Negation is simply nie before the verb
To say no, put nie in front of the verb as a separate word: nie rozumiem, nie idę. There is no helper like English don't: nie does the whole job. For example: “Nie mam czasu” — I have no time. A rule from the Polish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
To say no, put nie in front of the verb as a separate word: nie rozumiem, nie idę. There is no helper like English don't: nie does the whole job.
One change comes with it. After nie mam the thing you lack takes the of-form. That is the shape a noun takes after no, a lot of and five or more. Mam czas (I have time) → Nie mam czasu (I have no time).
For there is no, Polish uses the fixed phrase nie ma plus the of-form: Nie ma chleba — there is no bread. You will hear it in every shop at the end of the day.
By example
- Nie mam czasuI have no time
- Nie rozumiemI don't understand
- Nie ma chlebaThere is no bread
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Negation is simply nie before the verb: how does it work in Polish?
To say no, put nie in front of the verb as a separate word: nie rozumiem, nie idę. There is no helper like English don't: nie does the whole job.
What does it look like in a Polish example sentence?
“Nie mam czasu” — I have no time. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.