Understanding Polish Negation in Sentences
In the Polish language, negation is used to say 'no' or to express that something is not happening. It's a bit like saying 'not' in English, but there are some special rules we need to follow.
Important Points
- Negation with verbs: To make a verb negative, we simply add 'nie' before the verb.
- Negation with nouns: When negating a noun, the word 'nie' is placed before the noun, and the noun changes to the genitive case.
- Double negation: In Polish, it's okay to use double negatives. This means you can use 'nie' with words like 'nikt' (nobody) or 'nic' (nothing) to make the sentence negative.
Examples
- Nie lubię czekolady. (I do not like chocolate.)
- Nie mam kota. (I do not have a cat.)
- Nie ma nikogo w domu. (There is nobody at home.)
Let's look at how these rules work with different parts of a sentence.
When you want to say that someone is not doing something, you place 'nie' before the verb. It's like saying 'not' in English.
Examples
- Nie czytam książki. (I am not reading a book.)
- Nie gram w piłkę. (I am not playing football.)
To negate a noun, 'nie' is placed before the noun, and the noun usually changes to the genitive case. This is a bit like saying 'no' in English.
Examples
- Nie mam czasu. (I have no time.)
- Nie ma chleba. (There is no bread.)
In Polish, it's okay to use two negative words in the same sentence. This helps to make the negation stronger, which is a bit different from English.
Examples
- Nie mam nic. (I do not have anything.)
- Nie widzę nikogo. (I do not see anyone.)