rozmawiałem z mamą_. We don't use _mówić do_ in the sense to _converse with_. For further examples see Piotr_WRF's post.

Tom


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## jazyk

> In this context we would be likely to use _rozmawiałem z mamą_.


I agree. I guess I was too eager to squeeze those words in.


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## Thomas1

Come to think of it, you could use it in a context like:
_Mówiłem do mamy a ona mnie nie słuchała, jakby w ogóle nie miała kontaktu z otaczającym ją światem._


Tom


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## slavian1

When I'm focusted on information to be conveyed by somebody - I generally use *MÓW MI,*
When I'm focusted on person to whom the the information is addressed - I would use *MÓW DO MNIE*.


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## ryba

Hal1fax said:


> I was just wondering how do you know which one to use? Couldnt you say nie mow mi or nie mow do mnie?


That's interesting.

Piotr_WRF did a good job writing the examples.

I think you can say *mówić do kogoś, czegoś (Dopełniacz, Gerundivus)* is more tecnical, refers to the way of speaking/talking, like in Piotr_WRF's examples, indicating the way someone calls the other or talks to the other. It can be used also when you want to inform someone on who you are adressing while talking (note that it is also a tecnical aspect of talking):

an old man talking to a misbehaving child:
Come here, little boy, I have something yo tell you.

The boy doesn't react pretending he's done no wrong.

the old man: _I am talking to you!_ = _Mówię do ciebie! _or _Do ciebie mówię!_ (this second one when we want to put an emphasis on the fact that we're talking to that particular little guy, not to someone else),

while *mówić komuś (Celownik, Dativus) o czymś (Miejscownik, Ablativus)* refers to the act of informing someone about something:

He didn't tell me about that! = _Nie mówił mi nic o tym._ (which means the same thing as "Nie powiedział mi (nic) o tym."*** or "Nie poinformował mnie o tym."/"Wcale mnie o tym nie poinformował.")


You have to be careful though as translating English verbs to Polish may be quite tricky, for example:

He didn't say a word to me. = _Nic do mnie nie powiedział._***_ or Nic do mnie nie mówił._

** *_Mówił_ is an imperfective form (used for describing and for extended actions) whereas if you want to use a perfective form (punctual action, a one-shot action) you have to say _powiedział_.

More info on aspects in Polish:



Thomas1 said:


> Some food for thought:
> 
> Aspects across Slavic languages
> Polish: iść, pójść, et caetera
> Polish: is there a pattern for the prefixes for perfective?
> 
> Tom



No one spoke a word to me all  day. = _Nikt się do mnie nie odezwał przez cały dzień._

_Nikt do mnie nic nie mówił przez cały dzień._ would be understood by a Polish native speaker, but it would soung kind of strange.

Everything depends on the context. I know it's difficult but, remember, practice makes perfect.


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