W muzeum nie wolno palić papierosów ani jeść.

It is not allowed to smoke cigarettes or eat in the museum.

Breakdown of W muzeum nie wolno palić papierosów ani jeść.

• w: in
• jeść: to eat
• nie: not
• muzeum: the museum

Questions & Answers about W muzeum nie wolno palić papierosów ani jeść.

What does the construction nie wolno + infinitive mean, exactly?

It’s an impersonal way to say something is forbidden: “it is not allowed to …” / “one must not ….” It doesn’t name who is doing the action.

• Positive counterpart: wolno + infinitive = “it is allowed to …”
• You can add a dative pronoun to show who the rule applies to: Nie wolno mi/ci/mu/jej/nam/wam/im palić… (“I/you/he/she/we/you/they are not allowed to smoke …”)

How is nie wolno different from nie można or nie powinno się?

• nie wolno = prohibited by rules/law; strong, normative.
• nie można = “one can’t” (either because it’s not allowed or not possible); weaker/less formal but common on signs.
• nie powinno się = “one shouldn’t”; advice/recommendation, not a ban.

Why is it papierosów and not papierosy?

Because the direct object of a negated verb typically takes the genitive case in Polish. Compare:

• Affirmative: Palić papierosy (accusative plural).
• Negative: Nie palić papierosów (genitive plural). Other examples:
• Jem chleb → Nie jem chleba
• Czytam książkę → Nie czytam książki