To say that something is not there — there's no milk, nobody was home, there won't be time — Polish does not negate the verb "to be" the way English negates "is." Instead it uses a frozen, impersonal form of mieć ("to have") plus the genitive: nie ma mleka, literally "(it) has no milk." This construction is one of the very first asymmetries a learner must drill, because the affirmative and the negative are built from completely different verbs. It is a special case of the genitive of negation, but it deserves its own page because the verb is unexpected and frozen.
The affirmative: jest / są + nominative
When something does exist or is present, Polish uses the existential być — jest (singular) or są (plural) — and the noun stays in the nominative, just like an ordinary subject.
Jest mleko w lodówce, możesz się poczęstować.
There's milk in the fridge, help yourself.
W parku są ławki, usiądźmy na chwilę.
There are benches in the park, let's sit down for a moment.
Here mleko and ławki are nominative — the affirmative existential behaves like a normal subject sentence.
The negative: nie ma + genitive (frozen, impersonal)
Now negate it. You might expect nie jest — but that is wrong for existence. The correct form is nie ma, and the noun flips into the genitive:
Nie ma mleka, trzeba kupić.
There's no milk, we need to buy some.
W tym parku nie ma ławek, musimy postać.
There are no benches in this park, we'll have to stand.
Two things are happening at once, and both are non-negotiable:
- The verb is nie ma — the negated 3rd-person-singular of mieć — and it is frozen. It never agrees with the noun. Whether the missing thing is singular or plural, masculine or feminine, the verb stays nie ma: nie ma mleka (sg.), nie ma ławek (pl.) — same nie ma both times.
- The noun goes into the genitive: mleko → mleka, ławki → ławek.
People are absent too: nie ma + genitive
The same construction says a person isn't here or around. English uses "isn't" ("Adam isn't here"); Polish uses nie ma + the person in the genitive.
Nie ma Adama, wyszedł godzinę temu.
Adam isn't here, he left an hour ago.
Dzwoniłem, ale nie ma jej w biurze.
I called, but she's not in the office.
Nie ma go w domu — pewnie jeszcze w pracy.
He's not at home — probably still at work.
Note the genitive pronouns: on → go, ona → jej. "He's not here" is nie ma go — literally "(it) has not of-him." This is the single most important pattern to overlearn, because the English-driven instinct to say on nie jest tu produces a sentence no Pole would say.
Past and future: nie było, nie będzie (still frozen, still genitive)
The construction shifts tense but stays impersonal and genitive. Past: nie było (neuter singular, frozen). Future: nie będzie.
Nie było nikogo w domu, więc zostawiłem kartkę.
There was no one home, so I left a note.
Wczoraj nie było prądu przez całe popołudnie.
Yesterday there was no electricity all afternoon.
Jutro nie będzie czasu na zakupy, zróbmy je dziś.
There won't be time for shopping tomorrow, let's do it today.
nie było is neuter singular regardless of what's missing (nie było prądu, nie było ławek, nie było ludzi — always nie było), and nie będzie is likewise frozen. Compare the affirmatives: było mleko / będzie mleko (nominative) versus nie było mleka / nie będzie mleka (genitive).
brakować: "to be lacking / short of"
A close relative is brakować ("to be lacking"), which also takes the genitive for the thing in short supply — and puts the person who feels the lack in the dative (the dative experiencer).
Brakuje mi pieniędzy do końca miesiąca.
I'm short of money until the end of the month.
W przepisie brakuje jednego składnika.
The recipe is missing one ingredient.
So brakuje (frozen 3rd-person-singular) + dative experiencer (mi, "to me") + genitive of the missing thing (pieniędzy). There is also a noun brak meaning "lack/shortage," used the same way: brak czasu ("a lack of time"), z braku miejsca ("for lack of space").
Six affirmative → negative pairs
Drill the swap directly. Watch the verb freeze and the noun shift to the genitive:
Jest chleb. → Nie ma chleba.
There's bread. → There's no bread.
Są bilety. → Nie ma biletów.
There are tickets. → There are no tickets.
Jest Anna. → Nie ma Anny.
Anna is here. → Anna isn't here.
Było zebranie. → Nie było zebrania.
There was a meeting. → There was no meeting.
Będzie deszcz. → Nie będzie deszczu.
There'll be rain. → There won't be any rain.
Są pytania? → Nie ma pytań.
Are there questions? → There are no questions.
Common Mistakes
❌ Adam nie jest tutaj.
Incorrect — existential absence uses nie ma + genitive, not nie jest.
✅ Nie ma Adama.
Adam isn't here.
nie jest negates an identity or a quality ("he is not a doctor / not tall"), not presence. Presence/absence is nie ma + genitive.
❌ Nie ma mleko.
Incorrect — the missing noun must be genitive: mleka.
✅ Nie ma mleka.
There's no milk.
After nie ma / nie było / nie będzie, the noun is always genitive: mleko → mleka.
❌ Nie są ławek w parku.
Incorrect — the verb does not agree; it stays frozen as nie ma.
✅ Nie ma ławek w parku.
There are no benches in the park.
The verb never pluralises. Even with a plural missing thing, it's nie ma (present) / nie było (past) / nie będzie (future).
❌ Nie ma on w domu.
Incorrect — the pronoun must be genitive go, not nominative on.
✅ Nie ma go w domu.
He's not at home.
Pronouns decline: on → go, ona → jej, oni → ich. "He's not here" = nie ma go.
❌ Brakuję czasu.
Incorrect — the verb is impersonal 3sg and the person is dative.
✅ Brakuje mi czasu.
I'm short of time.
brakować is frozen as brakuje; the person who lacks something goes in the dative (mi), and the missing thing in the genitive.
Key Takeaways
- "There is no X" = nie ma + genitive (frozen mieć), never nie jest.
- The verb does not agree with the missing noun — nie ma / nie było / nie będzie stay fixed for any number or gender.
- This works for things and people: nie ma go = "he's not here."
- brakować ("to lack") takes a dative experiencer + genitive of what's missing: brakuje mi ciebie = "I miss you."
- Compare always: affirmative jest/są/było/będzie + nominative ↔ negative nie ma/nie było/nie będzie + genitive.
Now practice Polish
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Start learning Polish→Related Topics
- The Genitive of NegationB1 — When a Polish verb is negated, its direct object switches from accusative to genitive — an obligatory, automatic rule, plus the frozen existential nie ma + genitive.
- Genitive: FormsA2 — How to build the Polish genitive case (dopełniacz) in every gender and number, including the notorious masculine -a/-u split and the zero-ending genitive plural.
- Existential Sentences: jest, są, nie maA2 — How Polish says 'there is / there are' with jest and są, and the suppletive negative nie ma + genitive that English speakers never expect.
- Dative Subject: Feelings and StatesB1 — The pervasive Polish construction where the experiencer of a feeling stands in the dative and the predicate is impersonal — zimno mi, smutno mi, podoba mi się, nudzi mi się, chce mi się, udało mi się — with no nominative subject at all.
- być — to beA1 — Complete reference for być ('to be') — the most essential and most irregular Polish verb: full present, past (by gender), future, imperative, conditional and verbal-adverb tables, plus its three predicate patterns.