{"id":493,"date":"2017-10-25T14:51:04","date_gmt":"2017-10-25T14:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clozemaster.com\/blog\/?p=493"},"modified":"2017-10-27T14:56:44","modified_gmt":"2017-10-27T14:56:44","slug":"polish-negative-pronouns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clozemaster.com\/blog\/polish-negative-pronouns\/","title":{"rendered":"The Polish Negative Pronouns \u201cnikt\u201d and \u201cnic\u201d: A Short Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Polish negative indefinite pronouns <\/span>nikt<\/i><\/b> and <\/span>nic<\/i><\/b> are roughly equivalent to the English negative pronouns <\/span>nobody<\/i><\/b> (or <\/span>no one<\/span><\/i>) and <\/span>nothing<\/i><\/b>. As the name would suggest, the pronouns are used to negate things or declare their non-existence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are some sentences with <\/span>nikt<\/i><\/b> and <\/span>nic <\/i><\/b>in context:<\/span><\/p>\n

Nikt<\/i><\/strong> nie jest doskona\u0142y.<\/span><\/i> (\u201c<\/span>Nobody<\/strong> is perfect.\u201d)<\/span><\/p>\n

W pude\u0142ku <\/span><\/i>nic<\/i><\/strong> nie by\u0142o.<\/span><\/i> (\u201cThere was <\/span>nothing<\/strong> in the box.\u201d)<\/span><\/p>\n

Probably the most \u201ccontroversial\u201d thing about Polish negative pronouns \u2013 at least from the point of view of an English speaker \u2013 is their reliance on the <\/span>double negative<\/b>. <\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s right: <\/span>negative pronouns nikt <\/i>and nic<\/i> are almost always accompanied by the negative participle nie<\/i><\/strong> (\u201cno\u201d \/ \u201cnot\u201d). In fact, even triple negations are perfectly normal in Polish:<\/span><\/p>\n

Nikt<\/i> nic<\/i><\/strong> nie wie. <\/span><\/i>(\u201c<\/span>Nobody<\/strong> knows <\/span>anything<\/strong>.\u201d;<\/span> literally: \u201cNobody doesn\u2019t know nothing.\u201d)<\/span><\/p>\n

This brings us to our next point. Because of the double negative, Polish has no need for a distinction similar to\u00a0<\/span>nobody <\/i><\/strong>vs.\u00a0<\/span>anybody<\/strong> <\/span><\/i>(or <\/span>nothing<\/span><\/i> vs.\u00a0<\/span>anything<\/span><\/i>) in English. <\/span>Nikt<\/i><\/b> and <\/span>nic <\/i><\/b>fill both roles, so in some contexts, they\u2019re more likely to be translated as <\/span>anybody<\/i><\/b> and <\/span>anything\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Dlaczego <\/span><\/i>nikt<\/i><\/strong> nie pomaga Tomowi?<\/span><\/i> (\u201cWhy doesn’t <\/span>anybody<\/strong> help Tom?\u201d \/ \u201cWhy does <\/span>nobody<\/strong> help Tom?\u201d)<\/span><\/p>\n

Nic<\/i><\/strong> nie powiedzia\u0142em. <\/span><\/i>(\u201cI didn\u2019t say <\/span>anything<\/strong>.<\/strong>\u201d \/ \u201cI said <\/span>nothing<\/strong>.\u201d)<\/span><\/p>\n

While <\/span>nikt<\/i><\/b> and <\/span>nic<\/i><\/b> are almost always seen together with the negative particle <\/span>nie<\/i><\/b>, the particle doesn\u2019t have to come immediately after them. <\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, in any sentence with <\/span>nikt<\/i><\/b> or <\/span>nic<\/i><\/b>, <\/span>it is usually the verb that is negated by nie<\/i><\/strong>, and not the pronoun itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nie mog\u0119 <\/span><\/i>nic<\/i><\/strong> zrobi\u0107. <\/span><\/i>(\u201cI cannot do <\/span>anything<\/strong>.\u201d)<\/span><\/p>\n

Nikt<\/i><\/strong> ze mn\u0105 nie rozmawia. <\/span><\/i>(\u201c<\/span>Nobody<\/strong> speaks with me.\u201d)<\/span><\/p>\n

Grammatical case of the Polish negative pronouns<\/h2>\n

Nikt <\/i><\/b>and <\/span>nic<\/i><\/b> are no different to other Polish pronouns in that they change their endings based on their grammatical function in the sentence. Both pronouns have separate forms in six cases.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Declension<\/p>\n

If these forms remind you of something, you\u2019re probably thinking of the <\/span>interrogative pronouns kto<\/i> <\/strong>(\u201cwho\u201d) and co <\/i><\/strong>(\u201cwhat\u201d)<\/a> \u2013<\/span> nikt <\/i><\/b>and <\/span>nic<\/i><\/b> are actually their negative counterparts. <\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, all the forms in the above table, with the exception of the base forms <\/span>nikt<\/i><\/b> and <\/span>nic<\/i><\/b>, have been created by adding <\/span>ni-<\/i><\/b> to the corresponding forms of <\/span>kto <\/i><\/b>and <\/span>co<\/i><\/b>. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s discuss all the forms case-by-case.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nominative: nikt<\/em>, nic<\/em><\/h3>\n

The <\/span>nominative<\/b> forms <\/span>nikt <\/i><\/b>and <\/span>nic<\/i><\/b> are used to talk about the subject of the sentence. In other words, you mostly use them to say that:<\/span><\/p>\n