January 17, 2016

How to say 'no' in Polish?

Negation in Polish is much easier than in English. But it also causes some problem to foreigners with the world "no"...
Let's start with the beginning:
"No" is obviously nie in Poland. But Polish word no means "yeah". Also there are some problems with linking negation with words.

When we are not talking about the lonely word, it is easy. Yeah, it's rare that a language aspect is easier in Polish than in English ;) I mean, when you want to deny a word, you simply add "no" in the beginning and you can get a new word. So: zrozumienie - niezrozumienie (noun), łatwo - niełatwo (adjective), mile - niemile (adverb)... In English it is more complicated. For example: a negation for "understanding" is not "nounderstanding" but "misunderstanding". The other words: impatient, underestimating, distrustful, incorrect. 

In this domain Polish language is more simply. But there is also linking negations with words. The other rules are for adjectives, another for adverbs. Even a lot of Poles have problems with this. 
With nouns and adjectives you don't link negation, but you have to do it with verbs. What about numbers? When you wrire 'not one, but two', you write separately (nie jeden, a dwóch), but when you think of 'a lot', you write together (niejeden). Similar with adverbes - normally they're separated (e.g. nietrudno), but with comparative and superlative form they are together (nie lepiej, nie najlepiej).

What's why we love Polish grammar so much:P

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