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Questions & Answers about Idę do niego.
What is the infinitive (base form) of idę and what does it mean?
The infinitive is iść, which means to go (on foot). Idę is the 1st person singular present tense: “I go” or “I am going.”
Why is it idę and not jadę?
Polish distinguishes going by foot (iść) from going by vehicle (jechać). Idę implies you’re walking. If you were traveling by car, bus or train you’d say jadę.
What case does do niego use and why?
The preposition do always takes the genitive case. The pronoun on (he) in genitive is niego, so do niego literally means “to him” (or “to his place,” depending on context).
Could I use jemu instead of niemu?
No. Jemu is the dative form of on. Do requires genitive, not dative, so you must use niego. Jemu would appear after verbs that take the dative, for example pomagam mu (“I help him”).
Is the word order fixed? Could I say Do niego idę?
Word order in Polish is quite flexible. Do niego idę is grammatically correct and might be used for emphasis (e.g. stressing “to him”). The neutral, most common order is Idę do niego.
How would I say “I’m going to her”?
Use the genitive form of ona (she), which is niej. So you say Idę do niej.
Why isn’t there an article before niego?
Polish does not use articles (no equivalents of “the” or “a”). You simply say do niego without any article.