Breakdown of Nie udawaj, że jesteś zwycięzcą.
Questions & Answers about Nie udawaj, że jesteś zwycięzcą.
What form is udawaj?
Udawaj is the 2nd person singular imperative of udawać. In other words, it is a command directed at one person in an informal way.
So Nie udawaj is a negative command: don’t pretend.
Why is it udawaj, not udaj?
Because udawać is imperfective, and Polish usually prefers the imperfective in general negative commands.
- Nie udawaj = a natural general prohibition, like don’t act like that
- Nie udaj would use the perfective verb and sounds much less natural here
So this sentence uses the form a Polish speaker would normally choose.
Why is there no ty in the sentence?
Polish often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb ending already makes the subject clear.
Here both verbs already show you singular:
- udawaj = command to you
- jesteś = you are
So ty is unnecessary unless you want extra emphasis or contrast:
- Nie udawaj, że ty jesteś zwycięzcą
This stresses you.
What does że do here?
Że introduces a subordinate clause, like English that.
So the structure is:
- main clause: Nie udawaj
- subordinate clause: że jesteś zwycięzcą
It tells us what the person is pretending.
Why is there a comma before że?
In Polish, a clause introduced by że normally takes a comma before it.
So:
- Nie udawaj, że jesteś zwycięzcą.
This is standard Polish punctuation, not optional decoration.
Why is it że, not żeby?
After udawać, Polish normally uses że to introduce the content of the pretense.
Żeby is more often used for things like purpose, intention, or desired results. So in this sentence, że is the normal and expected choice.
Why do we need jesteś?
Because the subordinate clause needs its own verb.
Polish can omit the subject pronoun, but not the finite verb here. The clause że jesteś zwycięzcą is a complete statement with its own verb, jesteś.
Without jesteś, you would not have a normal full clause.
Why is it zwycięzcą and not zwycięzca?
Because after być in sentences like this, Polish very often uses the instrumental case for the noun that says what someone is.
So:
- base form: zwycięzca
- instrumental singular: zwycięzcą
This is the same pattern as:
- Jestem nauczycielem
- On jest bohaterem
- Jesteś zwycięzcą
So the ending -ą is showing the instrumental case.
Is the word order fixed?
Not completely. Polish word order is fairly flexible, but the given order is the most neutral and natural one.
- Nie udawaj, że jesteś zwycięzcą = neutral
- Nie udawaj, że ty jesteś zwycięzcą = extra emphasis on you
So yes, words can move around, but the original version is the standard unmarked order.
Is this sentence informal?
Yes. It is addressed to one person informally.
If you wanted other versions, you could say:
- informal plural: Nie udawajcie, że jesteście zwycięzcami.
- formal singular: Niech pan / pani nie udaje, że jest zwycięzcą / zwyciężczynią.
So the original sentence is the everyday you singular informal version.
What if the person is a woman?
Then Polish often uses the specifically feminine noun zwyciężczyni.
So you could say:
- Nie udawaj, że jesteś zwyciężczynią.
Here zwyciężczynią is the instrumental form, matching the same pattern as zwycięzcą in the original sentence.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning PolishMaster Polish — from Nie udawaj, że jesteś zwycięzcą to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions